Eat'n Size

[mark n]

What size is your typical take for the freezer or the pan?

I general keep Walleys 1.5 to 2 pounds max when I need to stalk up.

What are your size parameters?

[H.Hughes]

Anything 24"to 30" goes back in, over 30" it gets to hang on my wall.

[Blackduck]

I fish mainly (99.9%) the Mississippi river, and they have to be 15" to keep. (I would like to see 13") Our family has set our own slot. 15"-19" if it touches 19 it goes back.

I personally would like to see a slot on the river. 13 or 14" to 19". Anything over 19" goes back. 1 fish over 29 or 30" if you want to keep a mounter.

[prophet]

seems lately the lakes i'm on have had slot limits on them,

usually dont keep anything over 20-22 max,still awaiting the

30 plus incher for the wall,been catching too many at8-13

inches latey but it tells me a good class of fish is coming

soon

[Big Northern]

I had a 21.5" in the livewell last night on Mille Lacs, i let him go because he just looked too big in there.

[Shorelunch]

I generally keep the 15-19"s. They taste the best, plus, they're generally easier to catch. Anything bigger goes back for me.

[fisherman]

I will keep 16-18 if I keep any at all. 32in or above might go on the wall.

[Northlander]

My home water of the St.Louis River has a 15" walleye min and limit of only 2 walleye so I usually keep 15"-20" fish. Maybe a ocasional 21" or 22". If Im on Lake Superior I have no problem keeping anything under 25".

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

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I generally keep the 15-19"s. They taste the best, plus, they're generally easier to catch. Anything bigger goes back for me.

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What about that 29 incher you kept out of Mille Lacs a few years back... Was that mid summer walleye tasty?

[Shorelunch]

Quote:

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Quote:

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I generally keep the 15-19"s. They taste the best, plus, they're generally easier to catch. Anything bigger goes back for me.

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What about that 29 incher you kept out of Mille Lacs a few years back... Was that mid summer walleye tasty?

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I'd guess that was at least about 5+ years ago and I've learned from a few mistakes! Plus, if I remember correctly, I was being urged to keep it They tasted like jello and haven't kept one that big since.

[buzzsaw]

Shorelunch/Johnny, I'm just bustin' your chops. I know you catch and release your share of Walleyes with all of those trips to Lake of the Woods.

I thought I remembered you saying how tasty it was with all of that tarter sauce you caoted it with.

[Shorelunch]

I hear ya. Now-a-days, I do throw back the bigger fish because they just don't taste that good to me and they, depending whom you ask/what you read, are the best spawners.

Now if I got a 30+ incher, them are good eatin' - they taste a lot like eagle and kinda like loon . . . Actually, like yours Buzz, it would go on the wall or be replicated and go on the wall (haven't had to make that choice before )

[Schnauzer]

My personal "keeper slot" runs from about 14" to 21". If things are going well, it shrinks to 14" to 20". If things are really slow and I am looking for a meal, I will rarely keep one up to 22". Pretty much everything bigger than 22" goes back for me regardless.

[LEECH21]

I usually don't keep anything. Maybe once a year I'll keep a few walleyes or crappies. Walleyes have to be less than 20 inches. 30 inch mark would definately be a repo.

[Mr.Perch]

my keeper slot is 15" to 20" and only when I feel like cleaning a fish.

[namtkd1]

Like most of you my keeper range is 14" to 21". Over 30" it's probably going to be on my trophy wall.

Nam

[CrappieJohn]

Kudos to all of you guys who set limits like this.

[Fish'n guy]

14"-18"if am keeping any at all. I usually don't keep walleyes down here in Southern Minnesota just because I like the challenge of catching them (like bass fishing only for big walleyes). Most of the walleyes I keep are from trips out of my home area. If I have fish in my freezer all of the walleyes go back.

Great to hear that all of you have good slot judgment!!! As you know that is really helping out the quality of our fisheries!!!

[Carp-fisher]

I'm kind of new to walleye fishing, but I've managed to catch many this year. I kept three 24" walleyes and I'll never do that again; they tasted like mud. I try to release all over 20". What's the smallest size that is recommended to keep? I've caught many in 12-13" range and I really shy away from keeping those too.

[Moses2531]

I think that the DNR does a wonderful job with our fisheries and I am a full supporter of everything they do, but I was just curious what people thought of the idea of reducing the limit from six fish to three or even four fish? I was just thinking that unfortunatly not everybody has the kind of personal limits that we've listed here. (I also don't keep fish over 20'') I just hate seeing six or twelve very nice fish leaving a sensitive lake with a couple of guys that fell into the big ones... I thought maybe a reduction in the limit would address that scenerio and help out some of these smaller less resiliant walleye fisheries. I personally feel that a four or three fish meal is more than filling... Like I said I am full supportive of the DNR, just was curious...

[fisherdog19]

Anything over 20" goes back. It has to be at least 14" to keep

[schweady]

Long ago, I set a 14" minimum for myself. Just too many guys stringing up 10"-12" fish and then patting themselves on the back in the bait shop talking up all the one and two pounders they nailed. It was the personal maximum that was harder to stick to in my younger days: I have pictures of an early spring 6-3/4 lb'er that I justified keeping cuz it won Perham's weekly contest. Made a cute picture with my twin girls some 20 years back. And I had feller convince me that size was great stuffed and grilled on the Weber. Tasted more like lasagna. Since then, I've set 20" as a personal keeper max, mostly cuz it's so fun to see looks on their faces after the 27 incher you admired was slipped back in. (Still looking for that 30 incher to hang)

Really glad that my 2 favorite lakes have an 18-26 inch slot. I think that it's working, too. Sure, it's tough to let those 19's and 20's go; they're darn nice fish. But they're fish that we wouldn't be catching this year had the slot not been there last year.

[TNFL]

I don't fish for walleye so if I catch one it goes in the pan. Only caught 2 this year a 24" from sugar lake and a 21" from buffalo. Sorry if I stole your future trophy, but as a bass man i RARELY keep any fish.

[schweady]

Fry up a nice 15 or 17 incher and tell me it doesn't taste like heaven compared to the fair-to-middlin' taste of those toss-back-n-grow-ups.

[riverrat56]

Usually 13-14 to 20, depends on the body of water that I am fishing, also I only keep maybe 10 walleyes a year that will see the freezer. I like to go out and get a few smaller fish (or one 18) and realease them to the grease a few hours later. If I want a nice meal of fish then I will get some sunnies and crappies, much easier to catch and I like the taste better. I like to eat walleyes but I just find catching them satisfactory enough, letting them go and taking an hour to catch a dozen pan fish can be a good time and also helps out the the walleye population.