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Interesting that they are tracking average since 1998 and not calculating the average against the 1980's and majority of the 1990's.
I've noticed in year's past that once we get the Ontario numbers that the overall western basin per hectare average typically goes up.
Any way you slice it, 2017 wasn't a bust like 2016 was, so we're on the right track!
http://ohiodnr.gov/news/post/initial...tches-released
2016 a bust? Could have fooled me...there were more y.o.y. walleye than you could shake a stick at.
If you're referring to the abundance of 13-14 inch fish that we all experienced this year, those are from the 2015 hatch. The 2016 hatch fish would be about half that size, give or take. I personally didn't catch a single 6-10 inch walleye this year. I can't speak for everyone on this forum, however.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eyezcrazy
At the bottom of the link that I provided, the OH DNR provided a graph of every hatch since 1998.
I've only caught one little bugger (4") this year. Not like the past couple of years, where we would catch bunches while perch fishing.Quote:
Originally Posted by G_Spot
I was born in 1972. I grew up in Chicago, but my grandfather had a place on the lake north of Toledo Beach. I'd spend summers with him and we'd be out fishing walleye all summer long. Limits in June/July were all but guaranteed back then all the way through the 90's. Casting weight forwards.
I moved to MI in 2006. I'd have days where I'd limit in 45 minutes in Michigan waters that year. All the fish were 15-17 inches. Which means they were the hatch from 3-years prior (2003). As everyone knows, 2003 was an incredibly successful hatch.
Attached is a graph the OH DNR published a couple years ago. In this graph, they go back to 1992. The 90's had several monster hatches, as you can see.
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/stay-inf...n-trawl-survey
2010-2015 was some of the worst fishing I've experienced on this lake. Corresponding to the abysmal hatches in most of the 2000's. In 2006, the DNR estimated the adult walleye in Erie at 100,000,000. In 2012, that number decreased by 80% to and estimated 20,000,000.
I guess the point of all this is that the data that the DNR provides is an extremely good predictor of the fishing experience on the lake. The lake appears to be rebounding, as 3 out of the 4 most recent yearly hatches have been average or better, at least when looking at data since 1998. I hope that the trend continues.