Worried about this years hatch

[Lucky Duck]

I am not sure but it seems like this is possibley a worse year for wind and I just wonder how this will effect the hatch of this years walleye and perch. What do you all think?

[branhamautomotive]

I think if we have a soft hatch count, the lake will still be fine given the extraordinary hatches we have had in the last few years. I remember a few years ago we had major weather during the spawn and there was lots of floating walleye. besides I think the food supply couldnt handle another major hatch and lots more fish.....almost no place in the lake besides ny had any real supply of shiners, I read an article also expressing concern over smelt population just the other day. mother nature has a way of balancing things out.

[Lucky Duck]

Thank you branham and Bob for explaining those things to me/us out here.

[itsbob]

Agree with Ben.I actually don't think the wind has been as bad as some other years.Have not had an extended several day NE wind event yet.Lake level is up from last year and worried about flooding.The reason walleye spawn in river is also a hedge against a poor reef hatch and visa versa.The 2015 and 2018 hatch have put a lot of walleye in the system.Can the forage fish sustain them.They also eat perch and other small walleye.I would bet that those 2015 walleye ate a lot of those 2018 fish too.

[branhamautomotive]

we will find out in just a few months how many 2018 are around by how many shorts we get with soon and harness

[Southern OH Percid angler]

The spawn is not so much dictated by the moon. but fish do react to it. Length of day and average water temperature dictate the spawn more. Males show up on the spawning grounds first and females stage in deeper water nearby. When water temps and day length are right females start moving in and more spawning does take place at night. Mature older females will often spawn first, but smaller young females dominate the real early spawning. Egg quality in these are often not good. The heart of the spawn is when you see the old sows and those are the ones that impact the spawn and year class. Once started spawning can last three weeks, but the main spawn happens in just a few days (7-10 days) then a recovery period. After a recovery period they put on the food bag to recoup the lost energy of spawning and this is when your bite changes as they are feeding on anything that looks good, Earlier they were eating high protein diets of mostly forage fish to build energy.

[TabBiser]

From what I read the 18 hatch was the best hatch by far. If 1/5 are ate it won’t put a dent in that hatch. The only down fall is a lot of shorts will be caught for a few years.

[Southern OH Percid angler]

One off year won't impact much, but put two or three back to back and you'll see it. It's out of anyone's control anyway. I don't worry too much about rough water or a little cloudiness, but big temperature swings are bad. Hatch is not always what makes a good year class, survival does. Forage base the first few weeks means a lot. That takes plankton then later forage animals/fish and good environmental conditions, eggs are tough, fry not so much. Just take my word I know what I'm talking about.....

[Lucky Duck]

For those of you who have fished the lake, can you tell what stage we are with the spawn? Have we passed the peak, are there lots of egg laden females still being caught? Are there fish being caught north and south of Kellys that are moving back to the east already?

[itsbob]

Been reading reports last 2 wks of spawned out females being caught east of bass islands.With full moon today that should trigger the rest of females to lay their eggs.If can get clearing water the hair jig bite should heat up the next two weeks before transition to harness and spoons.That started May 6th last year.