MUD MUD and more MUD!!!!!!!!

[Eyes N Leapers]

Fished Sat April 11th. I have fished Erie in the spring since 2000 and I think this is the muddiest water I have ever seen. Caught 2 fish, wife got one about 1 1/2 miles north of mouth of Turtle Creek. She caught a BLUE WALLEYE! (I saved samples from the fish does ONDR still looking for them?)I caught 1 later in the day at Locust Reef. The pack was here 50 or so boats which half were charters. Not much action anywhere. Hopefully the lake clears up next week coming back on the 20th for a week. Good luck!

[Walidave]

Wow i just read a article about them. I hadn't heard of any being caught here just Northern minnesota and north iinto that stretch of ontario. How big was it?

[jiginitis69]

Good for you. Way to go. I've caught 5 or 6 tagged walleye over 22 years but never a blue. Congrats! Did ya take a pic to share? That would be so cool.

[Bud man]

Moved from reef thread

Interesting read

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_walleye

[West Basin]

Eyes n Leapers,

I've been following the "Blue Walleye" search for 20 years. I assume you are talking about "Blue Pike," the fish species that is considered extinct in Lake Erie.

No true Blue Pike have been recorded in Lake Erie since, if I remember correctly, the early to mid 1960's. There are reports every year of "Blue Pike" being caught, but these are not true Blue Pike, they are a color phase of Walleye.

Biologists have been tracking this issue for years, and have DNA tested fish which were thought to be Blue Pike (getting DNA from old preserved true Blue Pike has not been easy, since the liquid used to preserve them breaks done the DNA). The best they've come up with is a hybrid Walleye/Blue Pike from upper Canada. To the best of anyone's knowledge to date, the true Blue Pike is still considered extinct, but some hold out hope that there are still a few of them left, somewhere (rumors abound about Blue Pike being stocked in Canadian and other waters back in the day).

If you do catch an odd looking bluish walleye, yes, definately take a flesh sample along with several photographs (if you can't preserve the whole fish for inspection). You never know, you just might be the one who finds the first real Blue Pike in Lake Erie in 40 years!

Best of Luck,

West Basin