Concerns about fishing conditions.

[Eyezcrazy]

Yep, I hear all of you and everything you all have said is true, but I would like to add something else. Has anyone else noticed the explosion of sheephead, white bass and white perch? Well I have and guess what....they eat the same thing as the walleye and perch. Everyone who catches these including commercial fisherman just through them back and their numbers are growing at an alarming rate. If everyone would not return them to the lake or if you do make sure they will not eat or spawn again how much more food will there be for our sport fish? If their is plenty of food you will have plenty of sportfish. Fishing pressure thru 80's and 90's removed a good portion of our sportfishing stock and these were replaced by sheephead etc. We can help our destiny cause Lord knows the government won't, by severly reducing the number of rough fish and keep food sources for the sport fish.

Airshot

I sort of agree with you on this. I have heard some on here say it is unethical to kill the sheephead, my question is, is it legal? I do agree that these forage fish are taking food from the game fish and eating eggs as well. But, what I really think would help the walleye population is if the netters were pushed out of the Western basin, ESPECIALLY the reef area during the spawn for Gods sake! How can they reduce the take for sportsman yet allow nets in these critical areas at spawn time? Come on ODNR get with the program while we still have a chance. That is, until the Asian Carp get here then it's all over anyway.

[gregnwtf]

[QUOTE=airshot;15125]

I fished Sat, Sun, and monday, caught walleye everyday, drifting and trolling. Yes it is a tough year for sure, no doubt at all. There are alot of fish out there of all sorts. Sheephead are plentiful and getting bigger. Most walleye are suspended and can be caught casting a short count and trolling the baits mid way in the water column. I have caught small walleye from 9 to 14.5 inches lately, Sunday the average size was 24 inch. Had 16 Sunday , all 4-5 pounds, drifting. Have stayed around the reefs most of the year and only going out further to get cleaner water when wind blew the mud around. 6 weeks of bad weather didnt help anything. Here is a good one , sort of funny but caught a 4.5 inch emerald shiner on a spoon today. Does that mean they are hungry to. Only one yellow perch all weekend. As for what to do with the sheephead you catch, some say they eat the zebra mussels. Some leave a train of sheephead behind the boat. I think the walleye are there, but they have plenty to eat as I see the fat in the bellies. Some of them have been inhaling the worms, they hungry. Presentation, presentation.Some days I cant get the presentation right the way they want it , and I think, Never give up. Maybe this is mother natures way of helping the lake and not the fisherman. The jury is still out on the spawn. Keep fishing, it should get better with stable weather through the summer. Keep Fishing, Keep fishing.

[Russ Hunsaker]

There was a short story on the news today attributing the fish kill on the lake could be blamed on the power plants. The numbers they were talking was killing millions upon millions of fish in the cooling water intakes. The numbers on newly hatched fish and fish eggs were in the billions.

It seems like a pretty easy fix to avoid sucking in fish and fish eggs but I guess it's not a priority to the power plants.

Russ

[dreamcatcher]

Mr. Miller,

Generally, the declining walleye population over the past few years is
associated with a couple of things. First, the very large 2003
year-class is aging, and moving through the fishery, and second, we have
had moderate to poor hatches since the large 2003 hatch ('07 and '10
were considered average). In general, however, the walleye population
is still in the 20 million fish range, which is considered a
"maintenance" level. The larger than normal walleye mortality event
that occurred this year was unusual, and probably associated with the
horrible spring weather that we had. We tested several fish for
evidence of viral and bacterial infections that may have been the cause
of the die-off, and samples came back negative, so we believe that the
fish were in a highly stressed state due to the combination of spawning,
and weather, that that opened the door to secondary infections such as
Aeromonas.

I did follow the link you provided below and I see that a whole host of
potential issues have been brought up by the posters. Rather than
address each point with the info that we have, please feel free to call
me at the number below and we can discuss (it would probably take me a
few hours to address all of them in writing....).

Regarding additional spring fishing restrictions, we have been working
extensively in both the tributaries and on the reefs exploring factors
affecting hatch strength over the past decade. As it stands now, we
have no direct evidence that spring fishing is causing the poor hatches,
it appears that it is primarily weather driven. However, we'll continue
to develop science to explore these issues and take whatever management
steps are necessary to ensure that we provide the proper types of
regulations to enhance walleye production.

Thanks for your comments and please give me a call.

Regards,

[capt charlie]

Well guys I have to agree, I have always gotten my limit everytime to the lake from Iowa and thats about every weekend, this year has offered me some challenges, not to mention the weather...I am still getting my limit but it takes longer and I have switched things up a bit, I have been experimenting with new cranks and find the hot-n-tots have been excelling my limit catches better than anything else, but yes it is taking me longer than norml and I think you guys talkin about them netters are on the right path, I had to be one of the first 10 boats in the water this spring, despite some mechanical issues I did do fairly well early jigging, then all hell broke loose the storms and shallow nets, i think the fish got caught up in the nets by either swimming in them freely or the storms pushing them in the nets, the DNR is full of bs..and it is money controllin them believe me they are so phony, I despies them...of course I think that about all law enforcement personal...I have seen it for myself when then netters go out and check there nets...and this year they werent able to get to them in 5 days because of the storms...now you put two and two together..........! They had better impose stricter limits and stop fishing during spawning, including nets(they shouldnt be allowed anywhere near spawning grounds what are the DNR thinking..?.....!

[Dale R. Callihan]

Yes, I'm concern but alot of what we are seeing is the results of doing nothing in the past few years. The drifters were getting worried before the 2003 hatch, but that big hatch saved the day for ODNR. Now eight years we are in the same situation, looking bleak. It's time for a season and limit changes, doesn't have to be forever, a few years may do it or at least help.
Another thing that has bothered is the sewage treatment plants will release raw sewage into the lake usually when there has been heavy rains and we sure had alot this year, how much sewage was released. The farmers have gotten the blame for the water quality but this year they were not in the fields until recently.

[wakina]

There are plenty of fish out there to be caught. They are now just getting cranked up. Remember you have to be flexible so stop trying to catch fish with what is not working for you on any given day and try another method.Take a look at the most recent reports!