Fish Trends/ females vs jacks

[Lakeerieguy]

love the post about killing the Jumbos at Simcoe . Whats the difference between keeping Jumbo perch or big walleye ?? Same difference , different body of water . Killing the big perch are fine just not for walleyes I take it ??

Dale

[wakina]

I do not target big walleyes, male or female! I target walleyes period, big or small. I also do not harbor any animosity toward those who do target big fish before, during or after the spawn.

With me if they are of legal length they go in the box, if by chance there are two fish hooked at the same time and only 1 is needed to fill my limit I will keep the larger of the 2 and release the smaller one, that is if I am fishing by myself.

This is an old argument, one that comes up every year at this time, or with no ice season, then at the start of the jig season. Did you know that a female walleye has only 2 seasons? They are either actively spawning(dropping their eggs) or they are pre spawn. It makes no difference if they just became mature or a 30+ inch adult they are in one stage or the other there is no in-between. Once that last egg is dropped a healthy female immediately starts to develop eggs for the next spawning and that my friend is pre-spawn. Just because a female is not visibly swollen with eggs does not mean there are no eggs present in her egg sack.

To those who saw the females laid out by the trailer at Crane Creek and then came on here and related their feelings in a post describing how it made them want to throw up. Here is a question for you. Did you voice your concern to those who were present and taking those pictures that you have related to in your post, I mean the ones who actually caught those fish? If not why not?

You did say that it is every ones right to keep what they want as long as they are within the regulations. If you honestly feel that way then your beef is not with the law abiding sportsmen nor is it with the other law abiding members of this forum who keep those legally caught big fish, so please quit trying to make them feel bad or guilty, but instead your beef is with the ODNR as they are the ones who set the regulations governing what can or cannot be kept. There are 3 types of fishermen and women on this site, those who will keep those big females and those who will not and those who keep no fish but catch and release only. The only way that you will be able to stop people who keep those fish is to petition the ODNR to make it illegal to include them in ones daily bag limit! You will never be able to change anyone's mind or behavior by posting those concerns on this or any other fishing site.

The culinary usefulness of a large sized fish versus a smaller sized fish of the same species would be the individual preferences of each person. Just as it would be from one species of fish to another. I have had just as many small walleyes taste skunky as I have 8lb or larger walleyes. It is what it is and they are what they are. Just as you would cut and cook a roast differently than you would cut and cook a steak, the same applies to the bigger fish versus the smaller fish it makes a world of difference in the taste of the fish big or small.

[half pole]

Well said wakina !

[TROPHYTIME]

Here are a couple of males, so not all of them hogs are females. These were caught yesterday afternoon. We did limit out 2 man grandpa and grandson. Grandson just loves to ice fish. I think the rivers have more taken than the lake anyway. Its more inclosed. Just my 2 cents if that means anything. Thats all i have lol.

[FishOn205]

Well said wakina!!

Here is my take on this.... with finally having good ice in how many years let the boys fish. We have one of the best walleye resources right here at home where ppl come from all over and spend their money here in our local towns.

Im not goin to lie I have had the same concerns for years about catching the hogs before they spawn .. will it or will it not hurt the hatch. but the 2003 hatch where we had good ice to fish on has proven it to be of no concern to me.

another point id like to make is ... in reality how many BIG females are actually caught through the ice compared to a whole fleet of charter captains in the spring that make their money trolling for HOG females in the spring.

I agree with wakina in the fact that if ppl are mad about honest fisherman catching a trophy walleye .. then they need to petition the ODNR. Rules are rules if you follow them then you shouldn't feel bad about catching a trophy fish in the best walleye lake in the US. Not to mention you never hear guys on here getting mad about the guys catching 8-10 lbers out of the rivers or Maumee bay.... they are the same fish that come from the lake.

At the end of the day ppl should just be happy for their fellow fisherman that have the opportunity to share a great resource that we all have...

[B can man]

Last season was my first spring walleye fishing experiences. I learned the following: I only make it up during the spawn 2-3 times, so I keep whatever I catch and don't feel guilty about it.

Also, a bit of research shows that female walleye spawn out over half-a-million eggs each, so while some may argue that you're losing 500k eggs for the potential spawn, I would argue it is mere fodder. Say that for every female caught, 9 go not caught (I may be way under or way over, but just for an example), that would be 4.5mil eggs still out there for the one that was caught.

These are not deer that we are talking about (limit on does). Does typically only carry 1-2 fawns, but sometimes carry 3.

I too get concerned about the future of Walleye fishing, since God-willing, I will have another 1/2 of a lifetime to fish for them. However, anything from my end on the health and numbers of the walleye population is mere speculation. I will let my annual dues (in form of purchasing a fishing license) pay those with the know-how to study it, do just that.

Here's to an early warm-up!

[wayne johnson]

how about the netters that cross over the line all the time, and take more in one scoop than all the ice fisherman take in ten years, and we get nothing back from them, let the ice guys and gals be they are doing more for our future then the netters, in license fee alone.

[wakina]

Here is a post from another site that I made a week or so back! I am not posting it here to create controversy or to incite any arguments but only for informational purposes only! I ask that you check my math and resources and then answer 1 simple question.
If the cause of poor hatches and recruitment of YOY(Young Of Year)walleyes is a shortage of female walleyes and eggs why has there been no massive recruitment of walleyes from the last 7 spawns? Here is the post!!!
Titled:

"Astronomical numbers"

"Once the 2003 hatch became mature adults there were roughly 35,000,000 adult breeders in lake Erie! Now assuming that only half of those adults were females of breeding age that would be roughly 17,500,000 mature females. The average number of eggs laid by a mature female is roughly 250,000. Please read the last post in this thread in the provided link as it is my source for the average number of eggs laid per mature female."

http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/...ic,1075.0.html

"So with 17,500,000 females laying an average of 250,000 eggs each that would be a total of 4,375,000,000,000. That is (four trillion three hundred seventy five billion) eggs laid. If only 1% hatched, that would be 43,750,000,000 fry and if only 1% of those fry lived to maturity that would be 437,500,000 (four hundred thirty seven million five hundred thousand) walleyes that would have survived into adulthood. So since those numbers have not or were not ever realized there has to be more involved than the few thousand females taken just before and during the spawn as you can see those few thousand fish would have a very minor roll in the total overall egg production.
Some more good reading based on 2003!"

http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/...n.html#msg1644

"One more link!"

http://www.epa.gov/med/grosseile_sit...s/walleye.html

[Eye Doctor]

To those who saw the females laid out by the trailer at Crane Creek and then came on here and related their feelings in a post describing how it made them want to throw up. Here is a question for you. Did you voice your concern to those who were present and taking those pictures that you have related to in your post, I mean the ones who actually caught those fish? If not why not?

The culinary usefulness of a large sized fish versus a smaller sized fish of the same species would be the individual preferences of each person. Just as it would be from one species of fish to another. I have had just as many small walleyes taste skunky as I have 8lb or larger walleyes. It is what it is and they are what they are. Just as you would cut and cook a roast differently than you would cut and cook a steak, the same applies to the bigger fish versus the smaller fish it makes a world of difference in the taste of the fish big or small.

No....I did not voice my concern because...AND ONLY BECAUSE...I wasn't there.

As for the culinary usefulness...I could never tell the difference when eating one versus the other...especially deep fried. That being said I'd eat cod loins or haddock all day long before walleye...Just my preference...Saltwater fish just taste better to me.

I didn't mean to rain on anyone's parade with my "sick to my stomach" comment...Just how it makes me feel. The limits are what they are and people are entitled to take what the law allows. I do believe, however, that Lake Erie is a fragile fishery and selective harvest methods will be way more beneficial for future fishermen than a "fill the box" mindset.

[Steuben1]

I was in the lot and seen all the females that group caught. To be honest I did not like it one bit. It made me angry. I have thrown back all the females I have caught this year.

Now with that being said, am I to understand that the fishery is not being harmed by keeping the females? So me returning all the females won't help Erie? Honest question.

I understand that they were within the law and I guess I am just looking for the "science" on keeping females.

So if keeping females is not hurting the fishery, does it just come down to a personal preference and ethics?

Just trying to understand and learn here guys.