walleye

[nateandrychuk 15]

a little info i lrean a few years back. i know we're all excited to get out there and in a boat but think of this before you go for those walleye's. with the early season we're getting the walleye's are going to go into there spawn early and if we go in and start catching them we might hurt our lake's for a few years. frist if you catch a walleye and she release's her egg's there goes that year class untill next year when she can spawn again. even worse is that she'll reasorbe her egg's to get the enrgy back that she lost from the fight and if that happen's she wont be able to spawn for the next two to four years. they will allso reasorbe there egg's in low water and late springs because in low water they can't get into the spawning ground's or with late spring's the water temp's don't get to where they need to be.

just a thought to put out there

i know i can wait till opener and just fish stealhead, bass and norhtrens till then.

nate

[Guest JEG67]

" i know i can wait till opener and just fish stealhead, bass and norhtrens till then."

Me too.......good point.

[Guest Walleye Man]

I am pretty sure the Steelhead, Bass and Northerns are all spawning this time of year as well. Nate I think you should just stay home and watch TV. LMAO

Still working for Anderson's Lodge?

[Guest 4thgen]

I know I wont be fishing walleye for awhile. Bring on the pike! They may be spawning too, but at least no one cares.

[GC 54 31]

Wouldn't the same hold true for spawning rainbow trout, bass and northerns?????

[Guest JEG67]

Are the typical spawning areas for BASS, STEEL and PIKE closed to protect them during the spwan ? NO ?

These areas are closed for the walleye spawn for a reason !

[nateandrychuk 15]

hahah no not at anderson's anymore haven't worked there for a few year's on lake of the wood's now. yes the stealhead, bass and pike are spawning at this time too but as all of you know our population's of bass and pike are very heathy. with pike there are done there spawn before the ice is even out so there really is no chance of hurting them at all. i love bass fishing but with them there's so many number's in each lake that have bass that i don't think that they get hurt by this and if you make sure you put the bass back to where you got it withn a 100 feet or so they will go right back on there nest. and by that time the female's have spawned and moved off and it's the male's that stay back to protect the nest. for stealhead i couldn't go into the info there because i really don't know enoph about it.

[speckmaster 114]

I thought that Roger mentioned that no one could be judged for their actions as long as they weren't breaking the law. This thread is a waste of bandwidth. It should be killed.

hahah no not at anderson's anymore haven't worked there for a few year's on lake of the wood's now. yes the stealhead, bass and pike are spawning at this time too but as all of you know our population's of bass and pike are very heathy. with pike there are done there spawn before the ice is even out so there really is no chance of hurting them at all. i love bass fishing but with them there's so many number's in each lake that have bass that i don't think that they get hurt by this and if you make sure you put the bass back to where you got it withn a 100 feet or so they will go right back on there nest. and by that time the female's have spawned and moved off and it's the male's that stay back to protect the nest. for stealhead i couldn't go into the info there because i really don't know enoph about it.

[nateandrychuk 15]

i'm not judging anyone that goes fishing for them because you are still aloud to fish for them. i'm just saying my thought's on the matter.

[Guest JEG67]

I thought that Roger mentioned that no one could be judged for their actions as long as they weren't breaking the law. This thread is a waste of bandwidth. It should be killed.

Your right. A public internet forum shouldn't be used to express opinions. LOL. Is that not what's going on here..

Every angler I know is talking about this topic this year. I think it's a very healthy ethics debate, and would love to here more anglers opinions on this.

Jeff

[speckmaster 114]

Check rule #1 under "Things sure have changed".

Your right. A public internet forum shouldn't be used to express opinions. LOL. Is that not what's going on here..

Every angler I know is talking about this topic this year. I think it's a very healthy ethics debate, and would love to here more anglers opinions on this.

Jeff

[nateandrychuk 15]

speckmaster you sould look at the rule a little more because it allso say's if you don't like a post then don't post on it. and i wasn't saying people are not aloude to do it all i was giving was info on what can happen if people do. and this being a fishing web site i would think the more info on fishing the better our fisheries can and will be.

[Some Old Guy 968]

You are right speckmaster!

Ummmm Who caught one?

I think there is nothing wrong with this thread. I think there's nothing wrong if you head out and catch a few fish in the boat and cook them up. I also think there's nothing wrong with pointing out the vulnerability of the walleye with a year like this. Usually the lakes are still locked up with ice and you cannot get a boat in.

As far as I can see there wasn't any judgements thrown done here.

Roger

[NorthwestHunter 27]

I agree Nate, if we can resist our temptations to head out and catch some walleye now it may prove to be better for the future of our fisheries.

Paul

[arvey 154]

a while back i posted the problems that could arise from the lack of snow and an early and fast spring thaw and how it could cause problems for spawning fish. i think it would good to leave things alone. rainbows could also run into problems, if they do get up and we don't get any rain,they could get caught in the shallow pools or get pretty banged up trying to get back to the lake. i'd also like to mention that speices such as northerns,bass and walleyes are sought after by anglers pretty much all year round and puts them under alot of pressure were as rainbows are sought in the spring and fall and have the greatest amount of pressure at those times.

just my opinion.

arvey

[Guest adams]

while on this topic and more specifically shebandowan, the swamp, kashabowie and greenwater rivers and surrounding areas are all closed April 1st so.... If you swarmed on the border of these waters it would be kind of cheesy but certainly legal. I intend on getting out on Shebandowan for the next few days and trying for all open species, walleye included. That being said I am going to head for a couple spots I think might work while staying clear of the above mentioned tributaries. I mean, an early thaw like this may not be around for a long long time and I think it's a great opportunity to get out and try things I've been thinking about all winter.

[Guest MiniMe]

Is this a serious topic here or is this a joke???

If this were a normal year with noraml conditions everybody and their dogs and cats would still be out on the ice with their dam shacks slaying them, especially lac. So if people want to go out in the boat and fish, what the heck is the difference. What the heck is the difference if I catch a 5,6,7,8,9, 10lber through the ice on April 10,11,12,13,14 and let it go. Last year we fished last April 11th and hammered them through the ice. And yes, some were spewing eggs and milk. Now should everyone not be fishing on the ice in april in fear that these fish will dump or re-absorb their eggs during the fight?

They way I see it, i'm glad the ice went out so early. It spared thousands of walleyes during the last half of march and beginning of april already, except for guys who needed one more limit, and ended up almost losing trucks and quads from what I have read on this site. Fair trade I guess, limit of walleyes for a truck?

In my 44 years of fishing I have never seen the ice go out before April 14th. This is a once in life time event around here.

[speckmaster 114]

Well put MiniMe.

Is this a serious topic here or is this a joke???

If this were a normal year with noraml conditions everybody and their dogs and cats would still be out on the ice with their dam shacks slaying them, especially lac. So if people want to go out in the boat and fish, what the heck is the difference. What the heck is the difference if I catch a 5,6,7,8,9, 10lber through the ice on April 10,11,12,13,14 and let it go. Last year we fished last April 11th and hammered them through the ice. And yes, some were spewing eggs and milk. Now should everyone not be fishing on the ice in april in fear that these fish will dump or re-absurb their eggs during the fight?

They way I see it, i'm glad the ice went out so early. It spared thousands of walleyes during the last half of march already, except for guys who needed one more limit, and ended up almost losing trucks and quads from what I have read on this site. Fair trade I guess, limit of walleyes for a truck?

In my 44 years of fishing I have never seen the ice go out before April 14th. This is a once in life time event around here.

[Guest MiniMe]

while on this topic and more specifically shebandowan, the swamp, kashabowie and greenwater rivers and surrounding areas are all closed April 1st so.... If you swarmed on the border of these waters it would be kind of cheesy but certainly legal.

As for the above comment, why in the world would anybody go out fishing and fish where the fish aren't. Talk about a waste of time.

[L J B 7]

Well MiniMe, I'm sure you are going to ruffle a few feathers with your outlook on things, but, I agree with you. I don't really see a difference between a spawner caught through ice or out of a boat. The end result is the same.

As for fishing near a rivermouth being cheesy, I don't think there is any problem as long as your not fishing within the boundaries of a sanctuary. If you are following the rules, you don't have to explain yourself to anybody.

Just my opinion.

[Guest adams]

As for the above comment, why in the world would anybody go out fishing and fish where the fish aren't. Talk about a waste of time.

Right. While I'm out there i"ll be doing a lot of things, wasting my time won't be one of them.

[GC 54 31]

If the ice was still safe, there would be far more fisherpersons out there fishing for their limit of eaters, hopefully catching and releasing the big spawners. But with the ice out so early, and temps that are just not all that comfortable for sitting in their boats, there will be a very limited number of fisherpersons out there in their boats doing what the ice fisherpersons would have been doing. However, far fewer fish in total will be caught by those in their boats as compared to those who would normally be fishing through the ice, strickly due to the number of those going out in their boats before closure. If nothing illegal is happening then fish your hearts out. I think most people are educated enough to know to throw back the big spawners. Fighting a fish through a hole and lifting it straight up out of the hole while its dangling at the end of your line, or fighting a fish over the side of a boat and then lifting the fish out of the water in a landing net, you do the math.

[Guest mattyG]

if this is such a problem for the spawning walleye then why is the closing date for walleye mid april? should'nt the mnr change this to an earlier date?

[GC 54 31]

if this is such a problem for the spawning walleye then why is the closing date for walleye mid april? should'nt the mnr change this to an earlier date?

why, to manage the people or manage the resource???? The MNR surely cannot manage mother nature.

Don't forget, soon Lac will have its own set of rules, as will Whitefish.

[Guest Matt M]

If the ice was still safe, there would be far more fisherpersons out there fishing for their limit of eaters, hopefully catching and releasing the big spawners. But with the ice out so early, and temps that are just not all that comfortable for sitting in their boats, there will be a very limited number of fisherpersons out there in their boats doing what the ice fisherpersons would have been doing. However, far fewer fish in total will be caught by those in their boats as compared to those who would normally be fishing through the ice, strickly due to the number of those going out in their boats before closure. If nothing illegal is happening then fish your hearts out. I think most people are educated enough to know to throw back the big spawners. Fighting a fish through a hole and lifting it straight up out of the hole while its dangling at the end of your line, or fighting a fish over the side of a boat and then lifting the fish out of the water in a landing net, you do the math.

+1, In my opinion this early ice out should benefit the walleyes with less fishing pressure. And as far as what is better for the walleyes between lifting them onto the ice or into the boat, I would think catching them in a boat right now is better because you can unhook the females at the side if the boat without ever touching them or taking them out of the water.