Questions for SPORTSMEN & WOMEN?

[BIGD2360]

Questions for SPORTSMEN & WOMEN. Anyone here eat 6-10+ pound walleyes from the bay? Or for that matter anyone eat 6-10+ from any lake or river? And can you eat your limit or more everyday? Or do you think keeping a trophy 10+ eye is fine and releasing the other big ones to reproduce is the right way to do it?

[dfeste]

I don't have a problem with keeping a trophy to go on the wall. I don't fish eyes all that often but I have found with any species of fish that the larger ones don't taste as good as the smaller ones.

[sam10basefish]

The larger walleyes bioaccumulate large amounts of mercury by the time they are that old. For health sake I would not recommend eating a trophy.

[Jack Stasney]

I haven't to date ever kept a trophy walleye. I wouldn't eat it, and a replica would look as good and probably last longer. Also for reproduction reasons. As far as eaters on the river the ones I do eat are usually in the 17-20 inch range only because most fish I catch down there are in that range. I also bake them, because they taste way better that way IMO. The smaller ones I fry.

[Northlander]

I doubt many people catch 6-10# walleyes out of the river to even have to worry about it.

[BIGD2360]

What would you do, if you (suspected) 1 or more individuals of not following fishing and game laws? Example; double limiting (catching limit & bring home or to cabin and go back and catch more). Not using up what they catch i.e. limit but having multiple limits in freezer.

[JAR JAR]

T.I.P.

[Jarrid Houston]

I would not be friends with someone like that! and I like Jars comment, call the DNR! This is stealing....and beyond that hurting a population!. As far as eating fish. Smaller ones to eat, let bigger ones go. I catch a few a year on the river, and out of all the years I have fished it, I can rememeber the amount of fish I ate out of the river. It is not much!

[titelines]

For walleyes I tend to keep anything in the 13-18" range to eat. Anything above or below that will go back. I'm still waiting for my trophy to mount, which for me is 30" or larger. This is just me though, I know it's kind of a personal thing.

[Northlander]

Make sure you have more than "suspecting" someone of breaking the law before you call the TIP line.

[Heartman]

Sam is correct - bigger fish have more gunk in them - smaller fish less, and they taste much better too.It is a personal decision on what is kept and what is released - far be it from me to pass judgement on another fisherman's choice. It's their deal, not mine.

[upnorth]

I can hardly imagine eating Walleyes out of the Bay/St Louis river over 18 inches. My fav eaters are 14 to 16 inches, and that is pretty much any lake.

[Northlander]

I have been eating walleyes from the river for 35 years and Im still alive. My pizz glows a bit but Im fairly normal.

On the river they have to be 15" to keep so I like the 15" to 19"ers to eat. The river is actually much much cleaner than just 10 years ago and getting better all the time.

[upnorth]

Yeah forgot the 15 inch limit on the river. Used to fish down there years ago and would only fish in the spring when the walleyes were running up the river from the lake.

[Down Deep]

Over 30 years I've eaten a lot of walleyes from the SLR and most of them have been in the 16 to 17 inch range. So far the I've released all but one walleye I've caught that has been over 19 inches. The fish I kept was 28 1/2 and it was the first big walleye I ever caught and did a skin mount. I make no judgement on anyone who keeps as big or small fish for a skin mount as long as they are a legal fish. As far as I'm concerned, whether it's skin mount or replica, it's a personal choice of the person who catches the big one.

[reinhard1]

yes the river is very much cleaner. i remember in the 60's watching the walleye run past the 23 bridge and the smell was very noticable. the scum was hanging on everything.

when i was a kid we kept any size we caught. grew up poor. i have been releasing large fish of all species for many years [when your lucky to get them]. however as long as a person buy's a license he or she has the right to keep any fish that is legal. good luck.

[BIGD2360]

I know a guy from Duluth area who's 20 year old son has caught more than 6 eye's over 30" in the last 2 1/2 weeks from the harbor and they eat these fish. Seen 3 pictures of the fish. They keep and eat everything as they don't believe in conservation of fish or wild life. I have turned down fishing with them as their beliefs of catch and release of big fish are not to my tastes in more than one way.

[Jack Stasney]

Big D that's terrible to hear.

[Northlander]

E-mail me their names, what they drive and what type ice house they have and Ill keep a eye on them down there. As well as my DNR buddies that love under cover work.

As far as him having 6 walleyes over 30" out of the harbor this year I kind of doubt that.

[live4chrome]

ghsfhsdak disgusting...

[Surface Tension]

I'm all for taking one home for the wall and chances are that fish is too old to be a good spawnner. I just hope that our resources are never in that much jeopardy where doing so can't be done.

It is possible to legally take 6 eyes over 30" within a 2 week period.

At one time I may have done that but times do change and so does our thinking.

That transformation is something a lot of anglers go through.

Eventually the need to take the 30" eye home for a meal and show & tell isn't important.

If they're getting into nice eyes like that why not go along.

Take the camera along and compose good shots before slipping that 30" back down the hole.

That right there will catch on a lot better then preaching Selective Harvest. There might not be an instant transformation but you will have planted the seed.

[Jack Stasney]

Surface Tension I'd like to comment on your mention that these larger/older female walleyes are too old to spawn. I too believed this to be the case until last year when I went to a presentation done by the guy who runs the St. Louis Fish Hatchery. What he told us is that the older walleyes produce the same volume of eggs as a younger walleye, and that the hatch rate/success is the same. One difference he did point out was that eggs of older walleyes are bigger than the younger females eggs. They take a sample size 3 quarts I believe and a younger female might have 110,000 eggs and an older female would have about 90,000 eggs. On top of that these older/bigger eyes contain the DNA to reproduce another pig walleye. Something to think about, and is the reason why I never plan on taking a larger/older eye.

[Sherpa]

+1

[Surface Tension]

Well of coarse the big females caught in the traps are there to spawn but what about the ones that don't bother. Not that a 30" eye is not old but I'm talking BIGGER.

[Jack Stasney]

He was talking about those 30+ inch eyes as well from what I gathered. One other thing is that in the St. Louis River it takes 30 years or so for an eye to reach that size. So when there gone... there gone.

[reinhard1]

the bottom line is that all large fish species should be released. with replicas being available it is something to think about when choosing to put something on the wall. a person with a license can make that choice for that person has every right to keep anything they want as long as all regulations are followed. i certainly would not put anyone down for keeping a large fish.

while i love walleys, i also love the rest of the fish population. everyone has their own favorite fish. i realy dont, however all fish have their own special attration to me. some for tablefare, some for their beauty [brook trout], some for their attitude [pike,musky] and some for their fighting abilities [carp rank right in there with the "game fish"]. they are all important, and all should be respected. especialy the older one's who have outsmarted so many of us over time. good luck.

[Jack Stasney]

Guys I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. Do I hope I can influence people with facts... Yes, I love fishing! Sorry if it came across the wrong way. I've learned a lot about fishing on this site and I try to give back when I can. The reason I took this opportunity to bring this up is that it came first hand from somebody that actually collects the eggs and watches them hatch, so to me it's very credible. The more info people have the better decisions people can make, blah blah blah. As I mentioned earlier I too believed in a misconception. As far as I knew older/larger eyes didn't reproduce, and so keeping one or whatever wouldn't have the impact it actually was. Yeah it can make you feel stupid because of what you've believed your whole life, but now you know. Good Fishing Oh and Frank since you sharpened my Nils blade over a year+ ago it's as sharp and tuned as it's ever been, Thanks!

[reinhard1]

i thought your post's were interesting and i learned from them as well. i always thought of the larger females just not being able to take part in the spawning process for a long time. good luck.