river walleyes (winter)

[riverrat214]

just wondering how you all did on the river this winter. my self i caught 23 walleyes=71.26lbs

[decoy]

My question is... did you keep all of those? Just wondering, I don't want to sound judgemental. There are times when I can't wait to put some in the pail myself.
I caught approximately 30 walleyes on the old river this year. I kept two limits over the course of the winter. I also released one 7# 26.5 inch, 8# 27 inch, One 6# 25 inch. Fat spawners! Got some nice pictures! I also watched and heard about other large fish that were caught and released. We have a great resource here in town!

Let's harvest responsibly. I want my kids to be able to catch some.

One question for everyone... What do you think the harvest mentality is here in town. I don't want to stereotype, but it seems that a lot of the old timers here think they have to keep everything that comes through the hole.

I was talking to one old guy this year in Feb. who said," yeah I caught a nice walleye back in January, want to see it?"
I was shocked! He had it right there in the back of the truck!

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

Decoy

[Lip RIPPER!]

I think the harvest mentality in town is not real good. I only know of a few guys who ever put walleyes back to swim another day. As far as crappies go, there are tons of people who haul out buckets full of crappies every chance they get. If you want to eat some, I think that is great but there are some people who think they have to feed every other mouth in town too. I'd like to see them haul out buckets of sheephead myself.

[CANOPY SAM]

NICE FISH FELLAS. FROM ABOVE THE DAM OR BELOW?
YOU KNOW, CATCH & RELEASE IS SOMETHING THAT'S HARD TO LEARN IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN DOIN' IT SINCE IT'S INCEPTION. THE WHOLE IDEA OF CATCH AND RELEASE DIDN'T EVEN GET STARTED UNTIL THE EARLY EIGHTIES. THAT'S ONLY TWENTY YEARS AGO.
I THINK MOST FISHERMAN TODAY ARE ON BOARD WITH CATCH AND RELEASE. IN FACT I'M REALLY BLOWN AWAY BY THE SHEER NUMBER OF ANGLERS I SEE THAT THROW FISH BACK. IT'S REALLY GREAT!
THERE'S NOTHIN' WRONG WITH KEEPIN' A FEW FISH NOW AND AGAIN THOUGH. I'M HEADED TO THE RAINY IN A WEEK OR TWO AND I COUNT ON BRINGIN' HOME 2 EYE'S, AND 3 PIKE - ALL WITHIN' THE RESPECTIVE SLOT LIMIT. MY WIFE AND I, AND ALL THREE OF OUR KIDS LOVE EATIN' FISH, SO I FIGURE I MIGHT GET 2 MEALS OUTTA THOSE FISH. THAT'S PRETTY MEAGER PICKINS' FOR THE MONEY I'M GONNA DROP TO CATCH EM'.
ANOTHER THING, AND IT'S JUST MY OPINION OF COURSE, BUT I'M NOT COMPLETELY SOLD THAT THE DNR'S STATISTICS ARE ALL THAT PRECISE. I'D BE WILLIN' TO BET THERE'S A HECK OF LOT MORE FISH SWIMMIN' AROUND OUT THERE THAN YOU AND I REALLY KNOW ABOUT. NOT THAT WE SHOULDN'T PROTECT OUR RESOURCES, BUT AS LONG AS WE'RE NOT REAL FISH PIGS, I'LL BET OUR FISHERIES WILL FAIR JUST FINE UNDER NORMAL RECREATIONAL FISHING PRESSURE. IT'S THE POLLUTION IN OUR LAKES AND RIVERS THAT I'M MUCH MORE CONCERNED ABOUT....JUST MY TWO CENTS WORTH...

[riverrat214]

no i did not, i kept mayby 12-15 fish,i have a faily big family 6 kids.i did release a 5.50,4.75, 4.25, 7.50, 7.1 mayby my kids will catch them in the future, mayby a wall mounter by then.

[Guest]

I fish the river with a couple of friends. We have a unwritten rule that anything over 19 inches goes back. There are days when we haven't been able to keep anything, and we've caught a lot of fish on those days. My opinion is that the only thing those fish are good for is a good fight, a picture, and spawning. Just my thought. Good luck to all and have fun.

[Guest]

I pulled about 15-20 walleyes through the ice this winter in town. Most (>10) were heavier than 2 lbs. I think I kept 2 for supper one night. Like some of you have said, I've seen some of the older crowd keep anything and everything they catch, regardless of size. I don't think this is a real bad thing with the little northerns that seem to be overpopulated in the river, but with our walleyes and crappies, I think it is a bad thing. If we want our kids and grandkids to be able to have the same kind of fishing we've had the good fortune to experience in this river, we've got to take care of it. I only keep about 3 meals worth of walleyes/crappies each year out of the river. If I want more, I go elsewhere.