BIG WALLEYES

[fishfearme]

For the second time in five months I caught a walleye over 28 inches that was a male. In Janurary I caught a 28 incher and Friday night I caught a 29 incher. Its hard to believe that both of these fish were males. I did wack both of them. Made chowder out of the 28 and BBQed the 29. They were both delicious. Has anyone else witnessed fish like these? How big can a male walleye get?
ffm

[Guest]

How do you determine if it is a male or female. I know it has to do with the holes but what do you look for? I would like to figure this one out.

[This message has been edited by Wall-i (edited 05-29-2001).]

[andy j]

No need to keep walleyes of this size for eating if you want to keep a big one for the wall thats one thing but eating trophy walleyes is way old school. Keep the smaller "EATER" sized walleyes. AJ

[da king]

BOY YOU MUST OF REALLY BEEN PROUD CUTTING UP A 28and29 INCH WALLEYE (the thought makes me sick)
hey i got a new idea i know this might come as a shock but maybe it might make a little sense how about bringing a camera (you know those new things that take pictures)and take a couple of snap shots AND THEN HERE COMES THE REAL KICKER maybe just maybe LET IT GO!!!
THEN TRY FOR SOME GOOD EATING SIZE WALLEYES
16-20 INCHERS

[fishfearme]

Hears an idea for all the critics. Maybe if I could catch fish in the slot I wouldn't keep them. If I could have kept all the 21 inchers I caught then maybe those would have went back. Anyway old male fish are probably like old men. On their way out with low sperm counts. Why not keep a big male? Oh maybe I forgot to mention that 2 of the trebles on the rapala were in the gills and the fish was bleeding. Are you still sick? What really make me sick is to see fish that are out of the slot being kept. I see the locals do it all the time. They catch a fish and right to the dock they head. Five minutes later they are back on the water. At least I don't cheat.
ffm

[This message has been edited by fishfearme (edited 05-30-2001).]

[Willy]

That is still really stupid to keep fish that size just to eat. If you're not going to mount them then throw em back. Let someone else or maybe yourself catch them in a couple years when they are 30 and 31 inches. That is just sick to keep walleyes like that. It's like kissing your sister.

[This message has been edited by Willy (edited 05-30-2001).]

[Guest]

Hey Fishfearme, those are females you are killing. Let the big ones go have eat a Big Mac instead. BTW, good for you for not cheating.

[Rick]

I think fishfearme is OK.

The slot is set to protect the lake. They're not great spawners and there are plenty more in the slot coming up to replace them on Mille Lacs.

Catch and Release as well as Selective Harvest is mandated on Mille Lacs for sportsfishermen.

This isn't the case on every lake, so I'm happy to hear the Catch and Release ethic is strong. We just need to keep in mind that Selective Harvest done wisely can also be effective as well as provide a great meal of fish.

Besides, most of us will toss those fish back anyway, keeping a healthy supply of large walleyes in Mille lacs.

I agree big walleyes aren't that great to eat, but that's just my opinion. They also retain more toxins than smaller fish and that's a fact.

So, let's give fishfearme a break here. I don't think we're going to run out of big walleyes on Mille Lacs anytime soon the way it is currently being monitored and managed. However, I could be wrong.

Take care and

GoodFishin : )
Rick Paquin

[Dave]

ffm wrote: "For the second time in five months I caught a walleye over 28 inches..."

Guys, calm down! In five months, ffm caught two walleyes this size. How many walleye this size have you caught (even within a month) and positively know it survived after release. Now, ffm stated a gill hook and bleeding facts. I think it was better to eat it than to probably waste it. I think some of you would give up your first born in order to save some walleye

[Hoovey]

Okay...now that the ethics have been debated, I would like to go back to and re-ask Wall-i's question. "How do you determine if it's a male or female?" And please don't tell me just lift up it's tail and take a look.

[huskminn]

Dave and Rick,

Nice to see cooler heads in here. Although I C&R 90% of the time, I have a hard time watching folks just rail on people because they keep a large fish.

What FFMe did was perfectly legal....and, if one likes to BBQ fish or make chowder, a 28"+ fish is better suited for that, anyway.

I personally am a fan of releasing big fish of all species, but I am not a fan of thrashing other law-abiding people for not sharing my opinion.

I'd much rather see you folks getting after all the anglers who have more than their possession limit in their freezer--an illegal but fairly accepted practice. I shudder to think how many Red Lake crappies might be in somebody's freezer, not to mention the "eater" walleyes you all advocate keeping.

Thanks for listening and Good Luck........

[fishfearme]

The 28 I caught in Januaury was obviously a male because it only weighed 5 1/2 to 6 pounds. A female that time of year should be fat with eggs. The one I caught last week was milking (sperm), so there was no question there. The proof is when you inspect the innerds. I do let 90% of the big ones go, but you have to decide if the fish will survive or not. I'm headed back up there now. Hopefully I can get some slotters.
ffm

[This message has been edited by fishfearme (edited 05-31-2001).]

[waterfowler]

FFM,
Looks like you'll have to release all those fish no matter how fowl hooked they are in the future. That's my only complaint about not keeping anything over 28. I would not personally, but if I gilled it or something then I would keep the fish and probably have it mounted. Now I have to throw that fish back to die. What a waste, but I guess you could say that about the 22" fish also.

[Dave]

I think the females are the fatter ones Just kiddin'

I'd like to know myself.

[Johnny B]

You all have excellent points here, however, Rick is the only person who mentioned one of the most important reasons for not keeping a large predatory fish: Larger, older fish retain more toxins than their smaller younger relatives. Unfortunately, we do have fish consumption restrictions in Minnesota. I personally do not always abide by these restrictions but I certainly will not feed my children bigger fish.

Hoovey, my brother in-law is an ichthyologist and am waiting for the correct answer on visually determining sex.