27 Inch Walleye

[eelpout#1]

We were fishing Big Pine Tuesday night and when we got back to the access, one of the other fishermen from another boat comes walking up with a 27 Inch Walleye. He didn't catch it, he found it floating next to the access. The fish wasn't too stiff and the coloring was not that off. Who in their right mind kills a fish like that and doesn't use it? It's too big to fit into the slot and certainly too big to eat. You can make an arguement that it died after being released, but to float up to shore right at the access? Big Pine is a BIG lake and the odds of that happening are not good. Someone suggested that it was caught in the BOF tournament on saturday and that it died after being released. To me someone or some organization wasted a magnificent fish!!

[Cat Hunter]

This is a little off subject, hey eelpout do play playstation online?

[ChuckN]

I don't know what you are getting at eelpout, but to put blame on someone or an organization isn't right.

Odds not good? I've seen several dead fish (Muskies, walleyes, northerns, carp, suckers, bullheads, sunfish, crappie...) over the years on much larger lakes than Big Pine. Sometimes it's nature. Maybe a fisherman tried their best to release the fish. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

[Gissert]

That is too bad the fish died. No one likes to see that kind of thing.

Let's face it: what we do as fishermen does not happen in a vacuum. Sometimes a fish that looks good upon release does die shortly thereafter. This is more true as the weather gets warmer.

[Scoot]

If you saw the fish on Tues and it wasn't too far off in color or too stiff, then it didn't die during the BOF tourney. If it died during the BOF tourney, why would it be at the access? They didn't weigh or release fish at an access, it was done a long ways away from either access. Makes no sense.

Sucks to see nice fish dead like that for no reason, but please don't point fingers or make guesses as to who's responsible.

[thore]

my .02 if it wasn't off in color then it wasn't in a live well

[eelpout#1]

I didn't mean to imply that anyone or anything did this. I just thought that it was and is a waste of a magnificent fish. Sorry to stir things up so much.

[bigbucks]

I would think it's entirely possible it was hooked deep by someone & then broke the line part way in or whatever. There's really nothing to say it ever made it into a boat even. I understand what you're saying & it's a good reminder.

I found a fish one night last August near the landing on Miltona after a fishing league had just finished. It was a walleye around 21" if I remember correctly. It was still alive a little, but obviously not for long, so I just scooped it up, took it home & cleaned it with the one I had in the box, that was much smaller I might add. I have no idea if it looked healthy when they let it go or not, but I'd have to believe that fish had been measured at the league weigh in.

I agree it's good to release those bigger fish, but if they aren't going to make survive, you might as well eat them or clean them & give them to a friend. I had to keep one that was 24 or 25 last year after a pretty short fight & a mouth hook. She was done, I couldn't revive her, she pretty much started floating & she came from shallow water. Sometimes they die & that's just the way it is.