972k for the Bay

[ReelMasta]

So as of this evening the Division of Wildlfe reporting .28" wallyeye fry planted.
686,600 on 4/19
285,805 on 4/25

Just shy of 1m

Nice to see a return on the efforts to help out other waters.

+1 for the Willard Bay management team.
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[Flyfishinglover]

Looks like the fish in the lake are going to be fat soon [laugh]
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[HD7000]

I wonder how many will end up in wiper bellies? I agree that the Willard team does a great job maintaining such a great fishery considering the immense pressure she gets, but that would have been awesome if they were 4" walleye instead!
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[remo_5_0]

I reckon fishing will be slow for awhile since the fish will all be full.
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[wiperhunter2]

They claim that 1 to 7% survive when planted that small, no matter if they are wipers or walleye. It really depends on how much cover those small fish can find, until they are big enough, not to be eaten. The good thing is that right now all those weeds and other stick ups that grew the last few years on the South side of the lake are being covered by the raising water levels. I think we are near the high water mark that we saw last year and with all the rain and snow in the mountains we are getting, we will likely see another 4 to 5 feet on top of last years high water mark. Maybe we will get lucky and it will go another foot or two above that[].
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[HD7000]

I think the water is about a foot deeper than I saw all year last year! A few of my waypoints on my GPS were 14.2' last year at the highest point, those same spots are all over 15' already! Hopefully those fry can find some brush to hide out in...Some cover that isn't being ravaged by carp orgies right now!
Speaking of that, the carp are still going right? I need to get up there with some pitch forks and my bow!
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[TubeDude]

[quote remo_5_0]I reckon fishing will be slow for awhile since the fish will all be full.[/quote]

[#0000FF]Those newbie wallies will simply disappear into the ecology for a while. They are too small for most of the larger predators to even snort. Much larger danger of being eaten by shad while they are slurping up zooplankton.

The good news is that they will also be interspersed with and camoflaged by all the newly hatched young of the other species...shad, crappies, carp, wipers (planted), catfish, etc. And they will all grow at similar rates, at least for a while. By July all the new hatchlings will be prime edible size. After that, the shad and carp grow a lot bigger.

But, at this time the predators are all hungry. There are not any shad or carplets big enough to dine on yet so the hungry mouths are open for flies, lures and baits. Get 'em while you can.
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[remo_5_0]

Thanks For the info. Pat, looks like warm, stable weather next week, I think I'll go up Friday.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Maybe Thursday?
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[Littlebuck3333]

I'm betting it will fill they want to try out thre new 2 feet here's hopein
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[wiperhunter2]

That would be awesome if that happens, keep your fingers crossed.[]
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[fishinfool]

MAN! It would be so cool to see the wipers up against the rocks again, It was so much fun casting for them when the water was high.

Looking forward to a full willard.

fnf[cool]
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[gmwahl]

If it's true that 1-7% survive, that means 10,000-70,000 surviving. That is a BIG boost to the walleye fishery if you look at it that way.

I'm excited for it after seeing the recruitment info from last year's 500,000 fry that they planted.

Keep it up DWR! Your doing good!!

Mike
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[wiperhunter2]

[quote fishinfool]MAN! It would be so cool to see the wipers up against the rocks again, It was so much fun casting for them when the water was high.

Looking forward to a full willard.

fnf[cool][/quote]
I noticed yesterday that most of Willard's shore is against the rocks now. Just a small section in the corner of Freeway bay has any sandy shore and the SW corner will be the last area left in a week or so. Water is raising in the lake at a rate of a foot a week, so if the rainy conditions continue into May, we will likely see that last sandy shore gone before June[cool]
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[wiperhunter2]

[quote HD7000]I think the water is about a foot deeper than I saw all year last year! A few of my waypoints on my GPS were 14.2' last year at the highest point, those same spots are all over 15' already! Hopefully those fry can find some brush to hide out in...Some cover that isn't being ravaged by carp orgies right now!
Speaking of that, the carp are still going right? I need to get up there with some pitch forks and my bow![/quote]
I did not see any along the shore yesterday but did see a bunch jumping, 100 yds off shore. Water was pretty clear too.
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