DWR Willard Bay Walleye Spawning

[TubeDude]

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b4fab...58-walleye

[#0000FF]The above is a link for anyone interested in helping DWR folks in the Willard Bay walleye spawning project...on the dates indicated. Below is an explanation from Drew Cushing:

[/#0000FF]
Hello everyone. The walleye spawning season is right around the corner and we need both sterile and fertile walleye for our management purposes. This will be our first full effort at collecting and spawning walleye. We had good success last year and are ready to put a full effort into this effort this year and as such we are asking for quite a few volunteers.

We will have camp trailers set up at the South Marina at Willard Bay and will set up our "Spawning Headquarters" at the North Marina. We will provide lunches for those individuals who are signed up to help spawn for that day. Breakfasts and dinners will be on your own. It would be most beneficial for scheduling purposes to have folks sign up for 3 consecutive day blocks. We will need both experienced fish squeezers and folks who only need strong backs.

Our goal is 500,000 diploid fry and 5 million triploid fry.

Please sign up on the Sign Up Genius below. If you have any questions or need any additional information please contact Chad Hill chadhill@[url "http://utah.gov"]utah.gov[/url] he will be organizing this effort for us this spring.

Thanks,

Drew
[signature]

[FatBiker]

Thanks, I signed up. I love doing this kind of stuff and what a great way to pay it forward and help make our fisheries better.

Larry
[signature]

[AllFish]

Tubedude, do you think this DWR walleye spawning operation is going to jack up some of the success of the snagging crowd??

I assume that the collection of the spawning eyes will take place right where the yearly horde of snaggers congregate.

Also, will the milked spawners be returned to the lake afterwards?

Thanks, AllFish
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]DWR will be maintaining a trailer at the parking area near the inlet. You gotta know that is gonna spook some of the happy harvesters. But DWR will also be working out of the north marina and doing some netting and egg collection there.

The aim is to acquire eggs and milt from spawning walleyes and to return the adults back to the water. However, there will be a few mature walleye taken for examination for health, growth rates, etc. That happens every year.

Most of us hate the idea of having hundreds (or more) of walleyes snagged and removed illegally. How much it really affects the overall walleye population is still not proven. What has been proven is that walleyes that spawn up in the inlet seldom produce viable eggs. They usually die in the silty bottom conditions. So the fish that DWR are able to spawn and produce healthy young...for future transplants...should theoretically more than offset the loss of the adult fish that are snagged.

But it still rankles my soul...and my pole.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]

[DKStroutfitter]

I have helped the DWR is the past when they were doing Gill Net Surveys.
Looks like this time I will not meet their qualifications. I'm not a trained squeezer and I have a bad back.

Helping the DWR with these projects are very rewarding and you learn a lot of valuable information.
I hope we see all the slots filled.
[signature]

[AllFish]

Tubedude, thanks for your enlightening response. Will the walleyes be netted just during the day by the DWR and volunteers?

What really rankles with the whole "Happy Harvester" deal is simply that these fish represent a large quantity of the larger walleye in the lake which could be legitimately taken by anglers using sporting methods.

Will the public be allowed to see the spawners removed for transport and spawning?

I would bet that many on here are curious as to how big some of these spawners are at the present time.

FWIW
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]As I recall, DWR operations will be conducted during daylight hours. And as long as nobody gets in the way or causes problems I am sure the public is welcome to observe.

Most anglers object to someone illegally removing large fish that they might have an opportunity to catch legally. Unfortunately, most of the larger walleyes are seldom caught by anglers. They develop migration and eating patterns that fall outside the range of when, where and with what the "average" angler will be fishing. But we fishing folks would rather see those bigger fish die a natural death that be impaled on a big treble hook and then be sold on the open market.

The fluctuating food supply (shad) and the nature of the Willard Bay ecology seems to reduce the upper limits of walleye growth. In BS times (before shad...and wipers), there were more fish over 20 inches than under that size. An average walleye then was about 6 or 7 pounds...24 to 27 inches. And 28 - 30 inch 8-10 pounders were not all that rare. But today it is uncommon to see any over about 4-5 pounds. Most of the fish are healthy but just don't get enough to eat year-round to attain maximum growth.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

One can only hope it will eliminate some of the snag fest.
[signature]

[fishgiver]

I was also interested but do not qualify for the same reasons. May go up to see it done.
[signature]