Smaller Walleye in Lake Erie

[Utes]

 I've noticed in the years i've been fishing Lake Erie that I don't get many EYE'S under the 18 in. mark. We usually do o.k. and usually only keep the good eaters( 18-23in.) and throw back a lot of larger one's ( breed baby breed ) but the absence of smaller fish being caught by my buddies and I have got us thinking bad thoughts. Like , are the Walleye's reproducing successfully in Lake Erie? I hope so, and would like to hear what everyone else has to say on this subject matter. 

[emptyhanded]

utes,

You are doing good then -- we have been picking up alot of smaller walleyes later at night -- They are defiantly there, but I think the larger fish are feeding more agressively early -between 9:45-midnight -- my guess. We got alot of smallers ones last night -- a mixed bag. Fishing in the general area you are

[Hijinks]

UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Oneida Hero]

Was bac on Erie about 2 weeks ago and fished the Seneca Shoal and also drove down to Evengola for the 2ndpart of the nite fishin. Luanched near the Cattarugus.

Did well trolling renowskis and rapalas. Biggest eye was 10 pounds. total got 13 in 2 nites.

back to chatacqua tonite though.

[wnybassman]

I was starting to think bad thoughts about the smallmouth size on Erie up until this year.  The last two years in tournamnets we have seen absurd weights bought in. The "cookie cutter" 4.7's to 4.9's were absolutely driving us crazy because we caught so many, along with many over 5 and an occasional 6+ pounder.  But with all those big fish, we saw very few smaller fish (3 pounds and under) on the ends of our lines.  This year is a different story.  Anglers in general are catching smaller fish.  I have caught more bass under 3 pounds in the last 3 weeks that I have the last three years combined.  Not so good from a tournament point of view, but very good to see none the less.  I am still trying to piece together why it is different this year.

[Oneida Hero]

lampreys

[Oneida Hero]

came bak from long point yesterday to fish erie again. got word that off angola beach park thiers some good action. trolled in a 14 ft aluminim for 4 hours(9pm - 1am) and caughts 8 eyes. bout 3/4 mile off shore. gps cowerdinats right on trak.

Jason

[waterdawg14622]

Lampreys predominately prey upon fish with smooth scales like trout and salmon.  In all my years of fishing, I have never caught a warmwater species with an eel attached or even a mark.  I'm not saying its not possible, but its more difficult for a lamprey to attach itself to a fish with coarse scales.  They need a smooth surface to securely attach to before they can start "drilling" a hole with its tongue.

[Oneida Hero]

seen the lampreys in feeder creeks to erie along welland canal and near barcelona. squimy lil guys.
seen a washed up eye with a hole in it's side this spring. lemprey got him good.

[capt hookem]

just a little info for you guys keeping those 18 to 24 inch fish and throwing back the big ones.. the best age for walleye breeders is 3 to 4 years old or about 17 to 20 inches although them big fish have alot more eggs the rate of hatching greatly declines as the fish gets old If you want to have more walleye in lake erie start keepiing them monsters and releasing the smaller ones here is some info from sea grant   According to the ODNR, Div of Wildlife report cited earlier, in 2001 walleyes caught averaged the following lengths lakewide:
1+year old walleyes caught=10 1/2"
2+year old walleyes caught=14 1/4"
3+year old walleyes caught=17 1/4"
4+year old walleyes caught=18 7/8"
5+year old walleyes caught=20 1/4"
6+year old walleyes caught=21 1/4"
7+year old walleyes caught=22 3/4"
8+year old walleyes caught=24 1/4"
9+year old walleyes caught=26 1/4"
10+year old walleyes caught=27 1/2"
Division of Wildlife studies have shown consistently that most female Lake Erie walleye reach sexual maturity at age four; most of the males are ripe at two or three years old. Of course, a few fish always vary from the norm; age at maturity can be affected by things like food availability and growth rate. In a few certain years the females have all been mature by age three.

A widely acknowledged principle in fishery science is that while long-lived fish species may produce more eggs as they get older and larger, the percentage of those eggs that are viable (capable of being fertilized and incubating into normal fry) drops off significantly. That's why hatcheries tend to rotate broodstock on a regular basis, replacing older females with youger ones.  These same finding hold true with most all species of fish so dont feel guilty about chowin down on a few lunkers your actually doing good for the fishery just make sure you trim the fat and skin or you might grow an extra toe or something   aarrrr