Why are they killing the small 'eyes?

[JBL]

I spent two days this weekend icefishing near Rattlesnake island on Lake Erie. I had all sorts of guys tell me how they had a "limit" of fish. When they showed me the fish I was shocked to see 12-14" fish commonly being kept by many, if not most of the guys out there. I fish for Smallmouth and Walleyes on Erie by boat, trailering from Vermilion to Presque Isle during any given year. Those fish are absolute midgets by Lake Erie standards. Put em back, let em grow up into a decent sized fish. How can you expect to catch 10 pounders when you slay every little fish that is caught?

Out of the 20 or so that we caught, we kept two. I suppose that I will be flamed for saying this, but I wouldn't take any Walleye out of Erie under 18" and you shouldn't either. The fun of fishing is catching fish, not hauling meat home. I can assure anyone that if you just want meat, it is much cheaper to just go to a restaurant or buy it at a store. The people running the charters won't say this to people because they are afraid someone won't like to hear it.

(hopping off the soapbox now)
Thank you for the forum to vent.

[walleyeguy]

You should read what you just wrote. The big fish are the ones that are your producers not them 12-14" fish. It sounds to me like your the one slaying fish if you don't keep a fish under 18". If you keep catching and eating all those big fish there soon wont be any left. My suggestion to you is pratice catch and release those big fish and if you want a meal eat the little ones. You don't have to go to the dock and show off all the big fish you catch your a bigger hero if you can tell people all the big ones you released and you kept some smaller ones for the fry pan.

[Amen]

There are also alot fewer of the 18" plus fish. Taking those out of a fishery has a more dramatic affect then the littler fish. It has proven time and again that if any fish should be taken it the littler ones. This is exactly why on lakes such as Mille Lacs, ect., the DNR has a slot limit of 14"-18" and one fish over 28".

[Minnesota]

A 12" walleye is pretty micronic. I can't see keeping any 12 inchers. To me, you keep maybe 2 that are 15" to 17" males for dinner and toss back the dinks and the females. That's kind of what you were saying. Right?

[Gabby_SD]

On Lake Oahe in SD they have made a 14 fish limit as long as they are 1 fish (over 18") 3 fish (over 15") and 10 fish (under 15"), this is to help the baitfish population

[JBL]

You are referring to selective harvest, and I agree with you. In my "unscientific" opinion, because Erie is such a prolific Walleye lake, the proper slot size for "eater" fish on Erie is about 18-22 inches. Which is about a 3-4# fish. I just don't believe that those tiny fish should be taken, and I assure you it has nothing to do with "showing off at the dock".

[Mattman]

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with any of these opinions, and I know nothing about Lake Erie but.... Every lake is different. What works in one may not work in another. In some lakes it may be best to harvest large fish because there are fewer of them and the smaller fish can more than make up for their loss in egg production. And in other lakes it can be just the opposite.

[buzzer IA]

Sorry guys, but I have to side with JBL on this one..We have the same problem here on the Mississippi-the bite slows down and guys start keeping "dinks" to fill out their limit..This has happened for several years here on the river and now we are missing some year classes totally..What you end up with is a few big fish and lots of really small fish and not the quality 16" to 20" fish that are really the preferred eaters..The mentality usually is, "Well I paid for my license and I'm taking home a limit no matter what size they are." This makes as much sense as taking home a limit of 5 to 7 pounders!!When you wipe out year classes of fish, it throws the fishery out of balance..What happens when a couple of year classes of shad or smelt are greatly reduced??The fishing suffers..What was it, Sakajwea or Ohae where they lost a bunch of smelt and suddedly the fish didn't attain the size that they had been, and the fishing went to he** in a handbasket!!
Keep in mind that selective harvest doesn't ALWAYS mean keeping the small ones to take home to eat..You have to look at the bigger picture, rather than what happens to suit YOUR opinion..
Hope that this adds another perspective..
Tight Lines,
buzzer

[River_eye]

JBL, although your intentions may be good, they aren't the right ones. The Walleyes 18"-24" are the ones that produce the most eggs. There are lots of small fish, so taking them doesn't hurt the ecosystem as much.

I don't mean to say that 12" fish are good to eat. The best ones are between 14"-18". There are a lot of them, but they still have enough meat on them to make it worthwhile.

River eye

[Hans]

Depends on where you fish, I know, but big walleyes don't taste very good. Best keepers are around 15-17 inches. Put the dinks and breeders back.

Hans

--
"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman,
trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb,
and getting licked in the process." -Paul O'Neil

[drew]

Hi,
Is paul o neil like a baseball player who has something against hunters and fishermen??? Or is that a friendly quote??

[Hans]

Just a friendly jab at our propensity to think we must "outwit" these dumb critters. Just trying to add a touch of humor to these "serious" deliberations.

Hans

--
> >Frisbeetarianism: The belief that when you die,
> >your soul goes up the on roof and gets stuck.

> What roof would this be? Does everyone get stuck on the same roof?
> Or do we get a roof of our own?

The Roof of the Universe. And in the Last Days, when the Great Frisbee
that shineth in the sky hath gone out, then shalt the Almighty Thrower
ascend the Ladder of Life and collect the souls of those who have flown
free, and take them The Eternal Park, where we shall sail upon the
Spring Breezes for ever and ever, and be Fetched by the Holy Dog. Amen.

[ezmarc]

JBL, I agree with you for the most part but I also understand why those small fish are kept. You sound like you trailer your boat and follow the bigger fish (as I do) around the lake and if you're like me you don't catch many fish under 18" all year long. The people catching and keeping those 12-14" fish are simply keeping what they catch because they don't get out that often. They are not breaking any laws so more power to them.

You should go to Port Clinton sometime in July and August and watch the head and charter boats come in with coolers full of 12-15 inchers heading to the fish cleaning houses. It amazes me sometimes that any fish grow up out there.

Hans, gotta disagree with you on the small ones tasting better, properly stored, cleaned, and filleted, the bigger they are the better they taste. You should have been at the WC get together in Huron. There were lots of big fish cooked there, and they were delicious.



Have boat will travel

[Wild Bill]

Hey JBL,ODOW will slow the babyslayers down on March first.Four fish limit for a while.MOST people will take home a limit if they can.Rules and regulations are put into effect to protect the fishery.I thought 10 fish limit was too high,anyway.HMM what do you suppose happens to those baby walleye when they swim into a canadian gill net?The gillnetters are who we need to slow down now.

[ETT]

You've got that a bit wrong. People running charters (boat or ice) want their customers to go home and tell their buddies they limited. When the majic "what size where they" question comes out, the answer is,"good eaters, you know 2 or 3 pounders and a couple of big ones". Pretty amazing isn't it that whose wheezers can weigh 2 or 3 pounds.
I think it's an ego thing. Guys have got to be able to say they limited. Maybe the reduced limit will encourage them to release the smaller fish and go after the 18" plus fish. And in reality a walleye must be 18" to be sexually mature and able to spawn. So to give 1 year to reproduce, we shouldn't keep them under 19 or 20".
There does seem to be a terrific number of 11 - 13" fish so keeping them probably won't hurt. Come on Spring!!

[cmb]

all good points!!
here is my 2 cents
there is a mentality with a lot of erie fishermen that you need to keep your catch, and if I were to pay hundreds of $ for a trip I would surely bring home supper. to the occasional"tourist"fisherman (a charter every year or two) the cooler of fish is the reward. eating your catch, even if small to our standards, is part of what they payed for. I go out about once every 2 weeks during the boat fishing season and will toss anything under 16" but will not/can not tell the "tourist fisherman" that he can't or shouldent keep the fish he is proud of and wants for supper. Our standards may be different, but we can't impose our standards on others. additionaly, if this were a substantial threat to the fishery, ODNR would reimpose length restrictions.

[curt quesnell]

nice job cmb.....thank you.

once everyone realizes that a person is only incharge of
him/her self...our wild board ballyhoos will go away...
help fellow anglers if you can, dont belittle their effort because it is different from yours.

it would be hard to compare erie to anywhere else..it is
so very different. so many big fish..

obey the rules....set a good example....

curt quesnell

[IaCraig]

I have to agree that properly cleaned (removing the dark meat from the skin side & maybe split again so it isn't too thick), a large Walleye tastes as good as small ones.

Now that said I do not make it a habit to keep healthly large walleyes, but if they are going to die anyway I do not put them back unless regulations mandate it.

But I do not keep healthy 12" walleyes either, If I want panfish to eat I catch perch.

My 2 cents.
IaCraig

[buzzer IA]

Thank You IaCraig