Lake Erie Report for 3-26

[WalleyeWiz11]

Fish out of Catawba this morning and caught 4 eyes.2 of the eyes went over 14 pounds.The biggest went 14.4 and the other went 14.1.These weights came from a certified scale at Butch and Dennys Bait Shop.The other 2 fish included a 8.5 and a 5.1.All 4 were caught trolling Reef Runners.
Capt`n Dwayne
PS.I posted pics in the photo section

[WWW]

What kind of reefrunner rip, deepdiver ? how fast

[JBL]

WOW, double 14's!!! Heck of a catch Dwayne!

We ended up with 9 fish today , biggest was 10.5# Gary (Blue Dolphin) pulled in a 12.5# fish among some other big hogs. Only one fish we caught appeared to have already dropped her eggs.

Here is a direct link to the pictures of the 14 pounders

http://www.walleyecentral.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=102685

[skeeterman]

Nice fish Dwayne. I will be out there in two weeks, starting to fish on the 13th. I'll be watchin' for ya.

[walleyeangler]

ttt

[B Thomas]

A disgrace?? Thats being a bit tough. Good job Walleyewiz.

[Blue dolphin]

Dwayne great fish 2 14s in one day is bragging rights for life. We ended up with 5 not bad for a half day lost one. Biggest was 12.5 then a 9.5 8 7.5 and a 3 all came on reef runners thanks to jeff and chad for all there help it was great to be out again never fished before my birthday which is Wed the 29 the weather in the afternoon was awesome.Hopefully this weather will hold for are club tourney on Sunday LEWT looks so far that were going to have a great turn out Great job Marc. See everyone soon Gary Zart Blue Dolphin 2

[DuckCrusher]

>I sure hoped you released those big fish. Unless you mounted
>them you are a disgrace(In my opinion) to a walleye
>fisherman!! Good catch though!! Sorry for the bad comments but
>someone has to take a stand pretty soon we will have no more
>big walleye to catch!! Why would you want to eat a 14lbr when
>you can eat a 2 lbr??


I hope he did with them whatever he wanted. Those fish are so old, they'll die of old age soon anyway. From what I understand, they have little value spawning as well due to very tough egg shells that repel fertilization , to some extent. Mount them or eat them....they are yours.

[Juls_OH]

You can feed a family of 4 with one 14 pounder, and when you double fillet the fillets, take out the blood line, and trim the dark stuff, they cook up the same as that two pounder. Yummy!

The chances of those two fish ever being caught again are astromomical in a lake the size of Erie, and they would probably die of old age first.

The eggs of that 2 pounder you want to eat are more viable than the eggs in that big female by the way.

Nice catch Dwayne! Call me when dinner's ready!

Juls
P.S. My commentary does not reflect my thoughts on this subject in regards to smaller inland lakes. On those bodies of water, I would suggest a catch and release stance, because the odds of someone else being able to enjoy catching those fish are a lot lower in that situation.

[gunrac]

NICE!! Thats got my blood pumpin. Great job guys.


NEVER APOLOGIZE....
AS IT SHOWS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS
HAWG ON, SEA YA

[2deep]

We were fishing the reefs yesterday. Four of us ended the day with 15 fish. Caught most of the fish north east of Locust Reef in 17 to 21 foot of water. Purple hair was the best color. Water temp was 39 degrees.

2deep

[C HUGHES]

Great looking fish . Screw all of the jealous talk . Same $hit different year .

[bob oh]

I agree C, guy should get some information before he pops off, makes him look really stupid!!
Great job dwayne

rod bender bob

[beatsworkin]

Nice fish, thanks for posting the pics. Can't get up there until the last week of April...save a few!! Thanks also for letting the better spawners swim.

[walleyeangler]

Juls,
I was refering to 2lb males. I guess I'm just sick of people catching 6-10lbs fish in general and keeping them to eat. Sorry I flew off the handle. Nice catch WIZ

[Thomas O]

Great job Dwayne,
Those will look great on the wall. Fish of a lifetime but we are talking about Lake Erie where just like Freebyrd says where one keeper walleye will feed a family of 4. In this instance I bet a family of 6 would be well fed. Again congrats.
Tom O

[K Gonefishin]

Congrats on the moster eye's. good job, hope to be out this weekend,

Well boys looks like trolling for 2006 has started, just freshly spooled everything this saturday.

[Amazed]

>>I sure hoped you released those big fish. Unless you
>mounted
>>them you are a disgrace(In my opinion) to a walleye
>>fisherman!! Good catch though!! Sorry for the bad comments
>but
>>someone has to take a stand pretty soon we will have no more
>>big walleye to catch!! Why would you want to eat a 14lbr
>when
>>you can eat a 2 lbr??
>
>
>I hope he did with them whatever he wanted. Those fish are so
>old, they'll die of old age soon anyway. From what I
>understand, they have little value spawning as well due to
>very tough egg shells that repel fertilization , to some
>extent. Mount them or eat them....they are yours.
>
You are right, they will never spawn again now. No chance. Why would anyone eat a 14lber? Now put it on the wall, for sure. I completely support that. If I get two over 14 when I come out, you can bet they are both going on the wall!! Great catch!

[perchjerker]

thats exactly right. The 14lber has been spawning all its life where as the 2 lber still had a whole lifetime to go. So when you that the young one, it wont have the chance to produce year after year like the old one already has. the point being the old one already has made its contribution where the young one never will get the chance to.

so dont feel bad about taking that old fish. Its already done its part to help sustain the population.

[CLM UNLOGGED]

Having never fished Erie, I can see walleyeangler's point. The guys I fish with and I never keep a walleye over 4lbs. It always upsets me when I see some guy bring a six or seven pound fish to the cleaning area. What a waste. Having said that, these are on smaller bodies of water where I believe it does negatively affect the fishery. Before slot limits were imposed on most waters, remember how rare a 9 or 10 lb fish was? In smaller communities it would actually make the paper. Now a fish like that is not that uncommon. Again, we are comparing apples to oranges, but I think that Walleyeangler makes a valid point on smaller bodies of water.

[Sauger Bob]

Hey a limits a limit. Eat what you catch. I don't care what anybody takes as long as they follow the law, and that includes possession limits. Who are we to argue with people taking legal fish. FRY EM UP!Hitting Erie for the first time in a few weeks and plenty of batter mix and peanut oil are going with.

[B Thomas]

Dwayne,
care to share depth you were fishing, leads and speed of troll? not asking you to share exact #s. If I can get my steering between the my kicker and main right I'll be out this weekend.




Thanks!

[gunrac]

I had read this some time ago an finally found it. I think a good many all ready know this, an hope to help educate those who don't. This thread is 3 years old. Limit's may not hold true today.

Just thought I would add some info to Fred's comments on sexual maturity in Lake Erie walleye as compared to walleye elsewhere and farther north of here.
With respect to Rick's comments regarding older walleye vs. younger walleye----the older, larger 'hog size walleye' may produce more eggs than younger fish. However, it's a well known fisheries science fact that as females grow older and bigger, the 'viability' of those eggs (ability to become fertilized, incubated and hatched) decreases significantly. The younger females, ages 4-7 and lengths of 18-24 inches (these are averages, and can vary), will produce the most 'viable' eggs.
In comparison, walleyes in far northen Ontario lakes are known to reach sexual maturity at age 7, and may only be 13-14 inches at that time, compared to age 4 and 17-18 inches in Lake Erie. Northen Ontario walleyes exhibiting the highest 'viability' of eggs range from 13-22 inches---with walleye over 22 inches significantly less viable than the younger, shorter females.
Why is this? In Lake Erie, due to our warmer waters and abundant food supply, our walleyes grow fast and die young. Colder waters and less abundance of food result in northen Ontario walleyes growing slow and dying old.
Currently, regulations in Northern Ontario for walleye allow a bag limit of 4. All 4 must be 16 inches and under, or 3 can be under 16 inches, with one being over 22 inches (this provides a big trophy walleye to be taken by outfitter/guide clientele). This protects their most viable spawners. Mixed emotions were raised among anglers when first imposed, yet the realization for a better fishery in the near future has now been accepted.
This may be a great management program for cold, northen Ontario lakes where food abundance is low, grow rates are slow, and both angling pressure and native Indian netting has impacts on the fishery.
However, you must remember that these northern cold water lakes are NOT comparable to the size and productivity we experience on Lake Erie.
Just thought you might like some additional info regarding walleye age/size/sexual maturity from a different region.
Hope this helps with your questions above.

Dave Kelch, District Specialist, Ohio Sea Grant College Program


NEVER APOLOGIZE....
AS IT SHOWS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS
HAWG ON, SEA YA

[HAWGBOY]

Eat those big girls, because in a few weeks half of those big girls will be floating on the surface along shore from stress and the gulls will eat the eyes out of them and die. Let the young females spawn for many years.

[rlf]

Not to ruin anyone's great catch. But if everyone remembers the tough summer and fall of last year, yes weather was afactor, but to continually take large females every spring and fall will eventually catch up to the lake. While Erie is a great lake that produces more large walleye than any other, tiem will take its toll.

As for "old age" of these fish. Many recent articles are being writthen that completely opposite of the comment. These older fish are surviving and spawning with great amounts of eggs being deposited. These fish have survived and are hardy mature fish capable of providing furutre stock.

Fiberglass reproductions and pictures will serve a memory for a long time. I still have a 33 1/4 " fish in memeory along with the day, people, captain involved. Pictures have lasted well and Ihope the fish is still swimming because we let her go. Caught Friday, April 01, 1994. The fiberglas is still doing well, also.

Again, that was a great catch and anyone that would have caught them is real proud. These comments are meant for everyone just to consider how many 10's, 12's, 14's have been caught so far this year and have not spawned (and will not spawn). What will that do for the future of the lake.

RLF\Wannago

[B Thomas]

Every year this debate comes along- all the haters that complain about Walleywiz's twins should get out and learn how to catch them and they wouldnt gripe. 1 14lb fish is a once in a lifetime for most let alone 2 in one day. No double standards, if you whine about keeping them full of eggs then let them go in the summer too.

Way to go Capt D

[Papascot]

Good job on the pigs guys. I remember my last 12 plus was last winter, Tasted pretty good:) You guys should really let all walleye go and just eat sturgeon and smallmouth bass:0 Serious rain on someone elses parade guys, these guys do not deserve a lecture for doing somthing legal, go to gillnet central and tell the canadians to let the big girls go when they get caught in the gill nets.

Scott

[swede unloged]

And the great eatum or throwum away debate rages on. Think about it, if you are lucky enough to hook one of those big birls, fight her, bring her to the net, and then turn her loose, do you realy think she is going to servive to spawn?----------Eat um boys, other wise your just throwing them away.----And if you don't agree with me, go aheat and jump up and down and call me names. I love it.--good fishing boys.

[Jiggywithit]

The one thing I have not heard you all discuss is what kind of levels of mercury and other toxins would be in a fish that size out of Erie. Those were some old fish. Most of the warnings I see are to limit yourself to one Erie walleye a month. I actually have access to a University Lab staff because of my wife’s job. I am going to take my catch there this year and see just how clean these fish are for eating. Should be interesting to find out.

I am of the school where you let those big ones go. If for nothing else but to allow another fisherman the same fun. I read the egg viability stuff and my understanding is that those big ones produce so many more eggs then 2 - 4 lbers that just those that do get fertilized is more then the small ones produce total.

As far as will they live after a fight I think also depends on how they are handled when caught. Keep um in the water except for maybe a quick Pic if you need and they stand a good chance of living.

I thought the comment about the Canadians taking so many in the gills nets we should take what ever we get was interesting. I think that is also another reason to return as many as possible to limit the damage they are doing to the Erie population.

I have had the pleasure of a 10 and 12+ over the last 8 years I have fished Erie. The 10 was full of spawn so not sure it really was a 10 but 12+ was empty and was a sweet catch. They both found their way back to the water. There is no jealousy here just personal philosophy.

Thats a lot of thinking for one note, its time for a beer.

Congrats on the catch. That is something that will not likely happen again. Hope you find them tasty. Go luck out there guys and be safe.

[cjb]

GREAT FISH!!!!!! I've been at it my whole life (well mabe 25 years of it) and have yet to get one over 30" I'll take one of those any day!

[capt hook]

I have put many 10# plus eyes in the livewell while chartering at night in northern Mi. The really big fish {ones over 13#} do not handle the stress of the fight very well. Some never right them selfs and are dead in min., even in the late fall/early winter with water temps in low 40's. Capt Hook PS nice catch

[fishbo]

Jiggywithit had the only smart comment concerning this debate. Why would anyone want to eat a fish that size, the level of mercury must be off the charts.I you decide to feed a family of 4 with a fish like that please dont give it to the children. The effects of those heavy metals is much wosre on them than adults.

[dt dan]

whiz. great catch and hopefully those will look good on the wall.there is one comment that gunrod made that may be untrue about erie walleyes dying at a young age.

Why is this? In Lake Erie, due to our warmer waters and abundant food supply, our walleyes grow fast and die young.

those 2 14 pounders probably are from the exceptional year class of 1986. there is lsee than 2 percent of these fish left in the lake but some of them are still alive. that means that they were 20 years old. i consider them old by any standards.as far as the gene pool ,large fish do have the "potential " to add large fish to the gene pool each spawn.taking those large spawning fish could potentially hurt the size of fish in later years. other than that they just take up more biomass space.so lets all be selective in our legal catches of the 60 million walleye said to reside in lake erie.the way i see it, we as sportsman have done a great job ,partnering with our resourse managers, to keep this fishery on track in the last 20 years. if we continue and limit the commercial take, we will have it for generations to come.thanks for sharing the pics and i only wish it was me.

[gunrac]

dt dan; I just did a copy an paste on what I believe to be knowledgeable info. I felt this was related to this subject after the bit's of slamming against a couple fellas that had a great day on the lake. The fella that wrote this thread {Dave Kelch, District Specialist, Ohio Sea Grant College Program} has a bit more insight on the subject then me. If you would like to tell him he is doesn't know what he's talking about, you can go here an do so.
http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/

P.S. The next time your NOT SURE if I'm telling the TRUTH or NOT, at least get my user name right.

NEVER APOLOGIZE....
AS IT SHOWS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS
HAWG ON, SEA YA

[Amazed]

>Great looking fish . Screw all of the jealous talk . Same
>$hit different year .

You are right, I'm very jealous. :-)

Great points made by many here. My question above was why would anyone eat a fish that is 20 years old? I would hope not, simply just for your health's sake.

I kept a "small" fish, by Erie standards, last year to put on the wall. She was a 29.5" beauty. I've never killed a fish that big before, and feel pretty guilty about it every time I show her off.

So, assuming half what you hear is true. If I catch a fish in the 32" range, I just as well keep it and mount it. It's likely gonna die anyway from the stress of the fight?

I won't eat a fish that big, simply cuz I won't subject my family to the toxins. I think for me personally, I will let the fish go, there is NO chance of her surviving at the taxidermist. ;-)

One other suggestion, I keep a set of ice fishing depth bombs in the boat for helping the fish "right" themselves in the live well after a stressfull catch. Clip one on each fin behind the gills, pump a bunch of water and them. I don't have any scientific data to backup my theory, but I watch the alot of fish swim away.

Great fish izz, I only hope I can get 2 over 10, let alone 14!!!! Save a few for later in April for us!

[dt dan]

gunrac ,sorry bout the name thing.

the info i gave was not meant to incite.just a little added info to make the decision whether to keep trophies a bit harder. i have kept and eaten many fish in the 9-10 pound range. they taste great when cooked in the fryer.i just wanted people to know that these fish do live long lives in lake erie. and yes i did know that you pasted the page ,but when you use others words ,you probably believe they are true.i just felt the need to correct that statement.its a matter of semantics.how old is old? do we really need to limit the numbers of large old fish taken and removed from the system every year. i don't know, i'm just a stupid old fisherman. great catch and nice pics.

[ezmarc]

Another take on fish advisories.

http://www.fishscam.com/mercuryCalculator.cfm

This is a pretty good read with lots of alternative info on it. check out the rest of the site.

[Tom (mich)]

Couple of points:

1. If I'm not mistaken, the author of the original post is a licensed guide. If that's the case, his clients made the decision to keep the fish, not him. Any of the accusations and name calling against him are misdirected.

2. Why are most assuming they ate the fish? How many of us that frequent this board wouldn't mount a 14 pound fish?

[ezmarc]

I once had a 15+ and a 14.5 caught on my boat on the same night. My partner that night brought in the 15 and I brought in the 14.5. The 15 was mounted & the 14.5 eaten by another friend of mine who doesn't get to fish often. I also caught a 14.5 several years ago north of Cleveland that I released. That fish was a summer fish with no eggs and quite literrally was just too darned pretty to eat or mount (in my opinion).

Keeping or releasing fish is a choice that should be either made by the angler catching the fish or by state laws of slot limits. It shouldn't be because some Joe Blow thinks it's the wrong or right thing to do . I personally think taking 7 2pound fish out of the system is much more possibly damaging than taking out 1 14 pounder, but that's just me.

It really comes down to weather and all those billions of eggs laid don't mean squat without the right weather conditions after they hatch if they even hatch at all.

Good catch Dwayne. Did you have a fish finder with you this time? You've got a low number in the tourney this weekend. If you drive slow enough you can drive a bunch of guys crazy!

[BROWNINGB80]

Nice catch guy's. Why is it that more times than not a good fishing report turns into a you should have kept the fish or released the fish. I would certainly be more interested in a more detailed report so we can all improve our knowledge base.

Good fishing we'll be on the lake April the 8th.

[gunrac]

>there is one comment that gunrod made that may be untrue about erie walleyes dying at a young age.

>Why is this? In Lake Erie, due to our warmer waters and abundant food supply, our walleyes grow fast and die young.


>and yes i did know that you pasted the page ,but when you use others words ,you probably believe they are true.

>i just felt the need to correct that statement. >its a matter of semantics. >how old is old?

After rereading several time's I understand where one would be skeptical of the phrase. I too am now interested in knowing what is old. A good question for the sea-grant fella's. Curious to know how old those 14+lb. fish really are. You can read the whole topic I got the thread from.
http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/index.php?topic=74.0
My shorts must have been a little tight yesterday. I did come down a bit hard on that last thread. Hope I didn't offend anyone with it.


NEVER APOLOGIZE....
AS IT SHOWS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS
HAWG ON, SEA YA

[Hawk Eye]

The current Walleye Insider has an interesting article by Doug Stange on catch and release on Lake Erie specifically. It addresses the issue of keeping big fish. I sure have kept my share of walleyes over time, but I am more into catch and release these days. Check out the article in Walleye Insider.

[DuckCrusher]

You mean old men should be using barbless hooks while you are at it too. And while I'm thinking of it...no nets....release the fish while still in the water. Furthermore...no peeing in the lake....

[swede sd unloged]

Browning-----Is that B80 in a 12ga or 20ga?----I would like to find one in a 20ga for my grand daughter.---Oh ya, I'll be on the lake the week of the 8th also. Hope the water warms up a bit.--Good fishing to you.

[Silvercoot]

I met a DNR biologist at the ramp last year and he suggested that walleye over ten pounds are the most ferocious predators in the lake. They eat more walleye fry than they could ever hatch. Take all the big fish you want. Leave the little females that are full of spawn.

[BROWNINGB80]

I have 3 12's and 1 20 great guns. Good luck on the big lake. We'll be there for two weeks arriving on the 8th give us holler (BrownginB80) is the handle.

[Taildancer]

What everyone is missing is that those fish are only 4lbs. each....rember the camara adds 10lbs.:7 Seriously though great catch I would keep those as well. It makes the 2 10lb and 2 12lb fish we have caught so far look like dinks.

[jimmy s]

I would not worry so much about the regular Erie angler as much as I would...

http://www.midwestseafood.com/products/walleye.html