Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations growth during winter of Walleye

I stocked 100 6 inch walleye in my pond in southwest MI. in late oct. I had 50 lbs of fatheads and continued to add perch (for next spring spawn) also. My question is two fold:
1. How much if any growth will I have over winter by the walleye
2. How much grothw by next oct?

Thanks,

Dave

I have read all the info just posted about fish growth but being the dummy I am...I am still hoping someone could give me a rough estimate of how big they think these 6 inch walleye will grow over the winter in sw michigan. they got a ton of fat heads to eat!

7"

Since you are in MI and winter water temps are basically 39F expect no noticable growth during ice cover. Young of year WE growth in southern MI ends around Oct 15-30 when water temps are around 60F. Most all the growth (body elongation) of walleye begins at around 60F in spring and ends about 60F in fall. WE best growth will be at temps between 68 and 77F. This often correlates to the agricultural growing season. YOY WE that appear on the average larger in early spring compared to those in the previous late fall are bigger primarily due to mortality and smaller ones getting cannibalized during winter. Thus the average size of all those collected seem to be larger.

Now in 2010 for second year WE in a pond setting with lots of small forage fish expect growth at the end of October to be 9"-10.5" long. Some may be 8" some 10.5. They grew excellent if some are 11" by the first full year in your pond. Expect the females to grow slightly faster than the males. The second year in your pond expect 12"-14" lengths. Keep some catch length records for your WE and come back here later and let us know how good my estimates for growth rates are.

Keep in mind that ewests data below are from Kansas waters which have a slightly longer growing season than MI. My experience is WE in ponds do not grow quite as fast as WE in larger waters. Not sure yet why this tends to happen.

Here you go Bill - but not from ponds.
From AFS

Latitudinal Comparisons of Walleye Growth in North America and Factors Influencing Growth of Walleyes in Kansas Reservoirs

Michael C. Quist and Christopher S. Guy Randall D. Schultz and James L. Stephen

We compared the growth of walleyes Stizostedion vitreum in Kansas to that of other populations throughout North America ....

Walleyes Stizostedion vitreum are one of the most popular sport fish in North America and form an integral component in aquatic food webs (Craig 2000). Numerous studies have described growth (i.e., length at age) of walleyes and have provided several generalizations regarding growth, mortality, and longevity throughout the species' distribution (Carlander 1997). Walleyes from northern latitudes generally exhibit slower growth, lower natural mortality, and increased longevity compared to southern populations (Colby and Nepszy 1981; Beverton 1987; Carlander 1997; Craig 2000). Although temperature and length of the growing season undoubtedly influence latitudinal trends in walleye growth, large-scale growth trends are often confounded with changes in fish assemblage structure and prey availability (Santucci and Wahl 1993). For example, most aquatic systems from southern latitudes have higher species diversity, thereby increasing the number of potential prey species for walleyes in midwestern and southern systems (Matthews 1998). Most of these systems also contain gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum, which are often selected by walleyes over other available prey species (Einfalt and Wahl 1997). The presence of gizzard shad coupled with long growing seasons leads to fast growth of walleyes, especially during the first year (Santucci and Wahl 1993; Carlander 1997).

Ewest - were those data from reading scales or otoliths? Back calculations from scales have proven many times not as accurate as otolith readings.

Bill those authors would not chance their reputations on faulty data as they know it is peer reviewed.

Total length (mm) was measured from all fish, and scales and otoliths were removed from five fish per 10-mm length-group. The number of years in which structures were collected for age and growth analysis varied from 2 to 7 years (Table 1). Scales were pressed onto 1.0-mm acetate slides and projected with a microfiche projector for age estimation. Otoliths were used to corroborate scale age and to estimate age when scales were difficult to read (<5% of the fish; Erickson 1983; Boxrucker 1986). The mean back-calculated length at age of walleyes in each reservoir and year was estimated with the Fraser–Lee method with an a-value of 55 mm (Carlander 1982), and the estimates were then weighted by the number of fish in each age-class to reduce the influence of older fish (DeVries and Frie 1996). Mean back-calculated lengths at age were summarized by reservoir (i.e., averaging over all years), and statewide means were estimated by averaging over all reservoirs. We also calculated the annual growth increment during the most recent year for each fish. Mean annual growth increments were estimated by calculating the mean increment for all fish in an age-class within each reservoir and year.

My best guess as to why walleye growth is slower in ponds than in larger reservoir or lakes is that walleye are able to find their preferred temperature range for a longer period of the year in a lake or reservoir. I think walleye are able to tolerate warmer pond temps but don't prefer them, this becomes less true as walleye get larger in size. This is why walleye in ponds rarely reach larger sizes, topping out in the 22"-24" range... Just my guess though.