I agree with Mr. Cody on "never say never".. If a dozen survivors make that gap and survive all odds, those survivers will be more conditioned to the environment they were reared in. I can say in most conditions we have data on walleye above 4000ft elevation, they are not sexually mature until Y5. Doesn't mean they can't have an early female in year 4, but it's very rare. Males are generally sexually mature in Y2, it would be very, very rare to have a Y1 male with milt.
Our higher elevation I have data on (7830 & 6412)reveals a recruitment rate of about 78% less than 2 lakes at 2738 & 3150 All 4 of these are impoundments on the same river basin with very similar fertility. The growth rates are affected by many factors but I'll give you those in comparison. Year zero fall samples show an average of 146mm (about 5.75") on High alt res data. On the 2 lakes near 3000', Year zero fall nets show about 188mm ave, (just shy of 7.5").
1.5 yr olds show an ave of 201mm (Shy of 8") & 267mm (10.5"). about 30-40% of these Y2 walleye at 3000' lakes show up in spring nets on dam during spawn as fertile specimens, at around the 11' mark.
At the higher lakes, data shows an ave of Y2 Males being 241mm (9.5") with no record of spermatozoa present. In 2016 we had a 311mm (12.25") male full of milt. we filleted, took otolith and found it to be a 5y male which is mid-life at the higher elevation but near end of life at the 3000' range. Y3,4,5 males at 3000' range show an ave. of 342mm (13.5"), 394mm (15.5") and 436mm (just over 17").
Not sure any of this is helpful but if your pond/lake is at 10,000', I seriously doubt your growth rates would exceed those of the 2 lakes I listed. With that being said, I feel you'd have 4 years of fishing to safely cull/harvest/remove a good number of potential trouble makers. Some walleye in locations at lower levels/warmer climates, can produce walleye that are sexually mature in 2 years.
I would NEVER want to recommend a stocking that could cause later undesirable effects, so keep in mind this is test net data, not a hard factual rule. One fish I would look at that would potentially provide the same table fare and an increase in annual growth rate would be Saugeye. No recruitment would ever rear it's head with no walleye present. Female saugeye eggs are viable and can be fertilized by male walleye and "could" hatch. these fish revert back to parent stock very quickly, usually in 2 generations, but if no walleye are present, that is something you would never have to worry about.
Hope I didn't bore you to tears.
EDIT: I should also add the high elevation lakes are low recruitment situations, it's just not good percentage wise, for stockers or natural. i'm sure there are other factors in play that we are not aware of as well. I have zero data on Saugeye at altitude either, no idea how they would handle it.
Last edited by Snipe; 11/18/18 12:36 AM.
