Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose would walleye spawn in a 20 acre 25 acre lake

would walleye spawn in a 20 acre-25acre lake cold water gravel bottom
i am planning/thinking on making a lake this size

I'm no expert at WE reproduction, but I should say the size would allow it, provided the preferred substrate is available [rock, gravel, etc.] Experts will be along shortly...

WE generally spawn in rivers. MDNR collects WE when they cruise up the Muskegon River in spring to spawn. I am pretty close to that location, but it takes a research permit and other legal stuff to do this.

Here is some info on WE culture: Walleye Culture Manual

Pretty good read. It covers a number of flavors, and may just give you some ideas.

Maybe Bill Cody would know if the London Strain (domesticated) is available, or whats up with that!

Messing around with WE is pretty high on my bucket list

We did document natural reproduction by walleyes in a 10 acre gravel pit here in eastern SD. The numbers of age-0 walleyes were low, and I don't know that it would have sustained much of a long-term harvest from that population. However, they definitely spawned and survived to their first fall (about 6-8 inches long). Having said that, walleye reproduction in small waters is pretty rare. However, we've learned on the PB Forum to never say never! :-)

I have examples of natural limited recruitment of WE in ponds as small as 0.7 and 1.0 ac. It can happen but it is rare, undependable, and not an annual occurrence. WE will usually spawn naturally in most waters but the hatching of eggs and survial of fry are usually what are not successful. Hatching of the eggs is the first big hurdle due to eggs lying in cold water for a relatively long period before they hatch and don't first suffocate from siltation or low DO as the eggs lie in close association to anoxic bottom areas of often organic laden /covered bottoms. Pond and lake bottoms especially those condusive to walleye spawning (rocky) often have zones of high BOD for one reason or another. Lakes that have good WE recruitment have low BOD in the rocky zones. Usually the few fry that might emerge from eggs then have to survive predation from every thing from shiner, BG, YP, crappie, small CC or last year's bass. A daunting challenge indeed. So daunting that both rarely happen together even in many larger water bodies which is why states are regularly supplimentally stocking WE into "WE lakes". In the best of conditions, it is said that 1 egg in 10,000 will survive to the first year. IMO in regular ponds and lakes the survial rate is more like 1 in 1 million will survive to the first year which is likely to be 4"-7" long. Those fish are still very vulnerable to predation even from small 8"-12" bass, YP, or other walleye.

The natural recruitment in the pond examples above were with just WE as the main predator. No bass. WE stay very slender bodied and relatively vulnerable to other larger predators including other WE for the first 2 sometimes for males 3 yrs of life until they are at least 8"-10" long. Have you ever seen the cross section or body diameter of an 7"-8" WE? It's not much larger than a thick pencil or thin cigar.

As a note I initially was of the same mind set of how to get WE to reproduce some new fish in a pond. In my now experienced opinion, it is much better to not have WE spawning in your BOW. Imagine what it would be like to have an overpopulation of WE similar to LMB, BCP, YP, pike or other successful predator - now one has food chain problems. Non spawning WE are actually better because the manager has good control of the pedator numbers. Too many - you remove some, too few - you add some. Good management and quality fisheries are about good control of fish numbers and a non-reproducing predator gives you that control, option or advantage. Supplimental stocker size WE of 6"-10" are not that expensive for periodic restocking. If one cannot afford that expense from the value and benefits (fish quality & management benefits) they receive of stocker sized WE, they should probably look into using a different predator - IMO.

Commentary - Quality fish definately have value, and I think many people especially non-pondowners have too low of an opinion of what a quality sized fish is worth and the enjoyment that it can provide. Sometimes the memories are priceless.

Good post Bill!

Any dope on the London, OH strain WE that emerged and were 10 years domesticated about 10 years ago? (20 years now)

The broodstock would cost a small fortune by now!

I think it was CecilB1 that told me or maybe someone at OH Aquaculture that those pellet trained London WE were dumped, probably in one of the OH reservoirs. Administration decided they learned all that was needed, funding for it ended, and as usual government wasted the resource rather than privatizing it and be accused of favoritism. Sound familiar?

Yes it was me but I'm not so sure they even planted them. They may have destroyed them.

Wow... What a waste indeed!

Bummer man! I was hoping they were going to market these fish. I suppose documentation is unavailable also?

Jim Held, University of WI has some good info on feed training WE. Just google "feed trained walleye". The example of his rig is quite inexpensive to set up.

And it can definitely be done as there was a supplier in Iowa that was selling several thousand feed trained walleye that were feed trained in an RAS several years ago.

I question how well they would stay on pellets in a pond if there is natural feed and the fact that they hang close to the bottom...

My opinion, and it may be wrong, But I think WE would revert back to natural, without being domesticated for a number of years. Too bad London blew it!

I am game to at least try the feed training of WE this coming spring. I should be able to source the fry from MI.

Can walleye survive and breed in an 8 acre spring-fed pond in Nebraska?

WE will spawning in an 8 ac NE pond but eggs will not likely hatch and if they do you other fish will eat the fry and fingerlings so none recruit. The shad will consume a lot of the WE fry that inhabit open water until fry are 1"-2" long. Other fish will target the slender bodied YOY walleye as the move inshore.

how can we protect the walleye fry?

I don't think it'll be possible..

If we have a creek that flows into our pond will walleye reproduction improve?

I wouldn't count on the creek ocntributing enough to the spawn to make having WE in the pond self-sustaining.