Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Show off your catch Big Walleyes

as lassig says the walleye and yellow perch populations of western Lake Erie is monitored pretty closely using several methods by ODNR, MDNR, PA Fish Commission, New York, and Ontario. These agencies regulate their catches to meet quota and minimize risk of over-fishing. Together they have good estimates of fish numbers and year class strengths. As a group they meet and set harvest quotas.

The pictures of the walleye warms my heart. Back in the early 60's a group of us chartered two 35' boats out of Port Clinton. Ohio to go walleye fishing. We caught only five small walleye and that was in illegal Canadian water that the captains went into to try to get us some walleye.

"""“Back in the late 1950s, the walleye population became severely depressed due to degraded water quality,” he says. “Prior to that, there were extensive commercial fisheries throughout the lake—not just Ohio and Ontario, but New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania—that probably contributed to the decline of walleye.”"""

In later years when the Zebra Snail invaded Lake Erie, airlines pilots flying over the lake were commenting how the lake had cleared up from the previous pollution of the lake.

John,

I can remember back in high school when the lake was all but dead due to pollution. Then came the Cleanwater Act and we started cleaning things up in this country.

I would rather attribute the cleaner water to the zebra mussels than the Cleanwater act... dont get me wrong, the dumping into the lake needed to stop, but everyone up there comments how things changed drastically when the zebra mussels invaded.

Anyhow I really never have given Lake Erie much thought at all until this week and now I cant get it out of my mind... The lake is relatively shallow with most of it I believe just 15-25' deep. There are not just walleye, but fish absolutely everywhere... seemed like by watching the graph on the boat that there were schools of fish pretty much at all times.... The captain would recognize the schools of bait, rough fish, and the types of predators just by how they marked on the graph. (he could be making it up that he knew what they were for all I know, but regardless it was ALOT of fish)..

Also there were commercial fishing boats all over netting all kinds of fish. I dont believe the boats we were seeing netting fish were allowed to net walleyes though...

Nate,

I respectfully disagree.

Sure the water got clearer when the zebra mussels showed up but they zebras didn't show up until 1988, and the lake started to get cleaned up long before that. Back in 1969 the Cayahoga river in Cleveland was so toxic it caught on fire!

All storm drains were connected to city sewage treatment plants and when there was a heavy rain the treatment plants couldn't handle all the water. Therefore they just dumped raw domestic and industrial sewage right into the rivers in this country. The Clean Water act was needed and did a lot of good. Before the Clean Water act there was no teeth in environmental laws and industries dumped waste into our rivers with impunity. I know many want the federal government to butt out and I do too in some instances. But the Clean Water Act did a lot of good and still is.

You're too young but when I grew up in the 60's there were a lot of bad things going on with the environment. When I lived in Massachusetts there was a river that was so polluted by a paper mill you could tell the color of paper they were making that day by the color of the river.

That said we still have some issues with storm drains, farm fertilizers, and sediment making their way into Lake Erie in massive quantities after heavy rains. I can understand moderate amounts can actually benefit the fishery but there is way too much going in.

See Mr. Meyer we can respectfully disagree without it being personal. I'm sure Nate has no problem with my post. And I won't with is his rebuttal.

Cecil,

Me and Nate totally understood each other... Remember when he said "he would never think of keeping that many walleyes of size, but the captain said it just keeps them from the netters". To each their own..

Read through from the beginning and you'll see that you're the only one that needs to let go...

You may also have to reread this thread to understand what Cecil's last comment is all about.

He nailed it pretty good about the Clean Water Act and doubt Nate could offer a viable rebuttal on this. I kinda mess around with this stuff

To put it simply they both changed things. The clean water act cleaned up the water and made it an better environment on Lake Erie. Lake Erie is very fertile and with the fertility the walleye population exploded. But the visibility was never that much and a lot of walleyes where caught but drifting and casting. The best year class to date was 1988. The zebra mussels came in and changed the environment again. By filtering the water they reduced the fertility and made the water clearer. This changed the fishing but didn't clean the water. Now walleye are still caught drifting and casting but a lot of trolling is done with boards to get lines away from the boat. This is needed with the clearer water. In Lake Michigan the zebras mussels have filtered the water so much that there are days I can see 40' down, but that is a different story.

A bunch of us are hitting the same charter in June. Can't wait!!!

They actually both had a point since secchi disk readings are going through the roof on lakes with zebra mussels. Both had big impacts..

?

Read a little more about the abundant big walleye in western Lk Erie that were produced from the huge crop of the 2003 year class walleye hatch. Some of these fish were the basis of this particular thread.
http://www.bcsn.tv/news_article/show/379956

You'll just have to learn what the real deal is for yourself.

I don't understand anything you 3 are talking about, point wise?

BGkiller - they are bantering and knit-picking details which IMO amounts to verbal pelting. One-up-mansship and taunting comes to my mind.

That's pretty good Bill!! You'd prob get about 75 likes for that response if there was a like button.

Clue words: "and don't even get me started"

All is done and then hours later I'm called out..

Thanks for the private messages about the common element.

Simple case of not knowing the Erie practice... Thought my post was obviously clear.

Done

Know this is not a joke but I did get a chuckle.. hit the nail on the head...

Keyword: "private"........ I don't know what was in that PM, nor do I want to. Sharing the knowledge that such a communication even exist, is in my opinion, uncalled for.

Bingo Johnny..

No more chucking cat turds at one another in the sandbox or I'll take your Tonka toys away. Besides, those things are germ ridden and you could easily put an eye out. Please, share the bucket and shovel and I'll bring some Zingers and Lemonade out for you all. [do they still make Zingers?]

You're wanting to ADD MORE ZINGERS to this thread???

Envisioning a world devoid of raspberry-with-coconut-on-top Zingers makes me sad. I lived that nightmare once.......

Few observations:

1. Everyone knows lemonade served with anything sweet, like Zingers, tastes exceedingly tart and is far from refreshing. I'm disappointed no one called me on that - I'm obviously fraudulent.

2. I'm not certain if Zingers are still produced, but the chocolate ones in my opinion were second only to Hostess cupcakes. Dipped in milk, I found them irresistible, and likely the leading cause for my grade school wardrobe consisting of "husky" sized Garanimals.

The cupcakes are good, but if you have not had a Ding Dong, you have yet to have fully lived. Ho Hos are a close second. If it ain't cholocate, it ain't even in the running.
Hostess cakes

Apparently, they have made a comeback.