Kevin J Legg

Just got off the phone with Steve LaPan from Cape Vincent Fisheries Research. There have been some tagged and radio telemetry studies of walleyes and as big johnson said they appear to be wanderers. Some fish tagged in Cape Vincent in the fall were found in BOQ in the winter. As far as spawning goes they may be spawning on river shoals and certainly are spawning in some of the tribs. throughout river. He also said it was difficult to track them with transmitters since they are often in deep water and returns on tagged fish were minimal so there isn't a huge amount of data. Fortunately walleye populations in the river are presently quite good while bass, pike, Muskie, and perch numbers are low. He also said releasing the larger fish should help but the really large ones (12-14 lbs) may produce less viable eggs. He said to contact your political representatives if you have issues as it takes legislative action to make changes.

Good information

They have done a super job and I believe had a great impact on that section of the river and perhaps up river as well.

SLRWA website said they release fingerlings not fry. Huge difference in survival rate.

Interesting

Les, that is interesting. I constantly hear people saying they have seen wolves or have trail cam photos of wolves. I believe there is a great deal of hybridization and variation of the coyote/ wolf/ dogs that currently occupy NY state resulting in great variety in color and size.

I was wondering the same thing. Talking with some of the locals I know they use to be in LOTI in the spring. When I talked to a guy from DEC fisheries he wasn't sure where they were spawning. They certainly have the ability to migrate a fair distance as can be seen in Bay of Quinte and Erie fish but certainly could be spawning locally. Be nice to know for sure. I suggested to the guy at DEC that a group of us would be willing to tag our released river fish to try to monitor there movement but he didn't seem receptive to my suggestion.

SLR Walleye Association stocked 30-35,000 fingerlings this year! Sure would be interesting to know if our fish were coming up river from Ogdensburg area, down river from BRB, Chaumont, Quinte or are breeding somewhere locally.

We also need to be cautious about depending on government agencies to regulate our resources. If anyone is interested in a fascinating read on the history behind the many invasive species in our Great Lakes, I suggest you read Pandora's Locks. It documents the sad story of how the Seaway, Welland Canal, and Erie Canal contributed to one of the greatest man produced ecological disaster of all time. Sadly, there was data warning the agencies of the problems with ship's ballast that was ignored. I guess we are still blessed to have the fisheries that are available today.

Lots to think about and interesting dialogue. Wish there was some river walleye population data to examine.

I agree with.Justin. I never try to release those deep caught walleyes. Most of the ones I catch at night aren't real deep and can easily be released. That said, those that are released at least have a chance to survive but none kept have any chance. It's certainly a shame to waste a nice fish that will die.

June was good but it has slowed down now. Still haven't been skunked this year. Have to see what August brings.

The Bay of Quinte has a 4 fish limit. Only one can be over 25 inches or so. I believe that allows plenty for the table but protect some of the mature spawners. Perhaps a three fish limit with a slot limit ( perhaps 18-26" with one allowed over 26") I would like to see some data on the historic SLR walleye population but after talking to DEC fisheries I'm not sure they have much. It's better to error on the conservative side than try to react after the population has dwindled. Long term sustainability seems to be what we all support.

Was wondering if others think we should take measures to protect the great walleye fishery we have here on the river. I have seen the fishing pressure increase over the years and think perhaps a slot limit should be set similar to Canada. Any thought?