Collapse of a once great Walleye fishery...

[tiogaguy]

Quote

 

These guys are filling bags with 5lb plus average fish.  Those are St Lawrence and Lake Erie numbers which are World Class smallmouth fisheries.  If you think that gobies are bad for bass fishing I really don’t know what to tell you.

 

I can’t speak to sunfish but gobies have turned our bass and walleye fisheries in NY into destinations.

 

  Size is not an indication overall numbers. The south shore of Lake Ontario has never recovered its population from the 80s and 90s. That is directly related to the gobies. Also, the Smallmouth are still spawning in Cayuga, LO and SLR in June/early July. Many of these "big bags" are bedding fish! Including the big one caught in Cayuga a couple years ago. There are tons of recent studies on the impact of removing fish from beds, even temporarily during C&R tournements. 

 

Edited April 19 by tiogaguy

[bulletbob]

8 hours ago, tiogaguy said:

  Size is not an indication overall numbers. The south shore of Lake Ontario has never recovered its population from the 80s and 90s. That is directly related to the gobies. Also, the Smallmouth are still spawning in Cayuga, LO and SLR in June/early July. Many of these "big bags" are bedding fish! Including the big one caught in Cayuga a couple years ago. There are tons of recent studies on the impact of removing fish from beds, even temporarily during C&R tournements. 

 

 correct.. Look I'm not an expert, but I am not a sub moron either.. I realize   along with most other members here that the gobies are being eaten by Bass, and that makes for BIG fat bass.. I also realize that Gobies are intense and relentless in their nest raids on ALL fish.. There are articles about how the Muskies in the SLR are being decimated by Gobies because they don't protect their nests.. Lots of videos out there of SMB trying  hard  to defend their nests against gobies but can't.. They chase one and 3 others   fly in, grab some eggs and fly back out just as fast. and the bass simply can't keep it up... I talk to old time SLR anglers that say yes, the bass are bigger than ever, but there are a lot  less of them than ever before as well, which has been my experience fishing the southern and mid sections of cayuga.. Spots where i could catch 100-150 mixed species in a half  day[SMB, Rock Bass,   big Bluegills, Pumpkinseeds, Perch, along with an occasional Bullhead,  Pickerel, Pike,Sucker, Carp, LMB are now devoid of any and all life except for gobies.. Yes, you'll catch a fish here and there, but the numbers are down by 90% in rocky areas.. From what they tell me, the Gobies are not as much of an issue in weedy water with muck bottoms, such as the areas around the main channel at the north end of cayuga.. However, in MOST of Cayuga Lake  I have noticed a drastic drop off in numbers of most fish except for Salmonids which as we know are stocked for the most part, and don't have to deal with nest raiders... anyway, this did get off topic, and I meant to **** about the lack of walleyes in the susquehanna , not the lack of fish in Cayuga and SLR....  In any case,thanks to all for a really well  balanced discussion!

[justtracytrolling]

I fish nearly everyday all winter throughout 4 to 5 rivers in the southern tier，and walleye fish well over 2000 hours a season.  The susquehanna watershed and has definitely declined for walleye but i still get 20 fish nights occaisionally and a couple dozen fish in the 28 to 31 inch range.  I find myself fishing different places than i used to and its nowhere near as easy in most cases but i wouldnt say it has collapsed.    I seldom keep any of them these days because id rather know for sure i didnt wipe em out.  Fish evolve on a daily basis but anglers dont.....catch rates arent necessarily indicative of the population of a given species.  

 

[BSmaster]

To clarify: They still stock the Army Corp lakes in PA with walleye fingerlings.  Some of these do end up in the Chemung water shed.

 

 

 

[bulletbob]

On 8/19/2024 at 10:20 PM, justtracytrolling said:

I fish nearly everyday all winter throughout 4 to 5 rivers in the southern tier，and walleye fish well over 2000 hours a season.  The susquehanna watershed and has definitely declined for walleye but i still get 20 fish nights occaisionally and a couple dozen fish in the 28 to 31 inch range.  I find myself fishing different places than i used to and its nowhere near as easy in most cases but i wouldnt say it has collapsed.    I seldom keep any of them these days because id rather know for sure i didnt wipe em out.  Fish evolve on a daily basis but anglers dont.....catch rates arent necessarily indicative of the population of a given species.  

 

 I won't argue with your opinion.. However, when fish populations collapse, there are always pockets  where there might be some local populations..  The cod population was considered " commercially extinct" yet there still guys that knew where to catch them... The  population of walleyes in the sections of the river I fish, has been decimated. They are not extinct of course, but like yourself, I have fished this river for 33 years..The DEC has told me the population was in bad shape, and they didn't know why. nor really seemed to care..  Fishermen from Owego south to the PA state line are non existent these days, where it was once a vibrant sport fishery..The fact the you  personally still catch some big walleye is nice and all, but the locals in "my" section of the river know the score as well.. There are  a few really good walleyes left, and the  few I have caught past few years were big as well.. however, there are no small ones taking their place,,, They are just no longer seen..the DEC  fisheries scientist I spoke with after their last survey confirmed .. She said they caught very few walleyes, but the ones they caught were big, with very few juveniles.. I don't think a change in tactics is the answer.. The fish just aren't there.. In the areas I fish south of Broome County, neither are the fishermen these days... bob

[jk1]

Well how about Keyuka lake?  Long time ago was a smelt and big laker lake with other trout species being caaught frequently.   10 to 15 years ago was a lots of 5 - 8 pounders and alwives only, no smelt.   Now the little lakers ( rarely over 23 inches) are eating perch.  what happened there.  Ten years ago there were two ice fishing season in a row where you could walk out to the bluffs then the next year the big flood, what effect did they have?   We fish it because we don't like the bigger water but in 20 years what a change.......jk