SLR Limit 7/6

[border_angler]

Limited out this morning in just over an hour solo. Bottom bouncing crawler harnesses chartreuse and orange was the hot color. 26, 24, and 19 inches. 19 was full of gobies 26 had stomach full of zebra mussels, anybody else seen walleye eat zebra mussels before?

[Stillwater]

Very nice looking limit Border Angler. Way to go. Interesting that it was full of zebras. I could understand a few eaten when feeding near bottom but to be full of them it must have been intentional snacking?

[Xxx]

Great job Border Angler, they look nice and healthy, wasn't to long of a day for ya eitherLOL. Nice work!!

[EsoxAC3]

Kevin, nice limit. I caught an eye earlier this season that had 2 large gobies in its stomach and a lot of Zebra muscles, as well. At first I thought maybe they were in the gobies but I quickly realized some of the zebras were likely too big to be eaten whole by a gobie. I guessed ( after doing some reading) that the zebras may be in the stomach due to feeding on the gobies holding to bottom. When a walleye feeds it flares its gill plates and inhales a column of water sucking its prey into its mouth.... I suspect this garners the gobie and some zebra muscles simultaneously. In instances where the gobie manages to evade the strike, I bet the walleye occasionally gets a mouth or throat full of zebras.... Just a theory based on how eyes predate.

[EsoxAC3]

Incidentally, as Im sure all of you probably know.... (I didnt until I read a neat biology white paper on walleye) the suction method of striking that walleye employ, is why us anglers experience the infamous short strike..... If our terminal gear is too heavy to be easily taken into the walleyes mouth during the gill flare they short strike. As a relative newbie to walleye fishing, thought this info was pretty cool.

[border_angler]

Makes sense Esox. The gobies that it had eaten were probably digested already and all that were left in the stomach were the zebra mussels.

[Prof T]

Nice limit border and catch for you as well, Kevin.

 

I personally fished 4 to 5:30 AM for two 17 inchers. Needed to hit the freezer for tonight's fish dinner for company. They'll never know.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Prof T

[EyesOfTheIronMan]

Trolled and jigged Cape Vincent last night till midnight...nothing. LOTS of bait balls on the sonar everywhere from 50 to 120 feet.

[Kevin J Legg]

Nice fish border. I have on several several occasions seen zebras in walleyes stomachs and I assumed they were from undigested from gobies.

[reeleyz]

Like Kevin said. Gobies eat mainly zebra and quagga mussels so I would bet that the mussels were from their stomachs.

 

Nice limit of eyes!

[EsoxAC3]

That was my thought too.... But the fish I caught had fairly large zebras in its gut. Some of them seemed too large to be ingested by a gobitron. I dont believe they were all in the gobies... But then again, what the heck do I kno, lol.

[Gill-T]

We find quagga mussels in perch bellies on Erie. Opportunist feeding. Roots out the gobies too.

[krux5506]

Nice fish, but really I'm staring at that Lund

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[wishinfishin]

Reading what everybody says about how they thing the mussels get in there stomachs.

Just my thoughts, why arent there small rocks in the stomachs as well?

If they miss the gobies why wouldnt they spit it like a hard bodied lure or lead jig like they do when you dont set the hook at first?

Would the mussels be to large to pass thru digestive tract if inhaled?

So do they digest or regurgitate?

Nice catch.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G730A using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Roybee]

Found this today while out mapping. Not good 45 inches no hook marks and has not been dead very long

Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[border_angler]

Hate to see fish dead like that. A couple guys found a 5+ foot sturgeon floating a few weeks ago and put it on top of a rock for DEC to find. I called DEC to make sure they knew about it.

[EsoxAC3]

Two magnificent fish..... They dont grow to that size overnight. Real bummer.

[Kevin J Legg]

Hope it isn't another musky die off.

[Xxx]

Reading what everybody says about how they thing the mussels get in there stomachs.

Just my thoughts, why arent there small rocks in the stomachs as well?

If they miss the gobies why wouldnt they spit it like a hard bodied lure or lead jig like they do when you dont set the hook at first?

Would the mussels be to large to pass thru digestive tract if inhaled?

So do they digest or regurgitate?

Nice catch.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G730A using Lake Ontario United mobile app

If my memory serves me right I think they eat the innards of the zebras. I think that's why they the "gobies" hang around the mussels

[Stlawrencesnake]

I was working up by TI park today and think I saw that muskie float by. Was it up that way?

[Roybee]

Yes

Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[EsoxAC3]

I was chatting with my uncle about the dead muskie.... He is a life long and avid muskie angler..... He was telling me that there have been several dead muskies found this spring. He suggested taking any floater muskies to Dr Farrell on Governors Isl..... To Kevin's point, the concern is VHS or perhaps something else causing greater than usual mortality. Just a thought if you guys come across any more floaters.

[nasc620]

Hit the river for the full moon and the next night. We got 1 eye and a 13 pound sheep head

[EsoxAC3]

Nice!! Sheep are always an unintended consequence of walleye fishing.... But they never disappoint.... They are a blast to catch. I love em! Nice fish.