Thoughts on Walleye Harvesting

Post by **big-o** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 1:23 pm

Mudpout wrote:sheldon def has a good point there about where this 'eye was caught. I had never fished quinte till about 4-5 years ago( i grew up in quebec) but when i did fish it, i was told many a times by old timers on how it used to be.

Here is A statement we have all heard..."not Like it used to be" ,well it is, the difference is the Old timers haven't changed with the time or the conditions,they are still fishing the exact same way they did 30 years ago.... not taking into account that the water has changed,The Zebra Mussels have cleaned up the water clarity, so now the fish are deeper, ,but the old guys are still trolling the water 12 feet deep .With old body baits,that run side ways and rusted Spoons ,when the fish are now 20 feet deep...so when they come up with a few 2 to 3 pounders, when in the old days they would get a few in the double digits.... its over, the fishing is done in Quinte, when in fact it just over for them, because they failed to adapt and over come the changes.
Congratulations on your first Double Digit Eye... there will be bigger ones to come that I'm 100 % sure of.... But the first is the one you'll remember the most... I caught mine With Bobber... many moons ago, I remember it as if it was yesterday.
..........but keep telling People is over... I like the idea of less boats and people out there .....

Post by **fatluke** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 1:39 pm

Speaking of "old-timers" and the "good ole days"........

The sad thing is, the majority of these local "old-timers" will keep anything and everything they catch. Seen it, lived it...... My dad was one of them. I have since converted him though.

I have seen stringers of 10+lb fish, and stringers of 12" fish. The local meet hunters will do more damage than a guy who hires a guide and keeps a fish for the wall.

Post by **Mudpout** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 1:43 pm

How do they conflict? I agree with selective harvest in both cases. Not killing animals in the top percentile of their populations.

You've compared a Bear and a mans daughter being dated by someone 3 x her age to a Walleye? Not cool!

Not cool? This is nothing personal directed at Craigs daughter. I just picked that example because it is something we could both relate too and would draw raw emotion. My point being, just because something is legal, doesnt make it right. I could sleep with my brothers wife, i won't go to jail for it but it sure as heck aint right!

Post by **IgglesD** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:06 pm

They conflict because you find it ok to keep and animal but not a fish? A 10lb walleye's best spawning days are well behind him.

Selective harvesting? Whether he kept 3 eaters or 1 for the wall is the gentlemans choice, that was him selecting his harvest.....wasn't it?

I know you don't agree, that is your opinion, "not cool" to keep telling people that just because it's legal doesn't make it right........ It is right, if you want that fish and it is legal........it isn't wrong.....

Fatluke - I grew in the same family I think, all my relatives drool over my muskie photos, then proceed to call me names and shake their heads when I tell them it's 100% cpr....."you just catch em to throw em back"

Post by **moonshine** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:15 pm

I can't believe what I've just read in this post. First of all, Lake Ontario has as many 10 lb'ers as the Ottawa River has 2 lb'ers. If a guy wants to keep one to put on the wall so be it. cause everyone knows that it could never be eaten, its passed its best spawning potential and its probably brought a great deal happiness to the guy that caught it. the MNR feels that as long as a walleye has had an opportunity to spawn at least once, keeping one won't hurt the sustainability. we have minimum size limits in some bodies of water to cover this.
so if someone wants to keep one to mount, I say go ahead cause he isn't going to mount 10 of them or even eat one of them. it's called fishing for a reason. you want them all to go back? then start a new sport called "catching"

that's my 2 cents

Post by **Manny** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:29 pm

I figure it would be easy to post a monster fish, with nice pics and report, and omit the fact that it was kept and mounted. Everybody would be happy and would avoid using terms like ethical or legal. Old beef on this site could have been avoided with some strategic editing.

In this instance, I say why post the pic on the scale?? Just post the one in the boat and not mention if it was released or not.

Manny

Post by **Mudpout** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:01 pm

They conflict because you find it ok to keep and animal but not a fish? A 10lb walleye's best spawning days are well behind him.

I never said i was agaisnt hunting, as i matter of fact i said i DO hunt. Bear baiting on the other hand is hardly hunting. The guides do all the work so some guy with $$ can walk in a blast an animal in a few hours while only walking a few hundred feet from the road to the blind. To me thats the equivalent of catching trout at a fish farm using corn and bragging about what a great day of fishing you had. Hunting is stalking, calling, tracking and being being part of nature.

How do you know a 10lbs walleye is passed her/his...most likely her.... prime? HEck it could be a very young fish with exceptional genetics, just like it could be an old hen. The work i'd done with walleye for hatcheries used quite large fish as broodstock, i would guess in the 8lbs+ range ( been along time so i might be off on that). The rainbows ive seen in some hatcheries for broodstock have been nothing short of gargantuan. I recently read an article about the top 10 fishing myths. Old fish not spawning was on that list....

Post by **tman12** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:17 pm

I would have let it go........but if it was going to be kept, thank god you did not eat it. If you are going to keep a big fish, don't eat it, mount it. I am all for catch and release except for eating a few pike and some rockbass, panfish, perch a year. No offence to the person who kept it, it is their choice, but I would let the spawners go to get more.
If it was one of the one time keepers, than more power to you rather than keeping limits worth of mediums. What he did was legal, I just would not have done it. Like I said, it is your choice, and you chose what you thought was best. GREAT FISH!

Beauty!
TT
TY

Post by **Mudpout** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:12 pm

So young, yet so wise Ty! I can take a few lessons on being PC from ya!

Post by **Relic** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:12 pm

IgglesD wrote: A 10lb walleye's best spawning days are well behind him.

Her....well behind her

That is the second time I have read that statement in this thread... I do not believe there any FACTS to support that. Fact is she definitely still spawns...maybe not as many eggs(Though I doubt that's the case), she does have superior genes, as she attained that size. We want the superior genes back in the pool. Gotta keep this in perspective here too...that's a 10 pound quinte walleye..likely not nearly as old as a 10 pound-er from the Ottawa, Rideau, Miss etc.

Too many uncorroborated statements thrown around here.

Fact is, although we may not all agree, he has every right to keep that fish and exercised it.

My thoughts on walleye harvest(the thread topic) I keep smaller ones..under 2 pounds...let the bigger ones go..but if I got one over 10 it might just go on the wall.

Post by **wolfe** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:20 pm

The Torpedo wrote:I would have let it go........but if it was going to be kept, thank god you did not eat it. If you are going to keep a big fish, don't eat it, mount it. I am all for catch and release except for eating a few pike and some rockbass, panfish, perch a year. No offence to the person who kept it, it is their choice, but I would let the spawners go to get more.
If it was one of the one time keepers, than more power to you rather than keeping limits worth of mediums. What he did was legal, I just would not have done it. Like I said, it is your choice, and you chose what you thought was best. GREAT FISH!

Beauty!
TT
TY

Why can't you exercise this amount of tact and diplomacy and well expressed rational views while in a disagreement with your brother?

Nicely said, Ty. And I'm with ya on it.

Ma Wolfe

Post by JZ » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:30 pm

[quote="IgglesD"]
I do like the looks of replica fish but why not just order one to a size you like.....that is my only beef with replica's .........oh and double the cost of skin mount.
[quote]

Sorry to Hijack the thread but is this true are replicas that much more expensive? I have always been curious on the cost btw the two options, I know it will depend on the size/species of fish but if anyone has costed it out and would like to share the info it would be appreciated.

Post by **SeaMonster** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:46 pm

fatluke wrote:I don't see a problem keeping a giant eye for the wall...

I do see a problem keeping giant fish to eat.

OK.
I gotta ask.
Why is it better to harvest a Walleye and stick it on the wall rather than eat it.
Personally I'd rather have it on my plate than on my wall.

I'd probably let it go.. but anyway... don't really understand the logic.

I've tried to covert some family meat fishermen to more conservationists with varying success so I'm with you for the most part...

Post by **IgglesD** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:51 pm

JZ - a year ago when I investigated it was considerably much more expensive for a replica. I don't think much has changed, contact a taxidermist, no one seems to offer pricing over the net.

Relic - I tend to agree with you that females are the spawners

One statement that keeps getting thrown around is that replicas don't deteriorate and last forever, yet it is completely unproven due to the chemicals and materials used is relatively new and unproven.....again stuff I have read not experienced since I am not a taxidermist....

Replicas or skin mounts I love em all, wish I had a trophy of every species I fish.

Post by **Mudpout** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:53 pm

If the Grand Banks cod and the wild atlantic salmon population can take such a hit as they have, no waterbody is immune. Be it a pothole lake or vast Lake Ontario. I'm sure the east coast fishermen were well within their rights though. We should be able to learn from this and lead by example, not wait for the gov't to force our hand.