Twice in the last week the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) has brought Walleye to the 3rd Crow Wing Lake. This is the time of year the DNR hatcheries are delivering fish to various lakes in the area and this year we expect about 800 Ibs of Walleye to be stocked. Mostly large fingerlings as well as some adults.
So far we’ve received a total of 270 Ibs of 7-8” big, healthy Walleye fingerlings. Of course, there were some bigger fish that wouldn’t go through the tube, so they had to be hand lifted into the lake. I wanted to take pictures, but it was raining and the camera doesn’t like to get wet.
Walleye stocking reports from one or two years before you put your boat in the water don’t indicate fishing success on a lake for that year … that’s because it takes two to four growing seasons (summers) for the walleyes stocked in the fall to reach dinner size (1.5+ pound, about 16+ inches). Below is some information from the DNR website:
| Fingerling – Fingerlings are one to six months old and can range from a size of one to twelve inches depending on the species. Walleye fingerlings range from three to eight inches each fall. |
| Yearling – Yearling fish are at least one year old. A one-year-old fish can range from three to twenty inches depending on the species. Walleye yearlings average from six to twelve inches. |
| Adult – Adult fish are fish that have reached maturity. Depending on the species, maturity can be reached at two years of age. Walleye reach maturity between the ages of four and six years. |
Recent stocking on the Lower Crow Wing chain:
2005
First Crow Wing -
Walleye – 561 fingerlings weighing 51.0 lbs.
Walleye – 223 adults weighing 267.0 lbs.
Walleye – 82 yearlings weighing 38.0 lbs.
Second Crow Wing -
Walleye – 21 adults weighing 30.0 lbs.
Walleye – 140 yearlings weighing 70.0 lbs.
Third Crow Wing -
Walleye – 376 adults weighing 452.0 lbs.
Walleye – 351 fingerlings weighing 33.0 lbs.
Walleye – 1,103 yearlings weighing 233.0
2007
First Crow Wing -
Walleye – 744 yearlings weighing 271.0 lbs.
Walleye – 444 fingerlings weighing 79.0 lbs.
Walleye – 67 adults weighing 40.0 lbs.
Second Crow Wing -
Walleye – 660 fingerlings weighing 22.0 lbs.
Walleye – 360 yearlings weighing 90.0 lbs.
Third Crow Wing -
Walleye – 5,737 fingerlings weighing 413.0
Q. Why are fry stocked sometimes and fingerlings at other times?
A. It’s more cost effective to stock fry (tiny mosquito-sized walleyes) than fingerlings (4- to 6-inch long walleyes), so the DNR stocks fry whenever possible. Sometimes a fisheries manager will stock fry in the spring and then check back in the fall to see what proportion survived to reach fingerling size. If not enough did, then supplemental fingerlings may be stocked that fall.
Q: Why does the DNR stock lakes every other year rather than yearly?
A: A generation of walleyes stocked or hatched one year (called a year class) will eat much of the food needed by the next walleye year class. This phenomenon is called year class suppression. To prevent this from happening to stocked walleyes, fisheries managers usually don’t stock two years in a row and instead stock every other year or every third year.
This September was a different kind of month at the lake. It felt like summer with many days in the 80’s, so the lake stayed warm and the fish weren’t as active as they usually are. So far October feels more like November and the fish are playing catch up. ‘Mother Nature’ has had a different way of doing things for this entire year. I wonder what she’ll do in 2010!
