Lake Erie walleye HOT

[Bob Devine]

Lake Erie is going strong in the western basin from Colchester to Leamington with many anglers catch a 6 fish limit. For many a few miles from either marina has kept them busy with not only walleyes but catfish, silver bass, yellow perch, sheephead and white perch. For many the tried and true crawler harness has been working the best. With the flash and thump of the blade and the taste of a live crawler not many walleyes can resist a meal like that.

I have been fishing shallow 15-25 fow with some good sized fish thrown in too. For me the hot blade has been the Northland Baitfish image white perch in a #5 Colorado blade.

[Muskieman]

I see 16 Fish... very nice !!

 

Congrats on the GREAT catch.... MMMMM Lemon Pepper Walleye!

 

 

Randy

[splashhopper]

[beginner]

looks like a good harvest to me delicio

[Bob Devine]

I see 16 Fish... very nice !!

 

Congrats on the GREAT catch.... MMMMM Lemon Pepper Walleye!

 

 

Randy

 

That is why they were on the floor, I lost count DOH!

[fishindevil]

well done bob !!! some very nice eyes there....what time is dinner?? lol...cheers

[walleyejack]

its a nice catch for sure, and if everyone keeps the 6 fish limit it won t be long before the fishery in Erie is in trouble again,I guess overharvesting does not bother some folks. good luck

[Bill Shearer]

If Walleye numbers are in trouble on lake Erie, it won't be from the guys taking their limit of 6. The guys that take the 4'X4'X4' plastic totes full of them for sale can take the heat for that, measured in tonnes, not pounds.

[johnnyb]

Great stuf, Bob....thanks for posting. Now I'm seriously hungry

[Bob Devine]

its a nice catch for sure, and if everyone keeps the 6 fish limit it won t be long before the fishery in Erie is in trouble again,I guess overharvesting does not bother some folks. good luck

 

You don't know walleyeJack. As sportsfishermen WE take less than 3 percent of the total allowable catch. Some guys catch them and others don't, some days you do well and other days you don't. Reasons for decline in walleye numbers are really determined by spawning success and the weather during that spawning season on Lake Erie. Commercial fishermen will do more damage than any angler who catches his 6 fish limit. The 6 fish per person and total allowable catch by commercial fishermen are set by OMNR with data to justify these numbers.

 

Walleye

 

The Lake Erie Committee recommended a binational TAC for walleye in 2011 of 2.919 million fish, compared to the TAC of 2.200 million fish in 2010. Actual walleye harvest in 2010 was approximately 2.0 million fish, or 91% of the TAC. The Committee's Walleye Task Group—comprising scientists and field biologists—reported that walleye recruitment in recent years has been moderate, particularly the 2007 year class. Fish from the 2007 year class and the exceptional 2003 hatch remain the major contributors to the fishery. The increased TAC recommendation for 2011 reflects the committee's consensus that walleye status in Lake Erie appears better than previously forecasted.

 

The TAC is recommended by the Lake Erie Committee and is allocated to Ohio, Michigan and Ontario by an area-based sharing formula of walleye habitat within each jurisdiction in the western and central basins of the lake. Under a 2011 TAC of 2.919 million fish, Ohio will be entitled to 1.492 million fish, Ontario 1.257 million fish, and Michigan 0.170 million fish. The walleye fisheries of eastern Lake Erie remain outside the quota management area and harvest limits in that area are established by Ontario, Pennsylvania, and New York.

 

Said Committee Chair Don Einhouse, "The Lake Erie Committee is aware that the 2011 TAC recommendation, while an increase from last year, is still lower than TACs of five to ten years ago and substantially lower from TACs of the 1980s and 1990s. Abundance of walleye in Lake Erie today is estimated to be 21.2 million fish, compared to highs of between 70 and 80 million fish in the past."

 

Einhouse added: "The committee remains committed to promoting sustainable walleye fisheries while allowing for the careful allocation of the fish based on annual biological assessments, modeling, and deliberation among the jurisdictions, with continued input from our valued stakeholders."

 

Lake Erie Committee

 

The Lake Erie Committee comprises fishery managers from Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylvania. The committee's work is facilitated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a Canadian and U.S. agency on the Great Lakes. Each year the committee recommends a total allowable catch for walleye and yellow perch. Total allowable catch represents the number or weight of fish that can be caught by sport and commercial fishers without putting the stocks at risk. The individual agencies implement the recommended total allowable catch. For more information, visit the Lake Erie Committee online at www.glfc.org/lec.

[Headhunter]

Nice report and thanks for posting the info...

I have a question though... you mentioned both Silver Bass and White Perch... I was under the impression that they were one and the same?

If I am wrong, I would really appreciate being put in the know!

Thanks,

HH

[Bob Devine]

Nice report and thanks for posting the info...

I have a question though... you mentioned both Silver Bass and White Perch... I was under the impression that they were one and the same?

If I am wrong, I would really appreciate being put in the know!

Thanks,

HH

Try a google search, they are 2 different species.

 

http://www.iisgcp.org/exoticsp/white_perch.htm

[beginner]

Try a google search, they are 2 different species.

http://www.iisgcp.org/exoticsp/white_perch.htm

Yes they are different species... White bass is longer and bigger than white perch...