This week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources concluded its electroshocking study on our 2019 walleye year class. Their goal was to understand recruitment from this spring, to see how many walleyes have survived from egg, to fry, to fingerling, to now roughly six-inch fish. Their findings were remarkable and all indicators point to a strong, abundant future of walleye fishing on Big Winnie.
First, a little background. Gerry and Matt, the DNR biologists, operated a specialized research vessel with a generator on board. image of DNR Fisheries Staff measuring walleyeThe current produced charged leads in the water that stunned small fish long enough for us to net them and collect samples in a small livewell, where they revive and are measured before being released back into the lake. The process does not harm the fish. Extrapolating the data, the 2019 catch rate was 250 young of the year walleye per hour with an average length of just over 6 inches, suggesting strong recruitment from the spawn this spring. image of DNR fisheries staff recording walleye dataThe most productive site boasted a catch rate of 612 fish per hour.
This data is impressive, but what does it mean for fishing? "Keeper" walleyes will soon be back in the fishery. With the extraordinary growth rates in Lake Winnibigoshish and Cut Foot Sioux Lake, these fish have reached a size that will carry them through the winter with low mortality, and they could reach a size large enough for harvest within two or three years. They may even surpass the 2018 walleye year class, which was previously the largest the MN DNR has recorded. In the years to come, walleye fishing in our fishery could be the best that we have ever seen.