Future of Erie walleye fishing a mixed bag

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By Jim Morris, Staff writer Updated 10:12 PM Saturday, October 31, 2009

Each year the biologists who work at Lake Erie wait until fall to see what Mother Nature has provided.

So much rides on how the walleye and perch hatches turn out each season. Will they be as great as the record 2003 hatch? Will they be as bad as the 2002 hatch?

Realistically, biologists probably hope the numbers will fall somewhere in the middle.

The economy of the Lake Erie region has strong ties to the fishing industry, especially sport fishing. Charter businesses, restaurants, motels, gas stations, bait shops and just about every other type of small business depends on a strong tourist business.

When there are fewer walleyes to be caught, all business is affected. When walleyes are plentiful, business booms.

In recent years, anglers have lived on the 2003 hatch. Those fish, now 6 years old and measuring 22-plus inches, are starting to be used up. Those fish and a decent number of 2007 class fish dominate the lake. According to Ohio Division of Wildlife estimates last spring, there were approximately 7 million ’03 walleyes available and 8 million ’07s.

The ’07s were mostly too small to keep (under 15 inches), but will be 16 inches or more in 2010. So not only should there still be a significant number of 22- to 24-inch fish available next year, but there will be a large number of 16-inchers as well.

That’s not bad for the immediate future, but what about beyond that?

That’s where the current hatch comes in, and, unfortunately, the news isn’t that great.

“It was a below-average hatch,” said Roger Knight, head of the Lake Erie research unit for the Division of Wildlife. “But the good news is that it wasn’t a zero. It wasn’t a 2002. But it was well below the long-term average and was generally similar to the 2005 and 2008 hatches.”

If you are interested in raw numbers, this year’s August trawling produced the following: walleye 5.5 fish per hectare. The average (1990-2008) was 35; 2008 was 7.6 and 2005 was 3.2.

The 2009 numbers for yellow perch were: 186 fish per hectare. The average (1990-2008) was 508.4. 2008 was 267 and 2006 was 180.

“No, it wasn’t a stellar year, but it wasn’t as bad as 2002 when the index was 0 for walleyes and 6.4 for perch,” Knight said.

Probably the most frustrating thing is that those who deal with these hatch numbers each year are totally helpless to make them better. They have no say about how many new fish enter the lake. All they can do is suggest regulations for how many fish come out.

Under the new system, the state will not change Erie bag limits until May each year. That gives them a short window from the time the Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission issues each state (or province) a quota (total allowable catch) for the year, sometime in March. If the committee deems there are fewer fish in the lake, they will drop the quotas. If they see more fish, they could increase quotas. If, then, the state feels there is a danger of exceeding its quota, bag limits go down.

“Right now it’s hard to say what will happen,” Knight observed. “We’ll just have to see where we are when the new quotas are announced.”

He did say that while this year has been good for walleye fishing, it’s not likely the current quota will be exceeded.

“There are several factors — the economy and the weather, mostly. Fishing has been good, but the numbers should be under the quota,” he said.

While perch fishing has been good, too, many anglers report catching mostly small fish.

“There are a lot of ’07 perch out there that are 6-7 inches this year,” Knight said. “As the water gets colder, the older fish will move back into the Western Basin. Younger fish do better in warmer water.”

Knight also said a large number of ’03 walleyes are schooled up off of Huron and will be heading west over the next month or two.

The below-average number of 2009 fish?

“The 2009 hatches will contribute to the walleye and perch harvests in 2011-12, but we don’t expect them to be in large numbers,” Knight said.

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-2409 or jmorris @DaytonDailyNews.com.

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I have said for years that for at least one year or more they need to stop the fishing in the rivers during the spring migration to the spawning areas.

Richard
7:43 AM, 11/1/2009

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