Calling lake

[The cooter]

Well gent's and lady's if been slow to get out on the water this year hoping for a little input into calling lake as I hope to head that direction this weekend. I would assume the wally's are bitting hard again. What depth are you guys catching them at and what seems to work the best gear wise are they still on leaches or are they already on the minnows? If I make it up I will report back on the latest. How is the slot size working out for everyone? Cheers.

[savagencounter]

Well gent's and lady's if been slow to get out on the water this year hoping for a little input into calling lake as I hope to head that direction this weekend. I would assume the wally's are bitting hard again. What depth are you guys catching them at and what seems to work the best gear wise are they still on leaches or are they already on the minnows? If I make it up I will report back on the latest. How is the slot size working out for everyone? Cheers.

The slot size seems to be working great, never ever, ever, seen so many people scramble to a lake, every site was full, the overflow was full the pullouts on the highway were full lol. I found at least 20 over 55cm fish dead and floating one was 29inch, everyone there was keeping fish like it was going out of style lol me too, my family of 5 took home 3 for dinner. I would really like to thank the moron who backed his trailer into my truck sometime when we were out fishing and didnt leave a note or nothing, good thing i have insurance, If anyone seen someone back into a 2006 dodge dakota quad cab black please let me know. I think fisheries underestimated the number of anglers and the amount of fish that are being taken and also the amount of kill from catch and release. sad to see but my favorite lake is now chaos, it is honestly a nightmare there now on the weekend and will be fished out in no time. I knew it was going to be bad when the regs came out but wholly cow i didnt expect it to be that crazy it was the great walleye gold rush. On the bright side the kids had a blast the fish where biting good and the weather was excellent, met a few nice campers. the size of fish has dropped alot from last year and the bites are starting to slow too. Honestly it was like camping in a parking lot there. Im also one of the thousand that was there and i kept fish too and i have no problem with anyone keeping fish too but i cant see fisheries logic on taking a great fishery and throw it away like that, Guess what slot size or not the big ones still die when handled improperly or are brought up fast from deep water. Well itll be interesting to see what the future of calling lakes walleye will be but its not looking very good at this point. All i can say is if your planning a trip there go soon before the lake dies out and be prepared to wait in big lines at the boat launch and go early wends or thurs if you plan to camp if you want a campsite.

[perchfinder]

was there again and yes it is chaos there. at least a hundred boats today. good luck even trying to find a parking spot without walking a mile. be prepared to wait in line-ups! good to see f & w there very often. talked to one of em and he figures lake will be dead very soon; way too much fishing pressure. expect a zero limit next year as it won't matter because there'll be no fish left!

[Drewski Canuck]

Calling will shut down pretty quick with the heat. Always the same thing at this time of year post spawn. don't worry about the slot size being fished out. Lots of smaller, and bigger fish, and the slot size fish should have spawned about 3 times at least in their life. All the same, fishing is good EVERYWHERE at this time of year, for about another 10 days when the dog days set in.

Drewski

[highwood]

Calling is always hot in June. You just wait till the summer months when you can't catch a fish on every cast and the hoards will slow down. I wouldnt write off Calling as a fishery so quickly...however a ton of fish were taken out this weekend without a doubt.

[perchfinder]

a ton of fish this weekend, a ton of fish during the week, and a ton of fish last weekend along with over $30 000.oo of fines! like i said before- good luck!

[Kim473]

Calling slowed down a little yesterday from a week ago, F&W catching lots of people and handing out a lot fines both weekends. 50% of our cathes were over the size limit so lots of fish left to spawn as long as F&W keep up the good job and catch the stupid people, but funny they checked the fish in the truck but didnt check in the boat we could have had 6 over sized ones in there. I think they will change the regs for there next year.

[avidoutdoors]

To all you prophets of doom, just take a breath and relax. Calling Lake is an excellent fishery and a spot everyone would like for themselves. The problem is that it is overpopulated when it comes to Walleye and clearly the increased bag limit is to clear some of them out. Eleven of us saw over 300 fish in a weekend and we even ate a few. While camping we heard so many comments of how bad it was because they were only catching a fish every 10 minutes instead of every cast....laughable! I don't know if anyone noticed but as much as 30% of the fish had some kind of disease on them; usually something fairly minor but some fish I would not dare to eat. So if they cull them down for a year or two I think it is a smart move. After that those who don't want o work for their fish will head to safeway for their fish and the lake will be a lot less crowded.

[Drewski Canuck]

I'd love to know where this number came from, but if it is true, then great! There are alot of not - real - serious fishermen there who think the rules are a joke. Hopefully this will get the point across.

I STILL think that alot of fish are getting wasted from mis handling, but Pigeon Lake has had this experience for years, and the fishing holds up despite obvious incidental injury with 30 + boats at the PP churning as many as 100 fish a day per boat.

As for the size issue, most guys don't understand how to consistently catch the really big fish at this lake, so the few big fish that are getting mishandled is probably not so significant.

In regards to the size range chosen, 1/2 the lake is CLOSED, so there is lots of escapement. In addition, word is from the locals that on the index netting last fall, the first pull saw two truck boxes full to the tailgates. A decision was made not to do a second pull based upon this representation. That is alot of density, which allows and calls for thinning, or you end up with "razorbacks" like Pigeon Lake, as there is only so much feed in the lake.

If this lets some of the bigger fish spawn a few extra seasons, then this can only be good. Things can be tweaked next year, or the year after if the densities are still high, or re adjusted to allow a One Over / One Under scenario.

The sad fact is that FN netting does not comply with slot size. The "skinnies" make it through 5 " mesh and the big hens get hammered.

Drewski

[The cooter]

Was out on calling on friday it was hot in the morrning slowed right down in the evening. Lots of boats, Everyone I talked to said they felt it was slowing. Pretty hard to get a slot sized fish. But on the up side caught a 12 pound jack kind of the highlight of the day!

[Ayr]

I was there yesterday and the F&W officer I chatted with told me that was the $$ amount in fines handed out on the weekend. The fishing -- too easy. Good size range, from very small, to the 71 cm my wife caught.

Cheers, Ayr.

[Drewski Canuck]

Spent the morning with the kids fishing straight out from the cabin from 16 to 10 FOW. Size is varied, lots of small ones, lots of big ones, lots in between.

Double headers were one thing, two "double netters" (too many fish on at one time, easier to net them two at a time).

Would be great if it holds up, but the heat is on, and the fish will soon disperse to the deep.

Drewski

[Dark Horn]

Hit it yesterday and had our limit of walleye and pike in an hour and a half. Lots of eyes with a number oversize and the rest in the slot. The two of us probably handled 75 in the time we spent there.

[Safety D]

Calling is NOT DEAD !!!!!