Walleye stocking.

[ice]

Is there anywhere you can find s report online. I can only find trout stocking reports?

[millsboy79]

Wow I totally read that wrong.

[bobalong]

Good chance they never stocked any.

[kouleerunner]

The last year I think walleye we stocked was 2014 in wabamum, 5,211,000 fry stocked. As far as I know, they discontinued the walleye program. We would love to get it going again!

On the stocking reports from https://mywildalberta.ca/fishing/fis...g-reports.aspx
Search "wall" and you will find them.

[calgarygringo]

None recent but lots from over the years because I have them and anayzed them all. You would be surprised where they have put walleyes. If any have survived is another question but do some research there is stuff out there.

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by calgarygringo

None recent but lots from over the years because I have them and anayzed them all. You would be surprised where they have put walleyes. If any have survived is another question but do some research there is stuff out there.

What do you consider lots? From about 1999 to 2006 there was very little if any. Over the next few years there were maybe only 3-4 lakes done that I am aware of. In 2006 at a Fisheries Roundtable meeting I asked how much had been spent on walleye stocking. Walleye stocking was about 200K and trout was 6.5 million. Over the next few years (not sure exactly when) I know they stocked big numbers in Lac La Biche and some in Sylvan Lake as well, and more recently they stocked/transferred fry and mature walleye into Wabamun.

In Sask. they stock anywhere from about 20-30 bodies of water a year with a total of 2-3.5 million walleye overall, and have done for years......that is lots of stocking. That is sustained long term commitment to your fisheries.

Our stocking numbers for walleyes have been laughable in comparison, especially when you consider that Sk. has hundreds more lakes and about 1/2 the population of Alberta.

[Talking moose]

Why stock walleye at all? Alls people do is cry about it.

[kouleerunner]

Originally Posted by bobalong

Our stocking numbers for walleyes have been laughable in comparison, especially when you consider that Sk. has hundreds more lakes and about 1/2 the population of Alberta.

I couldn't agree more!

[Evan83]

Sask stocked over 14 million last year. They also stock trout. Why can't Alberta do both?

[kouleerunner]

Originally Posted by Evan83

Sask stocked over 14 million last year. They also stock trout. Why can't Alberta do both?

Because our Biologists won't let us.

[Kim473]

I think they should stock perch again rather than let them deplete in numbers. Maybe the pike and walleye would get bigger with more food and us perch people would have better perch fishing too.

Not many lakes where the trout don't taste muddy.

[kouleerunner]

Originally Posted by Kim473

I think they should stock perch again rather than let them deplete in numbers. Maybe the pike and walleye would get bigger with more food and us perch people would have better perch fishing too.

Not many lakes where the trout don't taste muddy.

I think they should stock rainbow trout in walleye and pike lakes....same principle!

[pikeman06]

I think they should fish the walleye out of these lakes where they don't belong. 90 billion dollar deficit in our province so don't expect any change in provincially funded fishery improvements. Put the walleye limit at one under 43 for alternating years and if the lake is naturally reproducing it will sustain itself if it isn't then I guess it is meant to be a pike perch and whitefish fishery that requires little to no maintenance. If it is a healthy balance and the big pike are allowed to live and do what big pike do. Balance is key. Can't have a lake full of hungry predators you will never have a good year class of smaller fish to supplement the population for the future. My humble opinion.

[slough shark]

I’d rather them not stock any, it seems historically whenever they stock them they way overstock, then put the walleye on c&r. Meanwhile the walleye grow up and decimate all other fish species and the lake collapses other than walleye 😡. The only way I’d ever support walleye stocking is if they would allow retention otherwise they kill a lake.

[walleyechaser]

Seems like the walleye populations are fine. The fish just grow too slow. Maybe stocking a bait fish would be better. It would help the pike and the walleye, win for everyone.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by pikeman06

I think they should fish the walleye out of these lakes where they don't belong. 90 billion dollar deficit in our province so don't expect any change in provincially funded fishery improvements. Put the walleye limit at one under 43 for alternating years and if the lake is naturally reproducing it will sustain itself if it isn't then I guess it is meant to be a pike perch and whitefish fishery that requires little to no maintenance. If it is a healthy balance and the big pike are allowed to live and do what big pike do. Balance is key. Can't have a lake full of hungry predators you will never have a good year class of smaller fish to supplement the population for the future. My humble opinion.

Walleye are the most popular sport fish in the province by a wide margin and have been for over 30 years. Deficit or Surplus it doesn't really matter in this province, very very few dollars are spent on stocking the most popular fish in the province.

With the fishing techniques, gear and accessibility available today, it is not likely you are ever going to see many self sustaining open harvest fisheries in this province again. Some northern (far north) lakes may be sustained and the tag lakes but an open harvest for walleye for the majority of lakes in this province is a thing of the past.........unless stocking is increased substantially.

Other species are in need of stocking as well, pike and perch but doubtful that will happen as a long term commitment to our fisheries is just not something the government (regardless of party) of this province views as any kind of priority.

Boat launches in many lakes are also in desperate need of repair and upgrade........the majority of anglers don't fish with a 12 ft anymore and haven't for probably 25 years.

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by slough shark

I’d rather them not stock any, it seems historically whenever they stock them they way overstock, then put the walleye on c&r. Meanwhile the walleye grow up and decimate all other fish species and the lake collapses other than walleye 😡. The only way I’d ever support walleye stocking is if they would allow retention otherwise they kill a lake.

I know they are always waiting to get a spawn or two out of the stocked walleye which can take anywhere from 4-8 years but I agree they are always to slow to implement a (tag) harvest. They have done this at least 4-5 times on major (and smaller) lakes and they still haven't learned.

[cube]

Originally Posted by bobalong

Walleye are the most popular sport fish in the province by a wide margin and have been for over 30 years. Deficit or Surplus it doesn't really matter in this province, very very few dollars are spent on stocking the most popular fish in the province.

Other species are in need of stocking as well, pike and perch but doubtful that will happen as a long term commitment to our fisheries is just not something the government (regardless of party) of this province views as any kind of priority.

Boat launches in many lakes are also in desperate need of repair and upgrade........the majority of anglers don't fish with a 12 ft anymore and haven't for probably 25 years.

Given you sat at the round table would you have the numbers that walleye are the most sought after fish by a long shot? I think you are probably correct now, but some of that I think is because that's all you can catch because of the walleye and trout bi species management philosophy here in Alberta. I seem to remember pre 30 years ago (which happens to be the length of time the walleye management took over) it seemed to be pike and perch that was the most popular. And white fish and perch in the ice season. Now of course those species have been replaced by a plethora of walleye that they do not allow you to keep.

I believe one of the major reasons for the recent stalking woes is the whirling disease outbreak. Sam Livingston was by far the largest hatchery in Alberta that we had and if I recall correctly one or more others had been mothballed before the outbreak. Sam Livingston is of course now is on a contaminated water source and needs new water treatment so is effectively shut down, hence, all other hatcheries would be going full out with just trout and even then can't keep up with the demand.

[7magtime]

How much stocking could be done in this province with the money raised from walleye tags each year(must be in the 100's of thousands I'm guessing but I haven't researched the amount from last year)? It seems logical that that money should go back to increasing the walleye populations in lakes lacking in this province?

[Drewski Canuck]

Like it or not, a lot of the early stocking was a waste of time. Take eggs from a river spawn population at Brett Creek from Primrose Lake, put them into a lake that has mediocre inflow such as North Buck Lake?????

Naturally, none reproduced.

Now they are gathering eggs from Lac Ste. Anne for Wabamun, and transferring adult fish as well. The Walleye are reproducing nicely, spawning on shoals.

So yes, stock walleye, and stock the proper variety for the conditions in the lake you are stoking.

As for allowing fish to be caught and kept, once the fish hit 50 cm we can be assured that the fish have replicated themselves many times over (think of the thousands of eggs laid), so keeping a fish is sustainable.

Drewski

[pikeman06]

That's right drewski. Fished the hell out of moose lake in the late 80's there were river and lake spawners, the rivers got beaver dam issues and we saw it with our own eyes that the lake spawners kept going that was when you could fish year round and we would ice fish at last ice and see those big sows down there. That was a gene pool guys. But there were big perch and Jacks and whites and minnows it was balanced. Maybe many here have never seen a healthy fishery with their own eyes. The wallies were tough to catch because they were well fed with natural forage that was abundant beyond your imagination. Not just gettin by on frozen minnows. Can't stress that enough that if the balance is there they are hard to catch and not as vulnerable to over fishing as many of you think. Sad that it's so out of whack that these lakes would be fished out because they are literally starving. It's not technology or that you are a super walleye master. When they are well fed they get tough to catch especially the big girls. When the fall index test nets have 350 walleye, 5 pike, 30 perch and 4 minnows and 2 whitefish it's too far gone to come back. Sad but true.