Climate change is a culprit in decline of Minnesota walleye

[maplelakeduckslayer]

I used to call myself Johnny Zebra Mussel and some lakes, like Heron or Christina, could benefit from having zebes.

With that being said I really have changed my tune in regards to ML and think the zebes are the downfall. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're the smoking gun because there are multiple factors contributing to the demise but they're the leading cause.

All you'd have to do to prove my point is take a bucket of water from DL and one from ML and compare the dark invertebrate-plankton rich water from DL to the lifeless gin clear water from ML.

Forage starts from the bottom up. A lake completely filtered from life from the bottom up will never be as fertile as it once was.

Most lakes with zebes will be fine, probably better. Mille Lacs is the exception due to its make-up.

Just curious of your take on the great walleye fisheries of Huron/Erie, and why they have survived the zebe invasion? Too much water for zebes to filter everything out?

[Fish Felon]

What you're missing is that the walleye fishery on Erie didn't survive zebes, it was created by zebes.

[maplelakeduckslayer]

So why did zebes there create a walleye boom? I'm not setting you up for anything here I want to hear your take on why the great lakes are faring much better than mille lacs

[Trigger]

The reason Mille lacs' walleye population is declining is because there hasn't been a year class to survive since 2007. Now why that is happening is the million dollar question. It's not over harvest, it's not netting, something has changed.

[lanyard]

I haven't followed this, because if climate change is part of it there isn't much the DNR can do to fix it.

Strikes me that climate change could be the cause of the SD/ND walleye increase as well. The water there has been higher over time the last couple decades and their lakes tend to have fewer outlets.

The DNRs there also don't seem to get too fancy in making things happen. Walleyes and perch vs. trying to revive trophy "whatever" waters.

[Nershi]

The reason Mille lacs' walleye population is declining is because there hasn't been a year class to survive since 2007. Now why that is happening is the million dollar question. It's not over harvest, it's not netting, something has changed.

Forage. Perch specifically. There used to be boat loads in the lake. When the perch population tanked the baby walleyes were the main forage for large walleyes. A couple years ago the perch had a great hatch and the baby walleyes survived, lots of 9-13 inch fish in the lake right now. Ask the old time guides and resort owners (the ones that aren't brainwashed on netting) and they'll tell you the walleye fishing and population has always fluctuated with the perch.

It amazes me the dnr isn't more focused on the perch. They seem more concerned with predators than forage. Jewlibees are great forage but they are more important to the large pike and musky than walleye. The walleyes feed on perch much more than jewlibees due to the size and their typical habitat/location.

I gotta admit it is good entertainment reading the Mille lacs forums. It's also nice having the launches empty when I fish it.

[Fish Felon]

So why did zebes there create a walleye boom? I'm not setting you up for anything here I want to hear your take on why the great lakes are faring much better than mille lacs

In the 70's Erie was so polluted it couldn't support aquatic life. The 70's is what is regarded as Mille Lacs' s hey day.

Zebes, and stricter EPA regulations, cleaned up Erie to where it boomed. Cleaner water meant more sunlight which created more plants, more photo plankton, which lead to more forage fish, which lead to a walleye explosion. So far it doesn't seem like the zebes can over filter that much water like they're doing at Mille Lacs.

Don't get me wrong, I think Mille Lacs can be and still is a very good walleye lake...but will it ever be as good as it was? Probably not. Too much has changed for the worse where in Erie it was a change for the better.

[Fish Felon]

The DNRs there also don't seem to get too fancy in making things happen. Walleyes and perch vs. trying to revive trophy "whatever" waters.

That's also part of the problem. Mille Lacs was turned into a trophy fishery because of the "total pounds" strategy of management. It's not rocket science that if you're allowed a certain amount of lbs of fish that you can keep more small fish than big fish. It created a top heavy fishery.

I'd like to see them manage it where you can keep one fish of any size. Spread out the harvest instead of hammering one specific year class year after year.



They should also make it illegal to throwback any pike under 25".

[lanyard]

I was in college when the netting thing came into being. I called a researcher that had studied lake Erie extensively, a college professor AND ran a walleye boat in summers on Erie.

He said the single biggest issue with gill nets and walleyes is that gill nets target a very specific size of fish.

It would seem, that if a college sophomore can get that information and make a persuasive speech out of it..... that the f'ing biologists should be able to figure this chit out.

Saying climate change is having an effect/affect on Mille Lacs is like saying that your construction business suffered from the 9/11 terrorists attacks. Yes, there is a systemic impact, but is it such that the consequences of that single action/activity is causal? Not likely.

In systems management, something like Climate Change is more likely to highlight systemic flaws in the existing structure. This is done in product testing all the time~ where something works GREAT at optimum environmental (sunny/warm), but sucks ass when it gets cold and wet. Think o-ring failure on space shuttle. The difference between climate change on walleyes and the o-ring failure: the effect of ~1 degree temperature difference on the o-ring was known. Climate change is highlighting flaws in the system that were previously unmeasurable and a new tolerance litmus is needed. Which means that management needs to change it's plan and systems to include the new information.

The problem is: the managers are pretty sure they're right and won't integrate the new information into a new plan. So they'll keep sending up lake management "space shuttles" which will continue to crash and burn...

[Big Doe Hunter]

So why did zebes there create a walleye boom? I'm not setting you up for anything here I want to hear your take on why the great lakes are faring much better than mille lacs

In the 70's Erie was so polluted it couldn't support aquatic life. The 70's is what is regarded as Mille Lacs' s hey day.

Zebes, and stricter EPA regulations, cleaned up Erie to where it boomed. Cleaner water meant more sunlight which created more plants, more photo plankton, which lead to more forage fish, which lead to a walleye explosion. So far it doesn't seem like the zebes can over filter that much water like they're doing at Mille Lacs.

Don't get me wrong, I think Mille Lacs can be and still is a very good walleye lake...but will it ever be as good as it was? Probably not. Too much has changed for the worse where in Erie it was a change for the better.

Preach!

All my fond memories of catching walleyes in my youth, (younger than 20) occurred on Mille Lacs. I'll still fish it a few times a year, but in my older wiser years I've learned there are plenty of walleye opportunities in this state outside of Mille Lacs.