Keeping Female Walleyes

[arrowdem]

i dont care about all that melarchy if they seem too big to me i throw them back if they seem small enough to eat i eat them usually dont put a tape measure on them, but when you are fishing smaller bodies of water, like fordville dam and you are keeping 25-27" walleyes... well its not likely im gonna share a beer with you.

 

[Migrator Man]

I have no issue with keeping small walleyes as they could be dinner any second in northern infested waters. Let people fill their 5 fish limit with small fish that are much more numerous. 4# is typically the biggest fish I'll keep but I can admit an occasional 5# fish has met the knife. Anything above 6# goes back because I want it to grow to a trophy size. People cleaning limits of 20 huge females makes me sick because of how rare those fish are and without those fish growing up larger even less whoppers will be there in the future.

Trophy slot for trophy fishing and not because it is needed from a biology standpoint.

 

[SDMF]

I like having flexibility.

Try DDP Yoga.

 

[Huskerdu]

Any walleye over 20" going back unless hooked bad, personal choice

 

[Kurtr]

I have no issue with keeping small walleyes as they could be dinner any second in northern infested waters. Let people fill their 5 fish limit with small fish that are much more numerous. 4# is typically the biggest fish I'll keep but I can admit an occasional 5# fish has met the knife. Anything above 6# goes back because I want it to grow to a trophy size. People cleaning limits of 20 huge females makes me sick because of how rare those fish are and without those fish growing up larger even less whoppers will be there in the future.


Trophy slot for trophy fishing and not because it is needed from a biology standpoint.

how rare are huge females is it because of fishing or because the biology does not support it. Lake erie has lots of huge females and they get cut up on the regular. Your just saying you want to believe it makes a difference letting big ones go because it makes you feel good about you self i can accept that but saying every one else should is not acceptable

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and just to be clear the first 4 walleyes i catch this year i will keep and eat as long as they are over 13 inches and one over 20 becasue our dumb ass slot we have down here i am haf for some walleye

 

[NodakBuckeye]

Depends somewhat on the lake I guess for me but I have no issues with anyone keeping a legal fish. I probably get more annoyed by people cleaning 10-14" than 25"+. Unless it is a pond out back, thd odds of me catching a fish 3 years after I caught it the 1st time are pretty darn thin. Unless you know exactly how many walleye are in a system, what the recruitment rate will be in the future, and can predict population crashes and practice year round catch and release.... you probably shouldn't get to dissapointed in somebody catching and keeping a legal fish.

 

[Coldfront]

You boys ever fish Lake Erie? They throw back under 25" and keep the eaters above that. Don't believe it go there. When a female walleye gets to 22" and above are they like anything else in the eco system? An example is a 18" walleye has lets say has 500,000 eggs and 25" walleye has 1,000,000 eggs, how many of those are good and will be fertilized because of the age of the fish? 75%, 50%, 25%. These are some numbers that I would like to know. As a deer gets older the horns get smaller.

 

[JMF]

Trophy slot for trophy fishing and not because it is needed from a biology standpoint.

Liberals reason this same way on lots of different topics.

 

[Achucker]

I think it's funny that A lot of people here want to try to save a fishery so they come up with their own "slot" limit, but just curious how may of you get a buck tag and say they want to get a big buck of a lifetime and end up shooting the first basket horn that jumps in front of them.

 

[BDub]

A neighbor of mine was fishing a ditch up at Devils Lake recently. He said it was very easy to catch his limit of 3 to 5 pounders. Said they tasted great! His family caught over 100 in two days. #$%^&>

 

[Rowdie]

If its spring and the males are making a mess in the boat and a limit is imminent, then I'll throw back a female.

It amazes me how stubborn people can be in their beliefs. You can hammer and hammer them with facts and data, yet they still believe that a trophy slot will magically create a trophy lake. Reminds me of the protestors.

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Oh, and how a walleye's meat somehow turns to shit after 20" or whatever length your boat slot is just dumb. Freezing fish in any manner will make them taste fishy. I'll take a any length fish out of Saks or Oahe fresh over a frozen fillet of the perfect length.

 

[Kickemup]

I don't look at it as trying to save a fishery. I look at it as if you keep every 5lb eye you catch. That fish never has a chance to become a try trophy that could go on someone's wall when it gets to be 10lbs or bigger. If I was worried about a fishery. I wouldn't keep my limit of fat perch when I'm on the ice.

 

[Flatrock]

You boys ever fish Lake Erie? They throw back under 25" and keep the eaters above that. Don't believe it go there.

That's exactly true. The size of the fish out there is just stupid though. I lived and fished out there for 1 spring and you catch more that are 28"+ than you do under 20".

That being said, I generally don't care what guys keep. For me, releasing fish over 5 pounds has more to do with letting that fish grow into a trophy fish and hopefully someone else catches it versus releasing it so that it can spawn. Mother Nature and the spawning conditions is WAY more important than the spawning fish population.

 

[Brian Renville]

Over 20-22" or so usually goes back. I don't worry about what others do as long as they follow the law. Way too many people are out there breaking law now that should get the attention. I'm not sure what the time of year has to do with anything. Unless we get to talk about when all those spawning fish are packed in somewhere getting hammered. ;:;popcorn;:;popcorn Anyway I do t keep all that many fish in the first place, I swear some guys act like they are saving for a famine.

 

[WormWiggler]

I eat every f'n one I catch... phlllllttt!!!!!!!!!

 

[dragoneyes]

This should be the rule for all fishing tournaments.lol

 

[TFX 186]

I honestly try to stay away from fish cleaning stations. I fish a ton and have a personal slot I go by. I take allot of people fishing with me and they can keep whatever they like when they catch it. Most of them fish way less than I do so they are very excited when they catch anything. The last thing I want is for these friends and kids to be made to feel like shit because of what they are cleaning. Nothing like spoiling a great day for most of them if some ass hat drops a snide comment about a couple fish they caught an kept. Like one guy said, it depends on how much fishing they do. It's supposed to be enjoyable!

Fish On!

 

[MSA]

The only thing that im against is giving another angler shit at the cleaning station...ive been harassed for cleaning big pike, walleyes, bluegills, white bass, shit! even drum. Some asshat actually gave me shit for drum at a cleaning station. Ive got a story for every one, pisses me off to no end. And the worst part is theyre all different, 18", 20", 24", one over, one under, etc...every one with a new G-loomis is suddenly a career biologist.

I kept a 3lb smallie one time to see how they taste, got shit for that too...some asshat that likes to bass fish thought he'd educate me on the futire of the smallmouth fishery....tasted like sauted ass by the way.

 

[stinkbait]

I don't care what anyone else keeps. I fish ND all summer but every weekend on the ice is at lake of the woods. My problem with slots is that 20" fish bleeding all over that you know is gonna die you have no choice but to shove down the hole. Only happens maybe once every couple years but pisses me off.

 

[SlamminSalmon]

I have a personal slot of over 20 goes back don't like eating bigger fish. Got grief from a guy once for keeping 18" walleyes he said there was no meat on them. Only time I said any thing to someone about fish. Seen a guy last year cleaning his catch and he had really small walleyes and smallmouth but he was happy and that's all that matters. He did ask where I got mine and how I was happy to share with him. After all its for fun not survival!