McConaughy spawn

Went to McConaughy this past weekend and trolled the dam with pretty good luck. We caught 19 total over the weekend. They were anywhere from 16-25 inches but the majority were around the 20-22 inch range. We did see some fish taken that were much larger. They were some of the healthiest walleye I have ever seen. I was a little surprised that we never caught a single female the entire weekend. With the nice weather it was a little bit of a circus on Saturday night but still had a lot of fun.

Sounds like you had a great time. I did recieved a text this weekend with a picture of a 14#er that was taken out there last week.

I’ve had a couple calls for guide trips out there this week and I have turned them both away. I know a few guides out there and none of them will even consider fighting the crowds to get guys on those spawners. I have nothing against those who go do it. I’ve just decided that it’s not for me. Besides that I would be lucky to break even after I pay my fuel bill.

Was the Game and Parks finished with their egg collection yet??

By far the majority of the walleyes caught during the spawn period from the dam faces on Nebraska reservoirs are males. There are few females caught, but those big fish are what catches everyone’s attention. There are A LOT of angler-hours invested for each female caught.

Those walleyes are not really interested in feeding during the spawn, they have other things on their mind. But, the majority of the adult walleyes are concentrated on the limited spawning habitat in our reservoirs and that means if you can only get a few to bite, you can still catch fish. The males come early and stay late and wait on the spawning habitat for a ripe female to move up to spawn. Way more males are caught during the spawn period because they are present “on the rocks” all the time. The females stage in deeper water nearby until they are ready to spawn and then they move up, typically deposit all of their eggs in one night, and then they are gone. Fewer females are caught because they are not really interested in feeding and they are present on the spawning habitat for a much shorter period of time.

Ben,

We finished collecting eggs a long time ago, Walleye Egg Collections 2011.

Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]
Bauer’s Barbs and Backlashes

As Daryl pointed out the egg collection was finished so we were able to fish the entire dam. With the crowds it may have been really interesting if a portion of the dam was still closed.

You are right about breaking even with the gas bill. With the wind we had last Friday it took two full tanks on the way out from Crete and only one on the way home.