Very low walleye survey, what should be done?

My home lake was just surveyed by DNR and was told by them that it was one of the poorest in the lakes history. The lake is Minnewaska in Pope County Minnesota. It is the 13th largest in the state at over 7000 acres. I have fished this lake since I could fish with my dad. My question is what should the DNR do? Slot fish or lower the limit? The lake is only 33′ at it’s deepest and has the dreaded zebra mussels. Very clear lake with weeds in some places down to 20′. Not solid weeds al the way out. It has one outlet that use to have gates but doesn’t anymore. The outlet goes to another lake about 5-6 miles away which goes to the Chippewa river and eventually to the Minnesota River. Just looking for any opinions. Lake is constantly being stocked by DNR and lake association.

Sometimes those surveys arent successful in getting a true gauge of the population. If the previous surveys were all good with numbers of various sized fish, I wouldnt worry too much about this single survey. Depending on timing of when they do the survey the fish could be out in the basins of the lake and not caught in traps.
Regarding the zebras, the population of those will start to dramatically decline based on how long they have been in there. Nowhere near the number of them in Mille Lacs anymore that they used to have.

Catch and keep as many northerns (preferably smaller ones) as legally allowed, looks like the amount of hammer handles has jumped up in the 4 years between surveys. Also, what’s the history of Zeebs, are they new to the lake during the recent survey time frame (2014 to 2018)? If so, the clearer water may have changed the walleye habits, making the DNR survey a less accurate picture of what the actual walleye population is. These DNR survey’s are a great tool, but they are not perfect and are subject to statistical outliers like any survey with so many variables would be.

Bigwerm is accurate in his statement about an abundance of small pike. They are aggressive, they gobble up walleye fry/fingerlings like a buffet, and the changing water clarity is not helping either. That, and there’s probably very few big pike left to keep the small ones in check. My advice is the same: remove as many 20 inch snakes as you can. And start bass fishing instead.

Minnewaska does not have a shortage of walleyes. The fish are starting to get on the bigger side of the population as I have seen over the last couple years since moving to the area. With all the bass and northerns in there it just makes them tough to target. As others have stated, keep the northerns and get them out of there. My photo is from Minnewaska, best time of the year for the lake is quickly approaching .

Ray Gylsen wrote:

My home lake was just surveyed by DNR and was told by them that it was one of the poorest in the lakes history. The lake is Minnewaska in Pope County Minnesota. It is the 13th largest in the state at over 7000 acres. I have fished this lake since I could fish with my dad. My question is what should the DNR do? Slot fish or lower the limit? The lake is only 33′ at it’s deepest and has the dreaded zebra mussels. Very clear lake with weeds in some places down to 20′. Not solid weeds al the way out. It has one outlet that use to have gates but doesn’t anymore. The outlet goes to another lake about 5-6 miles away which goes to the Chippewa river and eventually to the Minnesota River. Just looking for any opinions. Lake is constantly being stocked by DNR and lake association.

Ray, I believe the survey you are referring too was actually completed summer of 2018. Next survey will be in 2022.
Walleye numbers have always cycled on minnewaska. Part of the reason I believe the survey reflected lower numbers last year was the timing. The weedlines grew fast and thick last summer, and there’s always a population of eyes that are buried in those weedlines as soon as they set up. the bass guys know this well. Last summer we caught eyes consistently. There did seem to be one dominant year class, but we didn’t vary our techniques much to target bigger fish. This summer, the walleye fishing has been hit or miss, but you combine the high water, colder water, really fast warm up in July, and subsequent cool down/weed laydown lately, and it’s been tough to put a pattern together for anything more than a few days in a row. I’ve heard a lot of guys complaining, but they are also guys too stubborn to do anything other than drag lindy rigs or vertical jig the school bar. I’ve caught numerous fish of all lengths from 7″ to 25″ this summer. Anywhere from 24″ of water to 24′ of water.
Hopefully, with the high water this spring, the walleyes had some good spawning over clean gravel. silt covering spawning sites has always been an issue on waska. I saw quite a few eye balls shining in my head lamp up shallow easter weekend, so hopefully that equals some good natural spawning recruitment. In the mean time there’s no reason to pout about walleyes if they are indeed down. The bluegill fishing and size structure has been excellent; I really believe people are starting to realize that throwing back those fish over 9″ is good for the fishery. Bass….well everybody knows about the bass.

BigWerm wrote:

Also, what’s the history of Zeebs, are they new to the lake during the recent survey time frame (2014 to 2018)? If so, the clearer water may have changed the walleye habits, making the DNR survey a less accurate picture of what the actual <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye population is.

Zebs absolutely changed the walleye fishing on Waska, Emily, & the Chippewa river between 2014 and today. Most anglers have not adapted yet.

I believe the mussels have been in the lake for about 5-8 years. I know that the catching of walleyes by a few league members have told me that each league only caught one in each league with about 12 teams. I know that the DNR did a survey this year on most area lakes including Minnewaska. May have been a special survey, not sure. I fished the lake only once this year hitting other lakes in the area. You guys may be right about the change in techniques and maybe the time of day/night. Lots of bass touneys this year, no shortage of them. Thanks for all the inputs and thoughts.

Ray Gylsen wrote:

You guys may be right about the change in techniques and maybe the time of day/night. .

There’s a hint…

Not much of a hint. Always ready for hints…. or just put time in on the water.