Spring High Water and Spawning

I was reading some of the articles on how walleyes during high water will move between pools when the dams are open. But it does not mention how it effects these fish when it comes time to spawn. Either that year or the following year. They usually say walleyes go back to there original spawning grounds. So it begs to be asked. Do these fish find new spawning grounds, if so how? And if they don`t do they spawn at all?

Tom P

John Pitlo a fisheries research bioligist for the state of Iowa has commented on this board a couple of times, plus shipped his research paper that involved some of the same questions your asking….

1. High water that stays high like this spring seems to be absolutely the best conditions for walleye spawn… the fish seem to use flooded grasses to spawn in backwaters… Im hearing this years spawning success was excellent….

2. Do the fish return to the same spots to spawn? I dont think they are fanatical about this… they will spawn in different areas….. the main impact is the water level….. I think they look for certain current conditions along with the proper substrate……

3. Yes the fish will run up rivers quite a ways if they get the chance…. but the usually end up returning to the same place… it DOES seem they are fanatical about returning to there “home” water…. and frequently will stay in a fairly small area……

I guess I should have clarified a little more. Thanks for part of the answer Rivereyes. But what I was trying to get at is if these fish move to a new pool during high water and can`t return to there pool of origin for the spawning period, and have never been in this particular pool, how do they know where the spawning grounds are for that pool? Or do they even spawn, when changing to pools they have not been in before?

Thanks

Tom P

In radio tracking studies of walleye, if they happen to move out of the pool during the spawning period when the gates are open, they always seem to return to the pool of origin. In sudies in Pool 8, several female walleye moved through 4 Locks&Dams to spawn, then returned to Pool 8 during the summer period (generally June & July). Not sure if they went through the locks or simply under the roller gates (I think that would be easier). In Pool 13, we have had nearly a dozen radio tagged walleye move through the open gates into Pool 12, they have all returned to Pool 13 during the summer. We also have had a few fish move downstream into the next pool, however, this has been minor (2 in 80 fish), and these have not returned to the pool of origin. Hope this helps.

Hi John!

thanks for your input!!

Still trying to find out more about the red-eye condition you e-mailed me about. Nobody I’ve talked to seems to have heard about it or is familiar with it – I’ll keep trying.

How do I get one of these tracking devices???? I think this would come in handy, who needs a depth finder, I’ve got the radio tracking device!! LOL!!!! Thanks for the very informative info.

Back in the flat state, many times the fish will pass through the power houses on the misouri river system. If you’ve ever seen the tunnels/turbines these power plants contain, it would make you wonder how they survive that journey. One thing is for sure though, once they pass downstream, there is no going back.

It amazes me how “smart” these fish are. I wish my instincts were this trustworthy.

Hi John

Thanks for the input. Question ??? Even though you have tagged these fish in say pool thirteen, that does not necesarily mean these fish were originally spawned from this pool. Is this a correct assumption? And if so then could it also be assumed that is why some fish move into upper pools trying to return to there original grounds where they were spawned? Has a study ben done ( just out of curiousity ) how far the free floating ( can`t remember the real name I`ll just call them eggs ) eggs have moved in a river system?

It just seems the more I learn the more questions I seem to have.

Thanks

Tom P

There is no real way of knowing where the 5 lb walleye we radio tagged was spawned. there have been studies done on the genetics of Miss. River walleyes and they are all the same, meaning there is good exchange of genetic material between populations in different pools. If you think about a natural river system, one without dams, it is highly likely that most riverine fish have evolved to move upstream to spawn. In this way, eggs and then larvae (just hatched walleye/sauger that are 6-10 mm long) tend to drift downstream to populate the area where the adults came from. That said – there are a ton of variables every year, beginning with various river stages during the spawn (from fairly low flood conditions to record flood conditions) that have an affect of larval fish distribution. We collect larval walleye/sauger from about 6 mm to 20 mm in length (25 mm = 1 inch) during the entire month of May with very fine mesh nets set for about 15 minutes in the main channel and main channel border. Walleye are about 8-9 mm long at hatch and it takes them 12 days to grow the paired pectoral and pelvic fins. they can only do tail thrusts in the water column for those first 12 days. So – they could be drifting for 12 days before they get those paired fins and can swim horizontally. But, some of those larvae drift into backwaters, some get caught in eddies, some drift much slower if they get near shore, etc, etc. – so only a small portion drift in the main channel (where the current is the fastest) for the entire 12 days. Then in addition, they primarily drift at night, and lay on the bottom during the day (that might be a behavioral adaptation to avioid predation). We have estimated that some of the 12-18 mm larvae we catch could have originated from as much as 150 miles upstream, while some of the same length could have hatched 2 miles upstream and spent the first 11 days in a nearly backwater. Then throw in the variable of towboat traffic and propeller mortality to floating larval fish and it becomes very difficult to predict how these little fish will survive. This got a little long – sorry but I tried to keep it short, but one thing usually ties into another.

Fishsqzr Thanks

Never even thought about mortality from boat traffic, and never new larval could lie on the bottom during the day.

Thanjs Again

Tom P

Fish, Excellent Info!!!! Thanks!!