Lost Walleyes

I know you guys are really looking forward for this walleye tournament but how many dead walleyes are going to be floating on the water after.

If you’re truly concerned about it, get in touch with Joe Kurz, Chippewa County fisheries biologist, about 90 days after the tournament. All organizations that conduct tournaments must file a report that contains the total number of fish caught, the number released alive and the number of unreleasable fish. FLW will have to file this report, and that will be your way of learning about the impact of the event on the system.

Nice first post John. Stir the pot a bit

My reply is usually: “Less than you gut hook fishing bobbers.”

or

“Imagine if all of the tournament anglers were out to fill theirs, their neighbors and their friends freezers every time they were out like a lot of our fishing population does”

Get some data and come back for some discussion. I like this one, and there is a lot of information out there on it.

Where from John, no location information posted?

Below is one of Johnny5+1’s pictures from another site’s Lake Wissota thread.

The system has impacts and pressure from a variety of sources…recreational anglers (guys who release most of what they catch), consumptive anglers (guys who eat most of what they catch), and this year, tournament anglers. If we are all effective stewards of the resource, we can all continue to enjoy it for years to come.

Didn’t mean to stir the pot. I may have worded my question wrong. I have nothing against the FLW, I never been to a tournament before and was hoping to be at this one being so close but have prior engagement. As for first time posting I would have posted on this site about the walleyes I have caught on Wissota but I had heard that members wanted to keep it quiet and so I did.I did post on another web site because no one was talking about the tournament there.
I was wondering what the percentage of walleyes mortality is during a tournament.

Jason, Yes, I do keep some fish to eat and others I release. I do enjoy reading your posts and all your helpful hints on fishing and locators. I know you fish the FLW so perhaps you could answer my question.
I do apologize if I have offended anyone, it was not my intent.

Walleye mortality, whether in a tournament or not, is influenced by:

water temperature
depth from which the fish was caught
hook placement (mouth, throat, gills, etc)

I haven’t had a fish go belly up on me all year (including 3 FLW events during the course of 3 months). I’m proud of the way that I care for my catch and am happy to see so many fish swim away unharmed from my boat during the course of my season (which never really ends).

Are fish lost as a result of tournament fishing? Yes.

Are fish lost as a result of any sort of angling pressure? Again, yes. Some are lost because of the circumstances noted above. Others get the hot grease release.

Are fish lost due to things that have nothing to do with anglers? Also, yes.

Take for example this dead sturgeon that was floating in the Rod and Gun club bay last week. This thing didn’t croak because of a tournament. It likely isn’t doing the backstroke because it was improperly handled by a recreational angler. It probably died because the water was warm and it was its time.

During the course of last weekend (I fished 3 days straight), I also encountered 2 dandy, dead walleyes in the same bay. Both well over 18″. WELL over 18″. When I spoke with Joe Kurz about the sturgeon, I also mentioned the walleyes. Joe’s best guess that they were released into the bay by anglers who changed their mind about knifing a big walleye. Even the best intentions of anglers who are trying to protect the resource sometimes fall short.

FLW and its anglers do everything within our collective power to be effective stewards of the resource. If you stop by the weigh-in, you’ll see all the technology in place to care for the catch before, during, and after the weigh-in. Far more walleyes will make it safely back into the lake than you might imagine.

Well put Jason. Jason’s suggestion to attend a weigh-in will probably give you the best picture as to all the care that goes into protecting the fish. I have to admit that I was amazed and very pleased to see the care in which each fish was handled at the first FLW weigh-in I attended. A big positve. The boats won’t be making huge runs like at tournaments on Erie, Detroit River, Escanaba,….. And with a little luck we will get some cooler nights to help the fish out.

FDR

Hey Jason thanks for the info and good luck in the tournament.Like I said earlier wish I could attend but have a wedding to go.Yes eyetroller that was one of the reasons I wanted to be their for the care of the walleyes and see what they do.THANKS GUYS.

Welcome Johnny 5+1
I think it would be nice if the other groups like FLW and BASS would go the the CPR idea like AIM is doing

I fished the AIM championship at winnie. It was my first time fishing the AIM tournament and I believe the CRR format is the future of the sport. By my second day I could net the fish,take the picture and release the fish in less than 45 seconds. It also does a great thing, it gets rid of those pesky slot limits. Imagine if the biggest basket is what it would take to win in all tournaments. Instead of 5 fish at 16 3/4 and 1 pig for example. Most likely the outcome at the AIM championship would have been different without CRR. Yes I do eat some, but i get more joy releaseing them and knowing that the resource will be there for my children.

I think also it takes some of the luck out of the tournement with the ccr and gives the better fisherman a slite advantage over the lucky guy catching the right 13 7/8 fish

Bad news today boys and girls; I went fishing today in my usual spot the fishing wasn’t that great today until I caught probably the biggest walleye I have ever caught. I caught a 26.75″ the bad news is when I got the fish up by the boat I couldn’t see my bait. The fish had swallowed the whole thing right down into the gills. I tried very hard to remove the bait with out hurting the fish. I tried to revive the walleye but it kept belling up so I had to take it home. I’m not a happy camper. I’m sure this stuff happen but I never thought this would happen while trolling crank baits this is a first for me. Since I started the thread lost walleyes I thought this walleye should go under this category. Curiosity, what would you tournament pros do in a situation like this? You do have to have a live fish to weigh, don’t you?

Nice fish Johnny5+1, particularly by Wissota standards!

Now you see what I meant before when I said that sometimes, unfortunate things happen even when we have the best intentions.

Dead fish can still be weighed, with a 1/2 lb penalty per dead one.

Congrats again on the nice Wissota walleye!

And prepared to be inundated by questions from tournament guys looking for where and how you caught that fish!

Some guys leave the hook in the fish Just cut the line or the barbs I think in your case that was not a option I do if it is possable.

Nice fish though

I hade some luck this morn also with a few unders and a nice 22″+ (Still swimming guys)

Nice fish John. Sometimes things just dont go the way we want for the fish.Congrats on the PB. Hope to see you out on the homepond again.