04-01-2005, 11:16 PM
[cool][#0000ff]D-Mack pretty much stated the case. The best fishing is in waters where there is a balance of predators and prey. Starvation is all out of whack right now. Once walleyes get to be the size of the one in the picture, they can dine on just about everything else in the lake. However, there is a lot of competition by the smaller fish, of several species, for just enough groceries to make it to a size large enough to become a top predator.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My point was that once a water is suffering an overpopulation of stunted fish, it is rare that the condition will right itself naturally. It will take a major dieoff, of the stunted strains of fish, and a repopulation by fish with genetics that provide for bigger fish. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Throughout the country, there are countless case histories of waters that got out of balance and all of the fish stunted. In almost every instance, even when some were cleaned out and more food available, the stunting tendencies were still passed on to the next generation of fry. In such cases, fisheries managers have found that it is better to poison out a lake and completely restock it with "normal" fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't think anybody has the definitive answer for Starvation. It is not a fertile lake, full of structure and weedbeds, with heavy populations of aquatic insect life, leeches and multiple species of baitfish. It was a chub condominium for many years, and the browns grew big and fat in there. Since the introduction of smallies, wallies and perchies, the chubs don't have a chance to reproduce and survive. The 20 year old chubby chubs still surviving manage to drop some eggs each year, but the chublets are lucky to survive past the yolk sac stage before being vacuumed up by the hordes of hungry young of the other species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are fewer and fewer of the big walleyes that once got the blood boiling for Salt Lake walleye chasers. Again, once they manage to get over about 24 inches, they can be assured of plenty of food, from the growing perch population. Still, if the big ones are all harvested, that will leave only the progressive generations of walleyes that are spawning when less than 12 inches long. The runts produce more runts and the big spawners that are left will die of old age and the damage will be irreversible. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The state record C & R walleye came from Starvation. It was only 31 1/2 inches (I think). That was several years ago. The big fish in the picture (as has been suggested) would have blown away the old record big time, and it might not be broken again for a long time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My point was that once a water is suffering an overpopulation of stunted fish, it is rare that the condition will right itself naturally. It will take a major dieoff, of the stunted strains of fish, and a repopulation by fish with genetics that provide for bigger fish. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Throughout the country, there are countless case histories of waters that got out of balance and all of the fish stunted. In almost every instance, even when some were cleaned out and more food available, the stunting tendencies were still passed on to the next generation of fry. In such cases, fisheries managers have found that it is better to poison out a lake and completely restock it with "normal" fish.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I don't think anybody has the definitive answer for Starvation. It is not a fertile lake, full of structure and weedbeds, with heavy populations of aquatic insect life, leeches and multiple species of baitfish. It was a chub condominium for many years, and the browns grew big and fat in there. Since the introduction of smallies, wallies and perchies, the chubs don't have a chance to reproduce and survive. The 20 year old chubby chubs still surviving manage to drop some eggs each year, but the chublets are lucky to survive past the yolk sac stage before being vacuumed up by the hordes of hungry young of the other species.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are fewer and fewer of the big walleyes that once got the blood boiling for Salt Lake walleye chasers. Again, once they manage to get over about 24 inches, they can be assured of plenty of food, from the growing perch population. Still, if the big ones are all harvested, that will leave only the progressive generations of walleyes that are spawning when less than 12 inches long. The runts produce more runts and the big spawners that are left will die of old age and the damage will be irreversible. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The state record C & R walleye came from Starvation. It was only 31 1/2 inches (I think). That was several years ago. The big fish in the picture (as has been suggested) would have blown away the old record big time, and it might not be broken again for a long time.[/#0000ff]
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