I agree that not everyone is keeping wipers, that was a bad “assumption” on my part. The reason I say that is because most of the people I talk to, or see, at Willard HAVE to have their limit of Wipers. With the size of my family, I can take home 1-2 larger wipers and have plenty for a meal…that being said, I am fully content on releasing every wiper I catch and going home with nothing or some walleye for the table.
I agree with you fully on the fact that as long as anglers are in the limits set by the DWR there is nothing that needs to be said. It is every persons right to take home fish as long as it is done so in a legal manner and falls within the legal limits. You are completely correct. It makes me think of the ongoing battle of harvesting large lake trout. The law is clearly set and you really can’t argue with someone who wants to take home a mac that is big. You literally have no legal arguement with them, even though you (or I) personally have a different opinion about it.
Maybe closing it for certain months so that is isn’t quite the fishing in a bucket?
But – would that help the population of walleye? My understanding is that anglers are not harvesting enough walleye? So, opening it up to fishing that time of year certainly increases mortality and lowers the population, which satisfies the biology. Isn’t that the objective? The social issues need to be addressed. This can be done through two means:
Education
Law Enforcement
I see this as going from one extreme to the other. Education, again, I think most are aware and know. Law Enforcement, absolutely. No other choice at this point, or they could just let them take one or two more than limit and those caught in the tail or back, no big deal as that would help that harvesting issue, right? The fact they are stacked up makes this a do able task.
The Enforcement Could be focused somewhere else, maybe.
I just see this as that unattended bowl of candy on the front porch at Halloween with a sign that reads, please take ONE.
I believe it was stated earlier in the post that walleye are equally as good to eat as a wiper, I personally don’t think a wiper even comes close to being the great table fare a walleye is. If we are all for opening up inlets to fishing during the spring walleye spawn when can we expect the 1/2 dozen or so inlets to Utah Lake to open up, or how about the Swan Creek inlet at Bear Lake for the Cutts? But then again I’m just one of the uneducated walleye fisherman.[pirate]
I think the ecology of the inlets to Utah Lake are different. The eggs laid in those streams do for the most part hatch. The same I believe is true of the others you mentioned. I will after this quit posting as I think the subject has been beat to death. There are some that will remain opposed, some that are undecided and some that will agree. I think Drew went to extraordinay efforts to explain the decision and I believe in personal discussions he has swayed the opinion of some. Comparing the decision to open the inlet at Willard to opening the tributaries to other lakes with a different ecology is not really a fair question given the information that has been posted.
Wow that’s a surprising statistic as I fished Willard a few days last summer and I didn’t see many walleye put back that were caught, they took plenty off the island for a good month or better last summer, the only thing I noticed going on there was alot of culling. Most of the guys I spoke with at the ramps had their limits of eyes, which in my book is a good thing as long as it’s not done day after day. I know the fishing has been good for the walleye the last several years at Willard and I would like to see it stay that way.
But then again I’m just one of the uneducated walleye fisherman.[pirate]
Hey, put me on that list also. My personal opinion is I don’t really think the inlet should have been opened up, but I really can’t make a full decision about it due to the fact that I have not looked into the real facts or numbers or have an in depth look of the biology behind the lake. There are a lot of people who know how that lake works a lot better than I do, yourself included I’m sure.
I will tell you that hanging out at Mr. Johnsons shop will “educate” you![;)]
RE"If we are all for opening up inlets to fishing during the spring walleye spawn when can we expect the 1/2 dozen or so inlets to Utah Lake to open up, or how about the Swan Creek inlet at Bear Lake for the Cutts? But then again I’m just one of the uneducated walleye fisherman. "
I’m going to stay out of the should they-shouldn’t they open it debate, but some comments here may be warranted.
The DWR **has **considered opening up UL tribs to fishing during the walleye spawn. They may yet. However, 2 differences exist between the Willard channel and UL tribs. One was already mentioned, the spawning activities in the tribs can be productive, and the fry survive. Second, unlike a relatively small area in question at Willard that can be relatively easily patrolled and the law enforced, UL tribs include miles of river that would be nearly impossible to patrol by CO’s. Enforcement would be a mess.
As for Swan creek or Strawberry tribs, these spots are active egg collection stations. The eggs collected “feed” fish into the whole state. You cannot say the same about the inlet.
Now, if the DWR starts dabbling in saugeyes as we keep hearing rumors of, then they **will **need a source for walleye eggs. Maybe the inlet would work well for that and the comparison would be valid. I bet they would even close it for you at that point too.
Now, if the DWR starts dabbling in saugeyes as we keep hearing rumors of, then they **will **need a source for walleye eggs. Maybe the inlet would work well for that and the comparison would be valid. I bet they would even close it for you at that point too.
Carry on.
Maybe.
But only if Utah hatcheries started producing the saugeye. It might be cheaper to simply buy saugeye fry from other states.
RE" It might be cheaper to simply buy saugeye fry from other states. "
Sure, but I thought the threat of VHS made out-of-state purchases something the division was trying to avoid. They would still need to get a brood stock of saugers if they did raise the fish here, so some transfers would still be unavoidable.
we’ll just have to see how things play out. I know VHS was a significant issue with tiger musky – and thus we have our own program for them at this time. But I don’t know what kind of progress other states have made with disease free certification since then.
I honestly think saugeye are closer than many believe…
PBH, I just had a couple quick questions that I was hoping you could answer.
How does the DWR know that there is an over abundance of walleye in Willard? (I’m not being sarcastic, It’s an honest question.)
One of the reasons for opening the inlet was because most of the walleye eggs are just covered and suffocated anyways. Wouldn’t the walleye realize this if it were the case and not spawn there?
NO. Walleyes don’t have anything to do with their eggs after they’ve spawned. They don’t know, or care whether one or every one of their eggs hatch. Even if they did know, it doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t spawn there. It’s got all of the right conditions. Soft music, candlelight, clean sheets, perfume, … etc.
Haha, thanks for the info. But you’d think if year after year the fish left there eggs in the same place and they kept NOT hatching, they would probably stop using that area. I know fish aren’t that intelligent, but come on.
I guess I’ll just have to fulfill my civil duty and get up there and catch a few.
It wouldn’t matter if it happened for a thousand years. It wouldn’t change their behavior. The conditions are right for spawning. That is all that the adult Walleyes are affected by. If the population of Walleyes was dependent on successful spawning at that location, the population would soon crash. That would alter the population, but not the behavior.
We, as humans, have the tendency to view things a certain way. We tend to think that others, including animals, see them the same way. Often called the “reindeer effect”, we don’t see things their way. Walleyes spawn. That is the end of their parenting skills. They don’t give a fin about their eggs. They care even less about their own offspring, and will eat them if they get the chance.
McFish – How do the biologists know? Well, isn’t that their job to know?
Fshrmn gave you a pretty simple answer: gill nets. I’d be willing to bet that they have numerous years worth of data from netting and other sampling to be able to see trends in populations at Willard. My suggestion for a more complete answer would be to call the DWR offices and ask to speak to an aquatics biologist that works at Willard. Ask him/her about the population of walleye, and what they see happening.
Another term that could be used to answer your second question is “Anthropomorphism”: The attribution of human characteristics or behavior to an animal, or object.
Far too often we like to give human characteristics to animals, then we ask questions based off those human characteristics. Walt Disney did a huge disservice to us all by giving animated fish eyelids, and the ability for animated animals to talk and reason. Now, we all wonder why they don’t act like us, as they do in Disney movies.
Here’s the thing: fish have little, itty, bitty brains. They are kind of like a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). They are programmed to respond to stimuli. They simply react. They don’t think, feel, sympathize, reason, or care. They react to stimulus. So, when days start to get longer and water begins to warm they react by attempting to spawn. They go in search of conditions necessary to spawn (whatever those conditions may be for that species of fish). They carry out the action whether or not it is going to be successful. They simply do it. even sterile fish will go through the motions of spawning!
So, like Fshrmn said – they do it whether or not it will be successful. In fact, look at the plethora of Utah reservoirs that have rainbow trout in them. How many of those rainbows attempt to spawn year after year after year – with next to 0% success? They do it whether it is successful or not. It’s also why we end up with overpopulations (brook trout, brown trout, WALLEYE) – because they don’t have the programming to logically say “there are too many of us. We should stop”. They just do it. Every year. No matter the results, good or bad.
At this point I think the better debat about this issue would be lack of information from the DNR. Where are all the dwr ads/ and information that the DNR is talking about? I’am not talking about the 2012 RAC meetings. I’ve read the minutes. it wasnt discussed. I do know a couple of members were at the RAC’s. Also was this issue ever debated on this forum(2012)?
Would it then be safe to say nobody knew before the regs that came out in January? If we as fisherman knew about the inlet change that RAC meeting should have been standing room only! I for one, was not a member of bft at the time(joined a couple of days before the first inlet post). I never heard of this change until the first post on bft of someone fishing the inlet.
In all the times I launch at willard last year(2012) and talked to (probably many of you) fisherman,DNR personel, anybody else that talks fishing I never heard the inlet was opening. If there was something posted on the entranace booth,newspaper or wherever. I must have missed it.
Also an issue this big you would think DNR would mention it in the 2013 guidebook under the highlight section “Whats new this season; Regulation changes for popular fisheries”… willard inlet change not mentioned.
This is not meant to be a “dig” at the DNR in general, or about the biology of the lake. Those debates could go on indefintily[crazy].
The saddest part of all of this IMO, is that people want to manage this based on their feelings and opinions. It should be based on the biology of the resource. If it’s gonna be managed for the resource, then let the inlet be open to fishing.
I say again, If everyone is so damn worried about the over population of walleye in Willard why is the limit 6 fish and most other walleye waters in the state is 10? [crazy]
Well if you do go I’ll give ya some excellent advice. First of all fishing for these relatively stupid fish is actually very easy. The first think you’re going to need is a very stiff rod. I personally like to use 7’6” musky rod or salt water rods with a supper stiff back bone. Pulling jigs out of the rocks can be very hard work and your rod needs to be up to the challenge. Next thing required will be at a minimum 50 LBS braided line. These fish have extremely sharp teeth and like to hang out in the rocks so a high quality line is a must. No mono, no fluorocarbon required for these blind fish. Next will be the bait. Now remember you’ll be going after one of the top apex predators of fresh water so think big. Big hooks equal big fish!!! Jig color is kind of a person preference, but for me I just buy whatever is on sell. It’s all just for show anyways, right? And now for the most important part. We’ve all been told that Willard has too many Walleye, so once you hook that big old fatty you want to ensure that all contents (Eggs) of the fish are emptied as to not continue the cycle. Please see attached photos taken just this morning at the inlet.
On a side note. Fished the west dike again this morning and it was slow, slow, slow. Water temps need to come up a few more degrees.