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Stocking walleye

34K views 115 replies 30 participants last post by  c. j. stone 
#1 ·
Thinking of stocking walleye and perch in a gravel pit where i work.15 acre 120ft deep and still growing from operations.u guys think walleye will reproduce?lots of sandbars but no vegetation.plenty of gills shinners to feed on.and bass if they get real hungry.
 
#7 ·
Live by a 220 acre lake and we stock walleyes. These are 4 to 6 inch fish and we also put in at least 8 to 10 pounds of flathead minnows at the same time. Sort of instant food for them. I have seen a few small schools of walleye fry time to time but that's not a sure thing. Most all of the bigger eyes I've caught and kept have had either gills or small perch in them.
Along the face of the dam, at night, during early spring I do see the walleyes going through there spawning thing. We do have a fall draw down and during the spring with the incoming water it's hard to tell if any of the eggs do make it to hatch. We get the eyes from Fender's fish hatchery. Good people there.
 
#8 ·
Live by a 220 acre lake and we stock walleyes. These are 4 to 6 inch fish and we also put in at least 8 to 10 pounds of flathead minnows at the same time. Sort of instant food for them. I have seen a few small schools of walleye fry time to time but that's not a sure thing. Most all of the bigger eyes I've caught and kept have had either gills or small perch in them.
Along the face of the dam, at night, during early spring I do see the walleyes going through there spawning thing. We do have a fall draw down and during the spring with the incoming water it's hard to tell if any of the eggs do make it to hatch. We get the eyes from Fender's fish hatchery. Good people there.
Whats the prices on walleye at fenders.i was planning on jones hatchery
 
#12 ·
Like I said, real nice people to work with. Also make sure you put in some flathead minnows at the same time. Instant food for them plus they will help any other fish that are there. The walleyes we get from there do have a good growth rate.
 
#13 ·
Theres plenty of minnows in there for them.they will be eating good.i googled growth rates.1st year 10in 2nd year 14.of course depends on food.but yeah seems they grow fast first 4 yrs.and i talked to them they said it will be possible for the spawn being a sandy gravely bottom.not all walleye need to run.depending on and where they r raised.depth shallow areaz.ect ect.so spawning is not out of the question.ill see what happends in the next 4 yrs.
 
#14 ·
I think you miss what I'm saying. Those walleyes are trucked in from out of state then transferred over to there trucks. Maybe 1 or 2 days with out anything much to eat. By putting minnows in right at the same time the eyes are stocked they have food right there in front of them. No swimming around a strange lake looking to find food. Your spending good money, whats a few extra dollars going to hurt?
 
#17 ·
Not only good but great folks to deal with. They brought our fish, walleyes, perch, crappies, flathead minnows and some northern pike Monday and Tuesday. Norther ens were 2 years old and were between 12 and 16 inches. Will be fun to try to catch in a few years..
 
#19 ·
Interesting thread, I'll be curious to see how they do if you'd update once in a while. Sometimes walleye successfully spawn in gravel pits, sometimes they don't. Even if you stock for a few years, you will have a catchable population to play with if they don't reproduce or get eaten. Keep in mind silt will kill walleye eggs and if they do hatch, the larvae are blown around on the wind after they hatch for about 2 weeks, they cannot swim well. So continued operations in the spring may or may not kill off the larvae. With little predation and abundant food, coupled with enough oxygen from the depth assuming it's spring fed, you may have a nice little place to play. If not, than get some Flathead catfish and watch them grow to 50 lbs.
 
#20 ·
Ill keep everyone informed on the yrs ahead.if they reproduce its a plus if they dont no big deal.ill be the only one that fishes it anyway.the water thats in the pit is the water table.highwall is 50ft down to water surface then from water surface to bottom is 120ft at the moment.yrs to come itll be 200ft.dropoffs like crazy also shallow sand bars way at the other end.maybe in future ill stock yellow perch and possibly a few rainbows.visibility on monday morning before operations start is 10ft.i think the walleye will be in a decent lake.
 
#21 ·
Vib-e, the lakes 2 1/2 minutes from the end of my driveway.lol... Sort of crazy but I'll hook the boat up and drive 45 miles to fish other lakes. Heck, I have to drive right past Salt Fork in order to get to Seneca.. I just like trying to figure out different lakes.

Good luck on that pit your stocking. Sure sounds like it has some great potential..
 
#24 ·
Hmmm, a make your own Saugeye experiment. I don't think anyone raises Sauger but the State due to the expense and relatively low returns on investment from a business standpoint. The State of course is funded by license and tackle tax so they do so only for stocking purposes. The only way to get them would be to catch them and transport them to the pit for release. I believe that is legal so long as there is no chance for the pit to overflow into public waters, but check the laws first. As of late, transporting live fish is a pretty hot topic and you are risking introducing VHS or other diseases to your pit and a massive fish kill.
I know when I worked for the DNR, anything that was exposed to the Lake Erie watershed had to be cleaned and treated with a biocide before going back to the labs at OSU because of the possibility of unwanted introductions to the OH river watershed.
 
#33 ·
Been fshing the pit at least once a week..no walleye caught yet..definitly hard place to fish..no cover except the dredge that floats and the floats the conveyer sits on that runs to land.good drop offs and humps though.randomly mark fish no particular spot.try again today...oh and as a flow...the only flow we get is that back wash from the plant but that only flows 8 hrs a day in spring thru fall when we run gravel.im sure thats not enough constant flow to promot spawning..
 
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