Yes as long as they are live and well.

 

If you do cull, with as many Walleyes that are being caught, it think it is better to do it as you go.
Putting fish in a “live” well for an extended period of time puts a lot of stress on them. It’s not long before they are belly up. Once they are dead, they count. Just my opinion.

 

You can keep fishing with limits of cut and dead walleyes on ice... but you obviously can’t cull. In a livewell is no different, if the fish can swim away it can be culled, but that becomes a ethical decision more than a legal one.

 

What’s a inch matter unless your tournament fishing. JMO

 

Well I culled Friday put 3 on ice 16 in. then put two in the live well at 17 then upgraded them two too 20 and 21. Then I put them on ice and just threw anything back that was below 20 in my last keeper was 22 inch. But the ones I culled were very lively. I am going to ask the game warden next time I see one at the ramp.

 

We had 15 In the box the we had a fire drill and had 4 on the floor and decided to keep the 16” that had swallowed the Bandit and left the 17” that ate the spoon.
Do what you want!

 

Why even keep the under 17 if your plan is to cull them anyways? Throw them back immediately if you want bigger fish. Not like you won’t catch more. Don’t need to stress fish any more than you have to. I watched central basin perch fisherman throw smaller perch back in deeper water only to be gobbled up by seagulls when they surface from the bends as they tried to get bigger perch. Now same A holes telling everyone the walleye must be eating all the perch. Don’t waste a great fishery. Have better conservation practices.

 

Wanted to also stress I’m not saying for anyone not to keep 15” fish. Take what legal fish you want.

 

Once they hit the live-well I own them. Take them off and throw them back if you don't want them. Thats called abusing the fishery.

 

There is no law that says you cannot cull a fish. So if you have a good live well that keeps your fish lively, then cull away. I fish in shallow water, so the fish I catch are very lively if I want to cull them.

 

^^^completely agree, it has a lot to do with the quality of the livewell. Fish in my well are very active even after several hours. Some poorly designed wells don’t keep fish as healthy. Many companies have invested time and money into livewell performance because of penalties handed out in some tournaments for dead fish.
If you are following the law, do what you want. Let your conscience be your guide. If you don’t have a conscience, shame on you, you shouldn’t be on a sportsman’s forum anyway.

 

I just can’t see the reason to cull unless you are in a tournament. It’s not like walleye are dynamic fighters. If you want catch bigger fish then just target the bigger fish. Release the smaller ones at the boat without netting them. You could always load up on the smaller ones and stop keeping a couple short of your limit and keep fishing for a big fish. Just my 2cents, I like to get my fish, get in, get them cleaned, and start on my Budlight limit.

 

What is your bud light limit just curious some nights I feel like I don’t have one LOL if I get rolling look out

 

Plenty of studies done on this topic. Don’t matter what your livewell is capable doing. Unless your livewell is Lake Erie. Just because you watch them swim away, 20 to 28% is the mortality rate for walleyes kept in livewells. 2% if caught and immediately released. 100% if I catch a legal one.

 

Please post that data.

 

I’d like to see that also

 

I’m not great at this computer stuff. Never posted a pic or article. Just do some google searches on the topic and do some reading. You will find the numbers I used are of the most conservative of the studies. Mississippi,Minnesota,Wisconsin,South Dakota, Canada, and the Lake Erie Sea Grant all have culling studies. They even have the name “post release mortality” for the fish that do swim away. But unfortunately a big percentage die within 3 days.

Just some common sense here will tell you holding something captive is not good for that creature being it human,animals, or fish. Do what you want. I have a round livewell on my boat but I can’t do it ethically knowing the situation.

 

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/stay-in...s-amp-features/your-wild-ohio-angler/post/fishing-faq-staying-within-your-limit

google ODNR culling

 

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/stay-in...s-amp-features/your-wild-ohio-angler/post/fishing-faq-staying-within-your-limit
After opening and reading this link that leeabu posted. The last sentence put the whole boat limit argument to rest. “Also note that it is illegal to give any of your fish to anyone else to contribute to their limit.” Quoted directly from the link.

 

Once you decide to keep a fish, it's part of your limit. I've watched guys cull in the river for years and seeing a fish released after it's been drug around for an hour on a stringer in that current ticks me off.

 

I think culling walleyes should be disallowed, especially if trolling. Consider that the 15 inch walleye has been dragged over the top of the water with it 's mouth open and now after time in possession is thrown back in the lake to likely die. This because some "Sportsman" can have a bigger fish that will not taste as good as the small legal one.

 

I’m assuming depth the fish was winched up from has a lot to do with the mortaility rate also... a fish caught on a dearie in 20FOW has much less stress than a fish brought up 400’ back on a wire rod in 70FOW

 

we have upgraded our personal size limit to 17 and above, if were dinner fishing, and leave the cooler short of limit when looking for bigger fish, then we don't have to jockey fish around..

 

That’s what I will do for now on, that was the first time I ever did cull fish. There has been some good info here. I dnt plan on culling anymore. Plus I did look up culling walleye on the web.

 

I think catch and release trolling is too risky, it puts a lot of stress on caught fish. Especially lures like Bandits, them hooks are for filling the box. I stop trolling when I have limits, casting or jigging allows you to baby them alot more and release them as carefully as possible.

 

Mortality rate studies....
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/fishin...thors/Bob_RiverRat_Koeshall/Walleye_Mortality_From_Tournament_Fishing__505.html

 

that is a good article but I don’t think it is relevant in this discussion. Most tournament fish are large older fish that only come out of the livewell for weigh in after being pounded all day on the lake.
We are discussing releasing young smaller fish. And the way fishing has been this year only been in the well for an hour.

 

that is a good article but I don’t think it is relevant in this discussion. Most tournament fish are large older fish that only come out of the livewell for weigh in after being pounded all day on the lake.
We are discussing releasing young smaller fish. And the way fishing has been this year only been in the well for an hour.

5 tournament size fish or a livewell with a 5 man limit in there, it’s 12 or 2 half dozen.