ODNR at it again, egg harvest at mosquito

3765 Views 40 Replies 22 Participants Last post by Jim white, 2 mo ago

ezbite

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

Went out to mosquito this morning met a few old friends. These guys should get a lot of credit for keeping the walleye and saugeye population well stocked. Both boats came back covered in ice, they dropped off their fish and headed back out to clear the rest of the nets. Been a good week so far collecting well over 500 quarts of eggs.

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buckeyebowman

· #21 · 2 mo ago

Not only that, but, at least at Mosquito, big pike too! One year a crewman said they caught 4 that were dead bang state records, no doubt about it!

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TClark

· #22 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

I always wondered...why to they even go into those nets?

Mosquito is my favorite lake to fish. Wife and I caught well over 100 crappie one day.
My son and I usually catch our limit of walleye within 2 hours or so in the spring.

We even looked at houses up that way but property taxes are unreal in that area.

An inside look at walleye and saugeye management in Ohio - Farm and Dairy

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Safety1st

· #23 · 2 mo ago

Hatchetman said:
Been on the trap net boats several times with them on the MWCD lakes all in the fall. You woud be very surprised to see all the BIG saugeye that a lot of people say aren't there!! Can't give those guys enough credit. Great group of guys !!

Yes, I release all my bigger fish there (you're welcome)😇😁

buckeyebowman said:
Not only that, but, at least at Mosquito, big pike too! One year a crewman said they caught 4 that were dead bang state records, no doubt about it!

Yes, I release all my bigger fish there (you're welcome)😇😁

TClark said:
I always wondered...why to they even go into those nets?

I make it a condition of their release. Kind of like, get out of jail early but with ''conditions''😆

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Hatchetman

· #24 · 2 mo ago

TClark said:
I always wondered...why to they even go into those nets?

Mosquito is my favorite lake to fish. Wife and I caught well over 100 crappie one day.
My son and I usually catch our limit of walleye within 2 hours or so in the spring.

We even looked at houses up that way but property taxes are unreal in that area.

Short explanation....Nets are a Y shape, the trap part at the bottom is a square shaped trap net. The two top parts of the nets are a guide and the open end faces the shoreline. Fish that swim from deeper to shallow, when they go past the end and enter the wide portion, it funnels them out to the square trap net, once inside they can't, very often, swim out. Somewhat like a turtle trap. They don't get very many LM bass in those nets either and they don't harm the fish. Hope this makes sense....

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johnboy111711

· #25 · 2 mo ago

c. j. stone said:
One word-WOW! Where do those big girls “hide”out? I once gaffed an 8#er there for an ice angler! Never saw another even close to that there when I was fishing! Anyone on here ever make the “big” score?

Largest was 27". Caught in July and I expect it was about 7lbs

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Doboy

· #26 · 2 mo ago

THANKS EZ,,,,,,!

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Backwater

· #27 · 2 mo ago

ezbite said:
The eggs go to 3 different hatcheries to grow, Senecaville, Hebron and st Mary’s

Thanks for the explanation, I watched the videos and saw them dumping what looked like the fertilized eggs into the water at the boat ramp, guess I didn't watch close enough

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wetlander

· #28 · 2 mo ago

Additionally there is a net lead that goes from the shoreline out to the mouth of the net. As fish hit the net lead they are forced to move out toward the the Y or wings of the net that directs them into the net through a series of net funnels directing them further into trap. The end of the trap is square called a "car". The end is tied shut and held in place by an anchor farthest out from shore. When they check the net they pull car up open the end and dip the fish out. Also checking nets can be dangerous. You don't have anything with buttons or anything else that can catch on a net. I have a good friend who built those nets, and it's a lost art.

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$diesel$

· #29 · 2 mo ago

Good job, ez. Very informative.
You must be part eskimo to stand that cold, brother. 🤙

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buck16on

· #30 · 2 mo ago

Very cold job but they probably really feel good about it because they're doing something beneficial to so many and they're helping create life for fish that otherwise would not occur.

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twistedcatfish1971

· #31 · 2 mo ago

2

Very great post Ezbite. For those you that want to see a great you tube video about this process at mosquito go check out Ezbite video from 12 years ago. Amazing footage of the nets and what is inside of them. I counted I think 15 pike in one. Big ones at that!

Just a short 2 ice seasons ago I had the opportunity to gaff a 7 pound walleye for a buddy just south of causeway (88)

Don

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Jim white

· #32 · 2 mo ago

ezbite said:
View attachment 507175
Collecting eggs

These guys do great work 👏. Thanks for sharing Ezbite 👍

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RevKillj0y

· #33 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

ezbite said:
The eggs go to 3 different hatcheries to grow, Senecaville, Hebron and st Mary’s

Off subject but as you seem pretty well versed: do you know anything about Saugeye and Indian Lake this year??? (wishful thinking, I know)

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jiggerman

· #34 · 2 mo ago

I chased Saugeye in the Columbus area for 30 years they're as aggressive as walleye if not more.

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ezbite

Discussion Starter · #35 · 2 mo ago

RevKillj0y said:
Off subject but as you seem pretty well versed: do you know anything about Saugeye and Indian Lake this year??? (wishful thinking, I know)

What do you want to know?

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jiggerman

· #36 · 2 mo ago

Indian lake is full of Saugeye, the weeds are taking it over too

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RevKillj0y

· #37 · 2 mo ago

ezbite said:
What do you want to know?

Like Jiggerman said, it's full of weeds and Saugeye. I had always been under the impression ODNR stocked Indian lake with Saugeye. With the weed infestation and all the chemicals they have been spraying to try and slow it down, is ODNR still putting fish in that lake or otherwise working to maintain Saugeye levels?

I'm asking this because for the last 6 or 8 years we've been vacationing on Indian lake. Always do great with White Bass, catfish, panfish. But this last year we were catching saugeye every evening off the cabin's dock. It was pretty awesome. White bass numbers were through the roof as well. The weeds helped to trap the baitfish around Seminole Island (at least during our stay) and the bite was nonstop. My kids absolutely loved it. I guess I'm just curious what the long term outlook really is.

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Hatchetman

· #38 · 2 mo ago

RevKillj0y said:
Like Jiggerman said, it's full of weeds and Saugeye. I had always been under the impression ODNR stocked Indian lake with Saugeye. With the weed infestation and all the chemicals they have been spraying to try and slow it down, is ODNR still putting fish in that lake or otherwise working to maintain Saugeye levels?

I'm asking this because for the last 6 or 8 years we've been vacationing on Indian lake. Always do great with White Bass, catfish, panfish. But this last year we were catching saugeye every evening off the cabin's dock. It was pretty awesome. White bass numbers were through the roof as well. The weeds helped to trap the baitfish around Seminole Island (at least during our stay) and the bite was nonstop. My kids absolutely loved it. I guess I'm just curious what the long term outlook really is.

In May of 2022 ODNR stocked a total of 6,049,288 Saugeye Fry in Indian Lake....

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Jim white

· #39 · 2 mo ago

Hatchetman said:
In May of 2022 ODNR stocked a total of 6,049,288 Saugeye Fry in Indian Lake....

Man that's alot. After they mix the eggs an sperm do they just dump the eggs in a pond an wait for them to hatch

Hatchetman

· #40 · 2 mo ago

Jim white said:
Man that's alot. After they mix the eggs an sperm do they just dump the eggs in a pond an wait for them to hatch

No, the eggs go to the ODNR's hatcheries and are taken care of till they hatch. They are then taken to the lakes and stocked. The fry have a low survival rate due to there small size, that's why they put over 6 mil in. They are referred to as "Two eyes and a wiggle". The fingerlings that are stocked are a couple inches long so they have a better chance.

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