Thread: Will they live

Originally Posted by Blackdog40

I was not making a judgement I was just asking a question for my own knowledge. So the answer is the fish that go belly up when returned to the water will not live. Is there something that can be done to prevent this?

I too like to eat a walleye fillet but I do not keep the larger fish, I prefer the smaller fish for taste anyway.

Blackdog40,

I didn't think you were making a judgement.

I had hoped I was providing you with some info that you would find useful.

I think you have asked the million dollar question--Is there a way to prevent fish from going 'belly up' when returned to the water after a weigh-in?

Many organizations have worked and continue to work to answer that very question. KDWPT has requirements for black bass tournament weigh-ins. You can read these requirements HERE.

In short, conservation agencies, tournaments organizers, and anglers are all working to provide for zero/low mortality events.

Jigger you have to go fishing to use a fillet knife.

Originally Posted by Craig Johnson

Blackdog40,

I didn't think you were making a judgement.

I had hoped I was providing you with some info that you would find useful.

I think you have asked the million dollar question--Is there a way to prevent fish from going 'belly up' when returned to the water after a weigh-in?

Many organizations have worked and continue to work to answer that very question. KDWPT has requirements for black bass tournament weigh-ins. You can read these requirements HERE.

In short, conservation agencies, tournaments organizers, and anglers are all working to provide for zero/low mortality events.

So Craig, what are the mortality rates of the new fingerlings that are released back into our Kansas reservoirs and also I think i heard that the natural reproduction rate was less than one percent in our lakes, would you please coment on this too. Thanks

There are some tournaments that make you bring your fish in on ice. Imagine 200 boats with a 5 per boat limit. Losing some at the ramp in Kansas isn’t that bad compared to others. Look at how many fish were brought in to the weigh in and see how many died. The catch and release percentage is much higher. The KWA does a great job with the tournaments and they give back in a huge way that most don’t know about.

Turtles gotta eat too.

Originally Posted by slabby joe

So Craig, what are the mortality rates of the new fingerlings that are released back into our Kansas reservoirs and also I think i heard that the natural reproduction rate was less than one percent in our lakes, would you please coment on this too. Thanks

Slabby Joe,

You ask a very good question. I did a lot of looking yesterday to try to find a good answer to your good question. I didn't do a lot of finding....

We don't currently have any data on stocking survival of walleye in Kansas waters so we have used data obtained from other states. We do however know that our stocking rates are effective in maintaining walleye populations in waters capable of supporting them.

As one would expect, mortality on walleye fry and fingerlings stocked in Kansas waters is quite high. The larger the fish at the time of stocking the lower the expected mortality so fry stockings have the higher mortality rates (or the lower survival rates). Looking at data from other states we can expect mortality to exceed 95% for stocked fingerlings and even higher for stocked fry. Stocking success can vary greatly from year to year due to conditions present when fish are stocked. Some years may have very good survival rates while other years may be poor if water temperatures are too cold and no food in the form zooplankton is available to the young walleye at the time of stocking.

I too have heard the "only 1% of the Kansas natural spawn recruits to the population" saying but I haven't been able to find any info to support it. However, it may not be too far off--for some lakes. Lakes like Marion and Wilson have self sustaining walleye populations so their recruitment rates from natural spawns would obviously be higher than lakes that really heavily on supplemental stockings to maintain adequate walleye population density.

While all the above sounds pretty negative as far as getting any walleye from our stockings the stockings do contribute to the population. While I was at Hillsdale Reservoir we conducted a three year study on the contribution of stocked fish to the walleye population. From 2000 to 2002 walleye marked with oxytetracyclene were stocked during the spring. Electrofishing was used to sample young of the year walleye during September. The YOY walleye were shipped off to the lab and the fish were analyzed for the presence of the OTC mark to see if they were a result of the spring stocking or if they were a result of natural reproduction from within the lake. The results were impressive.

In 2000, only fry (2.3 million) were stocked. 96.5% of the YOY walleye sampled were a result of the 2000 walleye fry stocking and 3.5% resulted from natural production.

In 2001, both fry (2.3 million) and fingerling (57,250) sized walleye were stocked. OTC analysis showed that 77% of the YOY walleye were a result of fry stocking, 7% were from fingerling stockings, and 16% were natural production.

In 2002, both fry (2.3 million) and fingerling (57,250) sized walleye were stocked. OTC analysis showed 75% of the YOY walleye were stocked as fingerlings, 23% were stocked as fry, and 2% were natural reproduction.

From the above results you can see that the fry stockings, even with the expected high mortality rate, contributed heavily to the Hillsdale walleye population two out of the three years of the study. Fingerlings comprised the majority of the YOY population stocked during 2002. Natural reproduction contribution ranged from a low of 2% to a high of 16%. Although we don’t have ‘exact’ numbers on the mortality rates of Kansas stocked walleye we do have data that shows these stockings are productive and contributing to the walleye populations throughout Kansas.

So in short Slabby Joe, if you are still reading, mortality is very high on the fry and fingerlings KDWPT stocks in Kansas walleye waters. Despite the high mortality these stockings do contribute heavily to the walleye populations. With low natural reproduction rates common throughout Kansas these stockings are necessary to maintain walleye population density at levels that produce productive fishing for Kansas walleye anglers.