was talking about. It was pitch black with the exception of a series of spotlights attached to the rails pointed down at the water. The roar of the current flooding into Ella Lake was thunderous. I kept my eyes trained on the water below. The excitement and anticipation of the first walleye was overwhelming and it was that moment I realized truly why Heidman loved his experience last year on the shocker boat.
Carlson gave me a few tips on netting stunned walleyes and the most important thing was to be fast and accurate. The fish only stay stunned for a few seconds before darting back off to deeper water.
Within a few minutes, the first walleye floated up to the surface on my side and I netted it. It was a five-pound fish and we all let out a cheer. It was on.
We stuck around in that spot for about 30 minutes. We gathered six fish in total, five males and one female. The biggest fish being about six-pounds. We headed back to the shore. Hallett said it was maybe too early to be out. The big “hens”, as everyone calls the female walleyes, don’t usually show up until later in the night. The best times are around 1 to 2 a.m. This is when the huge hens move in to do their business.
When the UWC volunteers are doing their work, they do it over a carefully planned out three or four nights. They are long nights. Most volunteers don’t get home until 4 or 5 a.m.
We got back to shore and everyone was delighted with our efforts and catch. Of course Frappier asked if I netted a sucker with a big smile on his face. I was happy to disappoint him. He gave me a pat on the back and we laughed some more about it.
The female we netted wasn’t ripe to have her eggs collected. The walleyes were put into a holding tank on shore and would be transported back to a hatchery and put in a retaining pond until she was ripe and good to go.
When the fish are ripe and ready, that is when the real work begins. Volunteers have to take eggs and milt from males and mix them in bowls with feathers. They massage the bellies of the fish to release eggs and milt. The eggs are then washed and placed in jars and brought to the hatchery to be incubated and grow. It could take between two to three weeks for the eggs to hatch and they have to be under constant observation. The hours these volunteers put in is mind-boggling. They do it without complaining because their hearts are in the right place and they want to make a difference and be a part of a meaningful conservation effort.
“It’s a way to give back to a resource I love to use,” Carlson said about volunteering her time to collect eggs.
The walleyes netted are all eventually returned to the same lake to continue their life cycle. I thanked everyone for allowing to be get a taste of the work involved to gather walleye eggs. I told Frappier about what I had learned. He was delighted to see and hear the enthusiasm in my voice and words. He said this is what it is really about.
“It’s important to educate people,” Frappier said. “It’s how conservation continues and grows and becomes better. The more people that know exactly what is going on, the better it is for the conservation effort.”
It was easy to understand why Heidman talked about his experience so much over the course of the year to me. He now will have to hear about it from me for the next year!
Maecenas ipsum ALIQUAM
Aenean sagittis gravida est, sit amet egestas metus venenatis non. Mauris non leo
malesuada orci laoreet eleifend eget mattis ipsum.
Column 1 May 2015
It’s a way to give back to a resource I love to use,
“
”
Scott haddow from WIld Northerner seen here with a netted walley hen.
Volunteers up until 4 am