Advice on Walleye release???

ELGuapo

ELGuapo

Member
R.O.C. (Radio Operator's Certificate)
Hello

I was hoping to get some advice, tips, etiquette, rule of thumb from more experienced fishermen on releasing walleye.

I am new to fishing for walleye at depths of more then 20 feet, as the majority of my walleye fishing has come from far up north in typically shallower depths then Erie. Typically we have always released the larger walleye we caught unless we felt they would not survive being released. But after a few trips out in Erie we seem to be doing really well and producing what we would consider to be larger fish in the 4 to 8lb range. Now up north these would be fish we release with out question. However the more I read about catching Walleye from depths exceeding 30 feet it appears the mortality rate increases greatly due to a variety of reasons but mainly due to swim bladder issues.

So I'm curious on some input from other members on what they feel is the size and weight of fish that they feel should be released (too big to keep?) And more so if I am catching fish at 70 feet and releasing them are they just going to die anyways? I have been hesitant to release anything yet because I'd hate to let them go just to die, but don't want to keep large fish irresponsibly because I just don't know what the proper thing to due is.

Thanks in advance.
 
Although not illegal, I believe that catching and releasing walleye pulled from deeper water is absolutely unethical. You’re doing the responsible thing by not releasing your fish.

There’s no shortage of studies available for viewing that would support my belief. Having said that, there may very well be studies that indicate that the mortality rate is quite low. To each their own but my belief is that it is irresponsible and unethical.
 
Good question,good answer......I was thinking of that also..seems to be a lot of 6-10 pounders I have caught this year at Maitland and really don’t like keeping them BUT
 
Have to agree with @Booyah! In my experience over many years when walleye are brought up from deeper than 30 ft. their chance of survival is extremely low especially the big girls which most times won't survive no matter what you do to revive. I've caught lots of big ones off the bottom 60-65 ft. deep in 70 fow that many times are dead on arrival at the net. Others I tried to release because they were alive and even though they swam away on their own after awhile they usually come back up belly up and would have to scoop them in anyway. So I say if you fish deep the ethical thing to do is keep them as part of your daily limit. Hopefully they will stay shallow for the rest of the year because I also would much rather release the big ones.
 
A unreleased fish has 0% chance of survival...

I "try" to release anything above 8lbs... If there air bladder is out I don't bother trying... When I'm at my limit I stop fishing...

When you know you have a big fish on... Fight it slow, keep it in the water and remove hooks...
 
Everything caught on my boat goes into the livewell running a continuous circulation of fresh water. If they're still thrashing around 45 minutes to an hour after capture, I'd figure their survival rate is pretty high.

Anything showing detrimental injury or activity is definitely going into the cooler.

For most part, very few are released as that's not why I'm on the water.
 
Booyah! said:
Although not illegal, I believe that catching and releasing walleye pulled from deeper water is absolutely unethical. You’re doing the responsible thing by not releasing your fish.

There’s no shortage of studies available for viewing that would support my belief. Having said that, there may very well be studies that indicate that the mortality rate is quite low. To each their own but my belief is that it is irresponsible and unethical.
Click to expand...
With the amount of boats fishing and taking 20% catch and release as average we would be seeing a lot of dead fish floating around
I seldom see dead fish floating
Also live release tournaments factor
I love fishing and eat fish but by keeping everything that comes in the boat there is no way I could consume that many fish with my legal limit kept and I only got to go 10 times a year at best
So my choice would be go fishing and keep my limit included the ones in my possession at home or as soon as I got my legal limit
Stop fishing ,that would mean I get to go and stop fishing in 30 min
I practice catch and release mostly, I do keep fish for myself and friends
So if you want to be ethical and moral dont go fishing or eat fish 3 times a day
Like you said each their own
 
Have heard good things from guys on Quinte running this in the fall when the big girls come into play! Drop them back down and when they reach the depth they were at it self releases and you see them swim away on your finder! I actually just ordered one and should have it any day now!

www.seaqualizer.com

SeaQualizer Descending Devices

SeaQualizer Descending Devices have you covered for all of your fish releasing needs. From shallow water to deep we have you covered.
www.seaqualizer.com

Ryan
 
I have covered miles&miles of water on the lake from nanticoke shoal to east of Hoover's point in the last 5days. The only things that i have seen floating has been bullrush,weed clumps, net markers and boats . The Only fish species I had seen floating has been a few sheephead and 1 white bass...which could have also been a small sheephead but I'll say it was a whitebass just to get a couple species in the mix.
I dont believe every one has landed or kept every fish they have hooked wheter it be walleye whitebass or sheephead . If we didn't loose them at the boat on my boat then we lost them half way to the boat while thrashing on the surface or shortly after the initial hit.
There was HUNDREDS of anglers working the waters this past weekend out of nanticoke . I Seen not 1 walleye floating on the lake. The Only place i my self have seen walleye floating this passed week has been in the frying pans.

Do walleye not float like other fish when they expire ... or do they not expire after C&R or say "self released". ?
 

Not that I trust the MNR to produce un-biased research (moose tag system) but this link to an article is mostly a gathering of other people’s research...

Mostly stats from walleye tournament catch and release mortality.

In sum, expect 20% of all catch and released fish to expire immediately or delayed.
Walleye caught above 6meter (20ft) no mortality due to fizzing (swim bladder bloat).
Walleye caught below 7meter 10-60% mortality die to fizzing. But only one study recorded depths of fish caught.

Walleye kept in live wells, stringers or holding pens, expire more often than survive.
And the longer they are kept the more likely they are to expire before or after release.

As there are not dozens of dead fish floating around, I would bet that the majority of fish caught are being kept, and the big mamas that are being released are only released if they appear to be healthy enough to let go. Most report I’ve read here that guys have gotten thier limit read “on the water at,,, of the water 2hrs later..” so most anglers are prob not catching and releasing dozens of fish after the cooler is full...
 
The walleye have been shallow this year where it's no problem to release even the big girls. This thread is talking about ones brought up from below 30 ft. where survival rate goes down dramatically with each 10 ft. increment beyond a 30 ft. depth. Many experimental studies have shown that walleyes caught in 30 ft. of water had about an 8% chance of perishing while fish from 40 ft. had 18% mortality, and fish from 50 feet 35% mortality. So for each additional 10 ft. of depth mortality roughly doubled. Handling time was an additional factor, with longer handling increasing the likelihood of mortality. Another factor that increased the likelihood was that the warmer the water is the higher the mortality rate becomes.
 
Thanks for the link fireram. That’s one of the studies that I read but I’m not familiar with how to attach the link.
 
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