Predicting The Bite

“Alberta and other mountainous areas with walleyes have higher water temperatures in spring, now,” Pyzer says. “The glaciers are gone, the snowpack is lighter, and the rivers coming out of the mountains are warmer and lower than at any point in recent history, something that has a great impact on fisheries within the Saskatchewan River system.”

Codette Comin’ On

Tim Geni, Regina, Saskatchewan, a former In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pro and professional fisherman, says things are indeed changing on the Saskatchewan River. “Lake Nipawin, a reservoir above Tobin Lake, has been a hot fishery for 25 years, but it’s just caught the public’s eye in the past few years. The lake on top of that system is Codette Lake, and it remains obscure. Average fish size has steadily improved, with lots of 10-pounders and a 14-pounder or two having been reported recently.” The biggest walleye out of Tobin is a recently caught 18-pound 3-ounce behemoth. Are the fish getting bigger in this system because global warming is providing a longer growing season?

“I think quality regulations have a lot to do with it,” Geni says. “Numbers and size have been increasing steadily for 5 years, even though the pressure has increased, which probably has as much to do with the slot-limit as anything else. It was instituted about 8 years ago. All fish between 55 cm (21.6 inches) and 80 cm (31.5 inches) have to be returned to the water immediately. Next year the top of the slot will be 86 cm (33.8 inches), so it’s regulated as a trophy fishery. With that kind of protection, a world record might come out of this system, which is rich with forage options. A 22-inch walleye can weigh 5 pounds here. They look like over-inflated footballs.

“Codette is just a wider, natural riverine basin on the Saskatchewan River, not a reservoir—a great summer fishery,” Geni offers. “July and August are dynamite. Snowmelt we get from the Canadian Rockies in Alberta can last right through summer. Most guys jig or rig the lake and rig the river. In summer, most of the fish are in 12- to 20-foot depths. But they react best to cranks when the water’s dirty. Sometimes they crop the forage base and spread out, and it’s easier to find them by trolling crankbaits.”

Oahe’s Back

Charlie Moore, Tournament Director for the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail, grew up near Lake Oahe in South Dakota. “My dad was a guide there for 20 years,” Moore says. “Right now, it’s better than it’s been for 15 years and improving every year.

“The walleyes are built like footballs, which says the baitfish are back. A 28-inch fish weighs 10 pounds in some cases. That’s the way it used to be on Oahe.”

John Lott, senior fishery biologist for South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, says: “Oahe is improving all the time. The catch-rate is not as high as it was during the heydays, but we’re seeing better average size, which has climbed above 17 inches. For the last 4 years, the catch-rate has been 1/2 walleye per angler hour, a bit higher than we had in early 1990s after the smelt population bottomed out. When the smelt began to decline, Oahe had a 1 walleye per hour rate. High catch-rates can be a sign that something’s wrong with the forage base. Right now, Oahe has a better supply of food and a better balance between predators and prey. A higher percentage of our walleyes reach lengths of 20 inches or greater. Right now the larger fish are out of the ’94 and ’95 year-classes, which were quite prolific. The 2001 year-class is currently dominant, and those walleyes are between 18 and 20 inches long.