Predicting The Bite

“They reached 20 inches at age 5 in the early 1990s,” Lott continues, “when smelt were abundant. It takes 6 to 7 years now. The predominant forage is split between smelt and gizzard shad. Before 1999 we had no shad in Oahe. We always felt they were too much of a warmwater fish to persist there, but now they’re prolific. We have a more stable food source as a result.” Lott says no evidence suggests that global warming has created conditions favorable to the northward expansion of baitfish like shad.

“One thing people should remember about those high catch-rates in the 1980s and 1990s on Oahe is that the average walleye was 14 inches long,” Lott says. “The peak of the fishing season here occurs mid-May to mid-July, when we have excellent fishing throughout the system. This past fall, the fishing was excellent in the Mobridge and Cheyenne areas.”

Green Bay Resurgence

Paul Peeters, Lake Michigan fishery biologist for the Wisconsin DNR, says that Green Bay walleyes have taken some major hits since the 1980s from the near-constant invasions of exotic species. “Still, it’s better than the 1950s,” he says. “The Fox River couldn’t keep bullheads alive in cages for 2 hours in the 1950s, so there have been huge improvements in water quality. Judicious stocking and habitat improvement have had the most to do with rehabilitating the walleye fishery in Green Bay.”

Tim Dawidiuk, owner of Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, fishes a smallmouth tournament with me each spring on Sturgeon Bay. Last spring, we caught more walleyes than smallmouths for several days, using Lucky Craft Pointer 100 suspending baits along shallow windswept shorelines. The walleyes averaged about 6 pounds. In 10 years, that was the strongest showing we’ve seen for walleyes in Green Bay.

“This was probably the best year for walleyes that Green Bay has ever had,” Dawidiuk says. “Anglers caught lots of fish 15 to 22 inches long. We’ve never had numbers before. This has always been a trophy fishery. Not just in the lower Bay, but in the entirety of Green Bay, we’re still seeing trophy fish but lots more ‘eaters’ than ever before. It’s not a nighttime fishery, anymore, either. It’s happening all day long.”

Best time of year for walleyes? “It’s been great all year so far,” Dawidiuk says. “Spring through early winter on crawler harnesses, suspending baits, and cranks. We haven’t seen the ice season yet, but everybody’s keeping their fingers crossed.”

“We believe that natural reproduction was limited in the Sturgeon Bay area,” Peeters says. “So we’ve been stocking fingerlings in alternate year-classes to improve the fishery. Conditions are better for a walleye population right now because of the mix of species. We’ve been overwhelmed with exotics in Lake Michigan, as most people know, and right now the stars are aligned for walleyes. The mix of predator-prey relationships is favorable to walleyes.”