Posted by DarrenB from 209.44.23.66 on February 04, 2002 at 09:07:39:
Some open water near the west shorelines on the southern part of the main pool, but overall the lake is covered with ice. Cloudy with intermittent chilling winds, water levels are up a bit and the water color is a bit darker without the bright sun. No other people fishing, and hardly a passerby seen. Worked the area from the main dam downstream toward the high school, pitching jigs and minnows on the windy side of the creek. No bites until 4:30, then while working a red 1/16 oz jig/minnow along a rockpile along shore, a sudden wind gust blew in, swirling the water and making me think I was stuck in the rocks. Turned out I had on the only fish of the day, a pretty large walleye with a nice girth. I didn't have a tape measure with me, so I marked the approxiamate legnth of the fish on the rod, then measured the rod after returning home. It looks like the fish was between 22 and 23 inches, guessing on the weight...maybe 4 1/2 to 5 pounds? The stomach on the fish made me think it was nearing spawning stage, but thats not really coming up for another month or so. Either that or this fish had been eating pretty well.
Does anyone know the process a walleye goes through prior to spawning? Does it build up eggs all winter long, essentially growing in girth until spring when it finally releases it's eggs? My longtime thinking was that it does not create eggs during the winter and store them until spring. Rather the fish bulks up, the eggs are created and then released within a 2 week period come spawning season. Maybe walleye guru Ed knows the answer? ;-)