03-18-2016, 08:17 PM
[#0000FF]Hey Mike, we are on the same wavelength here. I also fully agree with allowing year-round LEGAL pursuit of all species on all waters...where there is no problem with fish health and population...through natural spawning and recruitment...or supplemental stocking. My main concern through all of this "discussion" is the wanton destruction of a resource through illegal means.
I cannot throw rocks at anglers taking advantage of a species schooling up during a spawn period. I have enjoyed plenty of good fishing days for many species during their spawn. But the difference is that most of those species are also known for actively biting lures during that time...whereas walleyes are less likely to deliberately feed. True, a lot of smaller males get all jacked up and will smack lures. But most of the larger females are "dorsal diners". Not all.
Like yourself I have enjoyed lots of nights casting from the rocks around Willard...and catching plenty of walleye...legally...even a few large females. And also like yourself I have not done well fishing in the scour hole at the inlet...with 1000 of my new closest friends. Spent more time with snags and tangles than casting, retrieving and/or fighting fish. Not my ideal kind of fishing. I fish for enjoyment...not endurance. And I enjoy solitude while fishing. That ain't it.
I totally agree there are plenty of fish to go around. But it comes back to the natural angler jealousy we all have. We would rather have the chance to catch a fish legally ourselves than watch someone else kill that fish illegally. It just rankles the soul.
Y'know, I see the comments about "the good ol' days" on Willard. I was around then too...from the late 1970's. Don't know if the numbers of walleye were any greater then, but I caught plenty...up to 30 or more in a night...during the early summer post spawn period. Had some nights during the spawn when I might catch 5 or 6...but rarely. Usually quit when I had a couple and couldn't stand the wind and snow any more.
And the walleyes were definitely bigger average. The limit was 6, but only 2 could be over 20 inches. Trouble was that after the spawn the average fish was over 24 inches...so a limit was 2. Most trips saw me releasing at least a dozen fish and keeping only two...none under 20 inches.
There was another factor back then that is different today...besides there being wipers and shad in the lake. That was that there were just not very many walleye chasers...who had boats and knew how to troll for walleye. Most walleye caught from Willard were taken by bank tanglers during the spawn. There were a lot of days (and nights) when walleyes were on the chew and my float tube was about the only craft on the lake.
Today we have a whole lotta knowledgeable anglers who have learned the ways of the wiley walleye and are able to put good numbers in the boat on most trips. That has to factor in there somewhere.
I was brung up in Idaho, in a large family of eithical sportsmen. They drummed into me at an early age that I needed to obey the laws of hunting and fishing and should encourage others to do so too. I have always bought my license and fished legally. I have released a bunch of fish that were snagged that many folks would have kept. And I have challenged more than a few folks on the water that were visibly violating regulations. Because I am a big boy I usually get away with it. But I am getting older and I can't outrun a bullet. So I am bit more discreet. Discretion is the better part of cowardice.
I think a lot of us pretty much think the same but don't always express our feelings the same online. And anything not clearly understood is misunderstood. Story of the human race.
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I cannot throw rocks at anglers taking advantage of a species schooling up during a spawn period. I have enjoyed plenty of good fishing days for many species during their spawn. But the difference is that most of those species are also known for actively biting lures during that time...whereas walleyes are less likely to deliberately feed. True, a lot of smaller males get all jacked up and will smack lures. But most of the larger females are "dorsal diners". Not all.
Like yourself I have enjoyed lots of nights casting from the rocks around Willard...and catching plenty of walleye...legally...even a few large females. And also like yourself I have not done well fishing in the scour hole at the inlet...with 1000 of my new closest friends. Spent more time with snags and tangles than casting, retrieving and/or fighting fish. Not my ideal kind of fishing. I fish for enjoyment...not endurance. And I enjoy solitude while fishing. That ain't it.
I totally agree there are plenty of fish to go around. But it comes back to the natural angler jealousy we all have. We would rather have the chance to catch a fish legally ourselves than watch someone else kill that fish illegally. It just rankles the soul.
Y'know, I see the comments about "the good ol' days" on Willard. I was around then too...from the late 1970's. Don't know if the numbers of walleye were any greater then, but I caught plenty...up to 30 or more in a night...during the early summer post spawn period. Had some nights during the spawn when I might catch 5 or 6...but rarely. Usually quit when I had a couple and couldn't stand the wind and snow any more.
And the walleyes were definitely bigger average. The limit was 6, but only 2 could be over 20 inches. Trouble was that after the spawn the average fish was over 24 inches...so a limit was 2. Most trips saw me releasing at least a dozen fish and keeping only two...none under 20 inches.
There was another factor back then that is different today...besides there being wipers and shad in the lake. That was that there were just not very many walleye chasers...who had boats and knew how to troll for walleye. Most walleye caught from Willard were taken by bank tanglers during the spawn. There were a lot of days (and nights) when walleyes were on the chew and my float tube was about the only craft on the lake.
Today we have a whole lotta knowledgeable anglers who have learned the ways of the wiley walleye and are able to put good numbers in the boat on most trips. That has to factor in there somewhere.
I was brung up in Idaho, in a large family of eithical sportsmen. They drummed into me at an early age that I needed to obey the laws of hunting and fishing and should encourage others to do so too. I have always bought my license and fished legally. I have released a bunch of fish that were snagged that many folks would have kept. And I have challenged more than a few folks on the water that were visibly violating regulations. Because I am a big boy I usually get away with it. But I am getting older and I can't outrun a bullet. So I am bit more discreet. Discretion is the better part of cowardice.
I think a lot of us pretty much think the same but don't always express our feelings the same online. And anything not clearly understood is misunderstood. Story of the human race.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]