What is maximum depth not to exceed when fishing walleyes?

Tomcat · **Joined:** Sun Aug 31, 2003 10:59 am **Posts:** 33

I asked this question to the folks at Ohio Sea Grant (affiliated with Ohio State University). The following is the response provided by Kelly Riesen, Fisheries Extension Program Coordinator, Ohio Sea Grant. Just thought I would pass along the information.

Certain species of fish like walleye, pike, and perch have closed swim bladders. This means that gas must diffuse through capillaries and thus takes more time for the bladder to deflate. Anglers pulling a fish up from deep water often do not allow enough time for depressurization. This is the same concept that humans face when diving, which we typically call the "bends". It can take hours, even days, for the gases to diffuse out of the swim bladder.

The most obvious sign of this is the distended swim bladder. It's important to note that the swim bladder can rupture as well. If it ruptures, not only will you not see that there is a problem, but the fish may swim away with vigor and die later. Gas bubbles can also form in the blood and cause damage to the brain, heart, and other tissues. Studies have noted that this is often the cause of death. So even if the fish does not appear to have an inflated swim bladder, it may still die from complications that we can't see.

Generally if you are fishing for walleye in very deep water, it is best to keep them (of course, you also have to stay within the legal size limit). Signs of problems include protruding swim bladder or organs, erratic swimming, and inability to re-submerge. Unfortunately, we are unable to see what damage is caused internally, so even if the fish is able to swim away, it's possible that they will still die.

In a study by Rowe and Esseltine (2001), it was found that there was an 18.4% mortality rate on walleye caught at depths of 25-31 feet. In two other winter studies of walleye (Rowe and Esseltine 2001 and R.L. & L. Environmental Services 1993) in Lake Nipissing, Ontario and Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta respectively, ruptured swim bladders were noted in fish caught in depths as shallow as 15 feet.

Tiny · **Joined:** Thu Dec 02, 2004 10:30 am **Posts:** 13

Good post.

Thanks

Superdad · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:50 am

That's good information, especially with the amount of fishing over the deep water that's taken place this year.

Hookset · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 2:29 pm

Given the info provided in the study and considering that a lot of Quinte fish are caught in the 15-30 range, we could be looking at significant mortality of released fish.......Bring them up REAL slow boys.....

Don Stokes · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 2:41 pm

This was good to read. Thank-you for posting it Tomcat.

The internet is such a blessing and a curse.

Regards
Don Stokes

steve-hamilton · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 7:40 am **Posts:** 1776

i counted a number of boats riggin this weekend....

i'd imagine they were all fishing deeper than 60 feet down.

two of them were guide boats.

slug · **Joined:** Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:37 pm **Posts:** 211

Good post, good information.

CKRanger · **Joined:** Fri Nov 19, 2004 8:19 pm **Posts:** 11

Just returned from our trip out onto Quinte Sunday night. Had a good trip interrupted for three days by the heavy winds last Monday through Wednesday. We also observed different boats running lead-core line or using downriggers over deep water. This was discouraging to see and it is hard to imagine why anglers target these deeper fish when the active, feeding fish are in the top 10-30 feet. According to our depth charts we were running our baits from 14 to 28 feet and we took plenty of walleyes at these depths. Anglers who think that they are catching walleyes down 30 to 60 feet and then state that they watched their released walleye swim back down are only kidding themselves. We released all of our fish during our nine day trip and have pretty good confidence that nearly all of them are still going to be swimming for a long time. Thanks, Tomcat, for your post. I only hope that more anglers will head your concern and quit fishing for and then releasing those deep eyes.

Tomcat · **Joined:** Sun Aug 31, 2003 10:59 am **Posts:** 33

Kudos CKRanger. Very gratifying to read that you landed lots of walleyes while still maintaining ethical fishing practices.

slug · **Joined:** Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:37 pm **Posts:** 211

Quote

Quote:

Kudos CKRanger. Very gratifying to read that you landed lots of walleyes while still maintaining ethical fishing practices.

Yeah, me too. Not meaning to be a preacher, but I would rather us be cautious now, otherwise we'll be sorry later.

Luc · **Joined:** Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:57 pm **Posts:** 5

I agree with everyone on not having to fish the walleye deeper that 30', and it still amazes me that so many people are oblivious to all the info out there that says not to do it... I was out on Sun and caught and released two nice walleye (25" and 27") in the 20 to 30 ft range, however one of the setups I was running was floating Raps off the downriger set at 20' and from there the plugs should run another 6 to 10 feet lower according to my charts, so I don't think it's fair to assume that all the guys riggin are fishing too deep.....

To everyone fishing this weekend, good luck....LATER

Wall-I-Guy · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2005 9:22 pm

Luc wrote:

I agree with everyone on not having to fish the walleye deeper that 30', and it still amazes me that so many people are oblivious to all the info out there that says not to do it... I was out on Sun and caught and released two nice walleye (25" and 27") in the 20 to 30 ft range, however one of the setups I was running was floating Raps off the downriger set at 20' and from there the plugs should run another 6 to 10 feet lower according to my charts, so I don't think it's fair to assume that all the guys riggin are fishing too deep.....

To everyone fishing this weekend, good luck....LATER

Good point Luc .

This practice is quite common fishing Salmon too apparently :!:

Using riggers doesn't = deep fishing all the time :!:

CKRanger · **Joined:** Fri Nov 19, 2004 8:19 pm **Posts:** 11

Did not mean to step on anyone's toes when I mentioned guys running with down-riggers. Obviously some guys run only 20-30 feet down and they are not the problem. The main point here is to help get people educated to the harm that is caused by catching them below that 30 foot mark.

CKRanger

slug · **Joined:** Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:37 pm **Posts:** 211

Almost hopeless.

Ron · **Posted:** Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:08 pm

Just curious, is there alot of "floaters" seen on the Lake? Just asking because the way I am reading this, it seems like everyone is implieing all fishermen are fishing deeper than what should be and killing every fish from those depths.

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What is maximum depth not to exceed when fishing walleyes?

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