walleye stockings question

[jacktownhooker]

are walleye stocked in 03-05 at 6-10" legal size by now ? what are growth rates ? i know in jackson -lenawee area we have lots stocked and im sure they are legal although in devils -hamlin lks over 170000 stocked 06 that are 1-3" are these just bait or are half of them going to make it ? there is stockings 03-04 3" have to grow 3" ayear to be legal ! is that growth rate ? or feasible to entertain targeting walleyes as that is all dnr has stocked other than trout - allen and deep lk get 3000 or more of trout anyone catch on consistent basis or incidental ? :help: :help: hope this thread can help other areas stockings too !

[Wardo]

It all depends on the lake. If there are enough forage fish for them, the walleyes will have no problem getting to legal size in a very short amount of time. However, if there are too many walleyes or not enough forage fish, they will grow very slow. An example is two lakes I know. One of the lakes has a good naturally reproducing population of walleyes and they have plenty of forage all year round, so a 3 year old fish will be legal sized by the middle of summer the third year. On another lake, the fish have been heavily stocked and while there is a lot of bait, the fish do not grow fast, and I have seen examples of fish that only grew 3 inches in 4 years.

Hope that helps a little.