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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Fishing Forum 88" of walleye - Burntside |
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06/07/2019 07:50AM
Beautiful walleyes... it's definitely fun to catch 'em that size!
"Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." ~ John Muir
06/07/2019 09:44AM
FlambeauForest: "29.5, 29.5, 29. Must have picked the right week. Could see schools of walleye in 10'. One night produced 16 walleye over 26". Leech below a bobber in 7' just nuts and will likely never happen again."
As someone who is still waiting to join the 30" walleye club, a night like that might just make me cry a little.
06/07/2019 10:06AM
FlambeauForest: " "
Burntside has many walleye that size because of the large schools of smelt to feed on. Tough to fish at times, but fairly common.
PS - I have my own areas to fish, but will figure out where the photo with the dock and apparent boathouse/sauna was taken in short order! :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
06/08/2019 10:33AM
yogi59weedr: "Catch and release or hook and cook"
Really makes no difference.
Burntside Walleyes cannot successfully spawn, since the Smelt eat all the eggs.
The DNR has to plant fingerlings in the lake when stocking, as the fry all get eaten.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
06/08/2019 11:49AM
The Great Outdoors: "yogi59weedr: "Catch and release or hook and cook"
Really makes no difference.
Burntside Walleyes cannot successfully spawn, since the Smelt eat all the eggs.
The DNR has to plant fingerlings in the lake when stocking, as the fry all get eaten."
Listen, I could not care less what another man does with his fish as long as laws are followed. But to suggest that it “makes no difference” is simply false. That’s three fewer trophies for another angler to have a chance at, period. Again, I don’t hold that against the OP as that is his legal right. But it can make a difference to release the big fish. Your statement also just assumes that the status quo will continue and the lake will continue to kick out fish of that size. Things change, there are no guarantees.
Also, from the most recent DNR survey: “Walleye growth in Burntside Lake is exceptional, likely due to the presence of smelt as a forage. Fish from 1 to 20 years old were sampled with all but the two oldest fish coming from a stocked year class. ”
There were 3 fish in the 25-29 inch range in that survey and 2/3 were not stocked.
But yeah, Makes no difference.
06/08/2019 01:05PM
thegildedgopher: "The Great Outdoors: "yogi59weedr: "Catch and release or hook and cook"
Really makes no difference.
Burntside Walleyes cannot successfully spawn, since the Smelt eat all the eggs.
The DNR has to plant fingerlings in the lake when stocking, as the fry all get eaten."
Plus your eating 20 year old fish with the highest mercury content. Yeah those are 20 year old fish.
Listen, I could not care less what another man does with his fish as long as laws are followed. But to suggest that it “makes no difference” is simply false. That’s three fewer trophies for another angler to have a chance at, period. Again, I don’t hold that against the OP as that is his legal right. But it can make a difference to release the big fish. Your statement also just assumes that the status quo will continue and the lake will continue to kick out fish of that size. Things change, there are no guarantees.
Also, from the most recent DNR survey: “Walleye growth in Burntside Lake is exceptional, likely due to the presence of smelt as a forage. Fish from 1 to 20 years old were sampled with all but the two oldest fish coming from a stocked year class. ”
There were 3 fish in the 25-29 inch range in that survey and 2/3 were not stocked.
But yeah, Makes no difference."
06/09/2019 09:03AM
thegildedgopher: "The Great Outdoors: "yogi59weedr: "Catch and release or hook and cook"
Really makes no difference.
Burntside Walleyes cannot successfully spawn, since the Smelt eat all the eggs.
The DNR has to plant fingerlings in the lake when stocking, as the fry all get eaten."
Listen, I could not care less what another man does with his fish as long as laws are followed. But to suggest that it “makes no difference” is simply false. That’s three fewer trophies for another angler to have a chance at, period. Again, I don’t hold that against the OP as that is his legal right. But it can make a difference to release the big fish. Your statement also just assumes that the status quo will continue and the lake will continue to kick out fish of that size. Things change, there are no guarantees.
Also, from the most recent DNR survey: “Walleye growth in Burntside Lake is exceptional, likely due to the presence of smelt as a forage. Fish from 1 to 20 years old were sampled with all but the two oldest fish coming from a stocked year class. ”
There were 3 fish in the 25-29 inch range in that survey and 2/3 were not stocked.
But yeah, Makes no difference."
Well GG, saying that there are two less old trophies in Burntside would be like there are three less grains of sand on a beach. (A trophy is a trophy)
It is very common to catch fish that size, and the food base of smelt will never be eliminated. The only thing that can stop them is warm water, & Burntside is a very deep, cold lake-you should travel around it to see for yourself.
The only walleye you will find from natural reproduction will be very old, and very few. All of the walleye stocked in Burntside have an extremely rapid growth rate because of the smelt, so size is not an indicator of age. You can catch large whitefish occasionally, but smelt took out their reproduction along with eliminating the cisco population. Whitefish can live a long time, so the ones caught are the last of a dying breed. Cisco have a longevity of about 5-7 years so they're easy to eliminate. This problem began in the 70s, when test netting found that no natural reproduction was occurring among several species including Whitefish, Cisco, and Walleye. Trout were also affected, but they have not been stocked in Burntside for at least 5 years, and have been found to have some natural reproduction.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
06/11/2019 11:45AM
That is a great catch! It must have been unbelievable to catch so many.
TGO. Thanks for information about the Walleye and Smelt relationship. That’s really interesting. Are the Smelt naturally occurring in Burntside or were they brought over by early settlers along with the accordion?
TGO. Thanks for information about the Walleye and Smelt relationship. That’s really interesting. Are the Smelt naturally occurring in Burntside or were they brought over by early settlers along with the accordion?
06/11/2019 07:27PM
Bushpilot: "TGO do you know how and when smelt came to Burntside?"
Yes, pretty sure I do.
Back in the 60s, Smelting used to be very good on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and many drove over to get a load.
Well, after a few beers a bucket of smelt was OK, but a full washtub or more was far better.
It was common practice for many to clean Smelt on their dock, and after a thousand or so, dumped the contents of the bucket or tub into the lake and there was your hatchery.
People cleaned Smelt on the docks in many Lakes (Eagles Nest, Fall, Shagawa, Wolf, Burntside, etc)
Smelt need cold water to exist, so any that hatched in the shallow lakes didn't last long which prevented them from spreading.
BUT, Burntside was the perfect storm for their survival (Eagles Nest Lake One also has one deep hole in it which allowed Smelt to survive)
Snowbank probably survived the Smelt invasion since it was about 25 miles up a dirt road at that time, few to no cabins, and no one obviously ventured there to clean any. In the mid 70s, our Cisco catch (test netting, not sanctioned by the DNR) began to drop every fall. We used a smaller mesh net a few times and began to catch long, green backed fish with silver sides, tiny Barracuda like teeth and smelled like a cucumber. We identified them as Smelt, then wondered why they were hanging around all the areas that Cisco and Whitefish spawned since Smelt spawn in the spring of the year. Didn't take too long to figure out they were eating the eggs.
Barry Bissonnette got a Class C netting license from the DNR to net Whitefish, and found that after three years he wasn't catching any small Whitefish indicating no reproduction.
The DNR then began to plant Walleye in the lake to help combat the Smelt invasion, but it wasn't working. They were planting Fry, and the Smelt were eating them. They increased the size to fingerlings, and the Walleye population increased dramatically.
I believe they still plant Walleye every other year, but have changed the size of fingerlings to be more efficient. They used to plant a 44 count (Fingerlings per pound) that could eat Smelt right out of the starting blocks, but changed to a 75?? count, putting more Walleye into the lake but they need one year before they're large enough to eat Smelt.
They stopped planting Lake Trout about 5-6? years ago, and have found that the Trout have started to reproduce naturally, but to what extent is unknown.
I received a call from former fisheries manager, Joe Geise about 7-8 years ago, telling me that the Smelt population was dwindling in the lake. I explained to Joe that two of us had observed that they were getting smaller (stunting) and were swimming through their test nets. The next time they tested the lake, they dropped the mesh size and doubled their catch to find that they were far worse than suspected.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
06/12/2019 08:44AM
Zulu: "That is a great catch! It must have been unbelievable to catch so many.
TGO. Thanks for information about the Walleye and Smelt relationship. That’s really interesting. Are the Smelt naturally occurring in Burntside or were they brought over by early settlers along with the accordion?"
Well Patrick, they may have both been brought over by early settlers, but the Smelt actually were not.
We can deal with the Smelt problem, but whoever brought over the accordion should be tracked down and hung!!!
Like many diseases that originated elsewhere, there are offshoots that can expand the seriousness of the original.
The Polka is a prime example of an even deadlier form as a result of an unwanted "thing" being brought into America!!
I'm not even going to rant about the accordion and polka disrupting society, but they greatly confused the school system. The American alphabet consisted of 26 letters until the Bohunks (along with the polka and accordion) tried to change it to theirs's which is E-I E-I E-I-O. :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
06/12/2019 10:37AM
The Great Outdoors: "Bushpilot: "TGO do you know how and when smelt came to Burntside?"
Yes, pretty sure I do.
Back in the 60s, Smelting used to be very good on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and many drove over to get a load.
Well, after a few beers a bucket of smelt was OK, but a full washtub or more was far better.
It was common practice for many to clean Smelt on their dock, and after a thousand or so, dumped the contents of the bucket or tub into the lake and there was your hatchery.
People cleaned Smelt on the docks in many Lakes (Eagles Nest, Fall, Shagawa, Wolf, Burntside, etc)
Smelt need cold water to exist, so any that hatched in the shallow lakes didn't last long which prevented them from spreading.
BUT, Burntside was the perfect storm for their survival (Eagles Nest Lake One also has one deep hole in it which allowed Smelt to survive)
Snowbank probably survived the Smelt invasion since it was about 25 miles up a dirt road at that time, few to no cabins, and no one obviously ventured there to clean any. In the mid 70s, our Cisco catch (test netting, not sanctioned by the DNR) began to drop every fall. We used a smaller mesh net a few times and began to catch long, green backed fish with silver sides, tiny Barracuda like teeth and smelled like a cucumber. We identified them as Smelt, then wondered why they were hanging around all the areas that Cisco and Whitefish spawned since Smelt spawn in the spring of the year. Didn't take too long to figure out they were eating the eggs.
Barry Bissonnette got a Class C netting license from the DNR to net Whitefish, and found that after three years he wasn't catching any small Whitefish indicating no reproduction.
The DNR then began to plant Walleye in the lake to help combat the Smelt invasion, but it wasn't working. They were planting Fry, and the Smelt were eating them. They increased the size to fingerlings, and the Walleye population increased dramatically.
I believe they still plant Walleye every other year, but have changed the size of fingerlings to be more efficient. They used to plant a 44 count (Fingerlings per pound) that could eat Smelt right out of the starting blocks, but changed to a 75?? count, putting more Walleye into the lake but they need one year before they're large enough to eat Smelt.
They stopped planting Lake Trout about 5-6? years ago, and have found that the Trout have started to reproduce naturally, but to what extent is unknown.
I received a call from former fisheries manager, Joe Geise about 7-8 years ago, telling me that the Smelt population was dwindling in the lake. I explained to Joe that two of us had observed that they were getting smaller (stunting) and were swimming through their test nets. The next time they tested the lake, they dropped the mesh size and doubled their catch to find that they were far worse than suspected.
"
Fascinating. Thanks.
I will paddle eternal, Kevlar and carbon.
06/15/2019 07:46AM
The Great Outdoors: "Zulu: "That is a great catch! It must have been unbelievable to catch so many.
TGO. Thanks for information about the Walleye and Smelt relationship. That’s really interesting. Are the Smelt naturally occurring in Burntside or were they brought over by early settlers along with the accordion?"
Well Patrick, they may have both been brought over by early settlers, but the Smelt actually were not.
We can deal with the Smelt problem, but whoever brought over the accordion should be tracked down and hung!!!
Like many diseases that originated elsewhere, there are offshoots that can expand the seriousness of the original.
The Polka is a prime example of an even deadlier form as a result of an unwanted "thing" being brought into America!!
I'm not even going to rant about the accordion and polka disrupting society, but they greatly confused the school system. The American alphabet consisted of 26 letters until the Bohunks (along with the polka and accordion) tried to change it to theirs's which is E-I E-I E-I-O. :)"
Who are the Bohunks?
I can be followed on Instagram @queticomike
07/31/2019 12:43PM
Good luck,
I only fish this lake in late Spring when the water temps are still cool as past experience has taught me it's a tough summer walleye lake to figure out.
To quote the great TGO: "Burntside Lake is infested with smelt, which change all the rules one learns on other bodies of water. Walleyes can be caught in 12 FOW, or 30 FOW, it varies."
It's easy to see smelt on fish finder, big circular blobs with bigger marks below the school usually. Outside of trolling planer boards with Deep Divers (boring) I don't have much to offer for this time of year. Great lake, I'd probably just target smallies on the many sunken islands in 15-25' with a slip bobber and leech and hope to get lucky early or late in the day with a bonus walleye. See a white buoy with deep water nearby, fish it.
Only other advise, don't make noise banging anchors and get your bobbers out a ways from boat with the water clarity. Also Busch Lights.
I only fish this lake in late Spring when the water temps are still cool as past experience has taught me it's a tough summer walleye lake to figure out.
To quote the great TGO: "Burntside Lake is infested with smelt, which change all the rules one learns on other bodies of water. Walleyes can be caught in 12 FOW, or 30 FOW, it varies."
It's easy to see smelt on fish finder, big circular blobs with bigger marks below the school usually. Outside of trolling planer boards with Deep Divers (boring) I don't have much to offer for this time of year. Great lake, I'd probably just target smallies on the many sunken islands in 15-25' with a slip bobber and leech and hope to get lucky early or late in the day with a bonus walleye. See a white buoy with deep water nearby, fish it.
Only other advise, don't make noise banging anchors and get your bobbers out a ways from boat with the water clarity. Also Busch Lights.
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