walleye

[MOPanfisher]

I don't normally see the cormorants in the large flocks, I see them roosting in trees a lot on Truman, we used to call them Water Turkeys.  they look very different from ducks with a much longer neck.   The smaller black, duck looking species you see in the large flocks on the water are The American Coot, or as we used to call them Mud Hens.  They primarily eat invertebrates and plants, however they will happily snatch a small fish etc.  I have seen them pick up small stunned shad before. 

[CoolHandFluke]

I saw a HUGE flock of them around Shaw Bluff last time I was at the lake! I didn't know what the heck they were!

[CoolHandFluke]

Got this off google. 

In Minnesota, cormorants have been found to consume from 1.0 to 1.5 pounds per bird per day. The majority of their diet is made up of fish (99.9% in Leech Lake) but they also eat snails, crayfish, and amphibians.

[MOPanfisher]

Cormorants are fish eating machines, I remember seeing a show from Indonesia or somewhere where they had trained cormorants, with a collar around their neck so they couldn't swallow.  The birds would dive and catch fish and bring them to the buy in the boat, would in the end feed the bird. 

[lundone]

I have fished Norfork and Bull Shoals quite often and although they have an 18" length limit, I have always caught about the same percentage of keepers as I have fishing Stockton and I fish Stockton on a regular basis.  My brother fished Stockton for many years when it had an 18" length limit and he has told me that he had always caught about the same percentage of keepers as we do now BUT they were a lot bigger.  We are not biologists, just fishermen but it just seems reasonable that if you leave them in the lake longer you will have bigger fish.  Yes Powerdive, John Estes is one fine fisherman and I have learned an awful lot about walleye fishing from both of  you.

[Walcrabass]

Everybody.

 We have had these type of discussions before. The fact of the matter is this.................... if you feed something........................ and protect it.................... and give it a place to breed.............................  then that thing is going to do pretty well.

 I believe that we need to take a serious look at length limits for several of our finned friends. Also take care of some of these other critters that eat fish like crazy. It all boils down to this................ do you want the birds to eat the Walleye.................. or do you want to eat them??????????????

No Brainer huh???

Wally

[Moflash]

Actually the MDC needs to rethink the Walleye stocking program for Stockton Lake.The current program is almost laughable.The one year survival rate is one fish per 8.3 acres.With all the money they take in from the sportsman's tax a realistic stocking program would be the right thing to do.

[Walcrabass]

Moflash,

  Maybe the survival rate would be better if they weren't stocked so small and then eaten by ................... oh I don't know............... maybe a Cormorant? Just a thought. I am not a biologist so I am probably wrong.....................................

Canada Geese..... overpopulated and trapped to remove.

Snow Geese................ huge season length and almost the same as no limit????

Cormorants......................... looks like to me they need some of the same.

 

Walcrabass

[rps]

 

Moflash,

  Maybe the survival rate would be better if they weren't stocked so small and then eaten by ................... oh I don't know............... maybe a Cormorant? Just a thought. I am not a biologist so I am probably wrong.....................................

Canada Geese..... overpopulated and trapped to remove.

Snow Geese................ huge season length and almost the same as no limit????

Cormorants......................... looks like to me they need some of the same.

 

Walcrabass

Geese are tasty. Cormorants, just like the fish eating ducks like Mergansers, not so much. Maybe a bounty would work?

[MOPanfisher]

Not sure what the connection between walleye and geese are?  I am not a waterfowler but don't think there is a season on cormorants and you are never going to see a bounty on them.  There is a trade off of stocking size, smaller size is much cheaper to raise to that level and can be stocked in large quantities, but survival is much lower.  Larger size such as fingerings are costlier to raise to that size but have a better survival rate.  Where feasible MDC has moved more to stocking larger sizes for the better survival rate.  I don't know of any studies bu would guess that far more fingerling walleye get eaten by other fish (bass, white bass etc.) that are ever eaten by cormorants, although they are very good at eating fish.  Generally a critter like that eats more of the more populous species like bluegill and shad or even crappie than a small group like walleye, simply because there are more to choose from.