Photo by Ron Sinfelt

The finicky nature of the walleye is well illustrated in this year's Pennsylvania walleye forecast. In general, wet, unstable weather the past two years has been a contributing factor in marginal walleye fishing. With recent harvests down, the timing should be prime for good walleye action this season, providing conditions are better.

Walleye fishing venues across the state are varied in nature. Dynamic environments that they are, the walleye fisheries they contain are equally elastic. Weather, forage and year-class strength all factor into the walleye picture, as they do for many species of fish.

To paint an accurate, up-to-date picture of walleye management in Pennsylvania, I spoke with Bob Lorantas, Warmwater Unit leader with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

"The primary goal of our walleye management program is to sustain attractive walleye fisheries that benefit anglers by protecting and enhancing naturally produced walleyes, as well as stocking suitable waters to sustain fishing," Lorantas said. "To accomplish this goal, several objectives have been laid out that focus on the number of legal-size walleyes collected in assessment catches, not the number stocked as some folks might think."

Lorantas explained that fisheries managers conduct walleye surveys -- assessment catches as he put it -- in lakes and rivers in the spring when fish are shallow due to spawning activities.

Walleyes are collected by both trap nets and electro-shocking. The agency has established minimum levels based on catch-per-hour of effort. Attaining (at least) this minimum level indicates a good walleye fishery is present.

Lorantas said that in large and medium-sized reservoirs, area fisheries managers look for early-spring trap net catch rates of 0.1 to 0.15 per hour, or an electro-shocking catch rate of five to seven fish per hour. On rivers, fisheries managers hope to find two walleyes per hour of electro-shocking.

Fisheries managers also conduct surveys in the fall that target walleyes, in this case young-of-the-year fish. Measuring numbers of young walleyes allows them to determine the level of survival from the spring, be it from natural reproduction, stocking efforts or a combination of the two.

Walleyes are introduced to waters at two basic life stages, fry and fingerling. Fry are newly hatched fish that are typically stocked at a month or less of age. Fingerlings are older fish, up to several months of age.

Survival rates of fingerlings are much higher than fry, but are stocked at significantly lower rates. Hatchery space is a limiting factor as to how many fry or fingerlings an agency can raise, as is environmental conditions such as weather.

Over the past five years, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has stocked an average of 661,000 walleye fingerlings and 71,995,000 walleye fry.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission utilizes data compiled by Penn State University to help determine whether a waterway is a good candidate for fry stocking. Adequate levels of zooplankton, according to the Penn State research, was the most significant factor influencing walleye fry survival. When zooplankton levels are low, survival rates drop. Freshly stocked walleye fry depend on zooplankton for food, and perhaps to some degree cover.

It's natural for anglers to take an interest in the numbers of walleyes being stocked in the waters they fish. Lorantas said, however, that the much larger issue is the survival rate of walleyes stocked in the lake.

"Because survival of each life stage is variable and survival of a particular life stage from water to water is variable, it's not the number stocked that we need to focus upon, but rather the number that survive to contribute to the fishable population," Lorantas said. "Bottom line is that survival is different for each water from year to year."