State of the Lake - Lake Winnebago System

Recently I attended the Ice Breaker III in Winneconne, WI, at Critters Sports Shop. Kendall Kamke (Fishery Biologist) was a featured speaker from the Wisconsin DNR and here are highlights from his presentation:

Overall, the Winnebago system is very healthy. 2007 had a moderate hatch of walleyes surviving into the fall census. In essence, the low water levels of spring 2007 were not conducive to maximizing the walleye hatch. The good news is these fish are growing very quickly in the system, and are above average in length and weight compared to years’ past.

The spring “boom shocking” census was also encouraging during the spawning run of 2007. Typically, male walleye take 4 years to become mature enough to spawn and females take 5 years to reach that same level of maturity. Just over 10,000 spawning walleyes were examined and here are the results of that study:

Spawning Males:

Size Range: 10”- 24.4”

Average size: 16.75” and just over 2 pounds

Spawning Females

Size Range: 15.5”- 29”

Average size: 22.75”

The 2001 class is dominate in this study, as nearly 60% of the fish measured are estimated to be from this class. 2003, 2004, and 2005 year classes had very strong hatches also, but not nearly as substantial as the huge 2001 class. Many of the 03-05 class will be mature enough to spawn, starting in the 2008 run and beyond.

Kendall summed up the forage base this way, centered on the fall 2007 census:

Emerald Shiners: very high population within the system currently

White Bass, Sheephead: Average population

Perch Trout: Down slightly

Gizzard Shad: Off significantly

Yellow Perch: Up 12.5x this year

In studies comparing the population of pan fish species within the system, the study looked at average populations between 1992-1999, and compared it to the population currently (2000-2007):

Perch: Up 34 times

Bluegills: Up 67 times

Crappie: Up 2 times

The pan fish have enjoyed 7 consecutive years of the highest hatch rates in recent history. The DNR believes this is a result of more habitats available for the young fish to survive in during the first years of development. Since there is more rooted aquatic vegetation in the lake, there are more places to hide, feed, and seek protection. Winnebago is becoming a destination for visitors seeking pan fish. 

Saugers are also doing very well, especially on the north east shore where many spawning reefs have been built. These fish will remain off limits (0 bag limit) for the foreseeable future as they re-establish themselves into the lake.

Overall, the lake has many positive years in the near future coming, assuming no changes to the current environment. 2008 has the potential for a huge year class based on the snowfall levels over the winter of 2007. There are many other factors which will ultimately determine the actual hatch rate such as speed of snow melt, forage for the newly hatched class, spring rain fall, etc. Chances are currently, that the water levels should get high enough to flood the marshes, and provide ideal spawning conditions. That’s your State of Lake for 2008 as of March 2008.