Walleye Fishing Today

These days, the walleye population is healthy and strong in Wisconsin lakes, and that means there are lots of great angling opportunities for tribal and non-tribal fishing. But a healthy walleye population is no accident. It is the result of a lot of hard work on the part of the Wisconsin Department Of Natural Resources, the Great Lakes Indian Fish And Wildlife Commission, and the tribal natural resource departments. These organizations do different kinds of "fish surveys" throughout the year. One kind of fish survey is when biologists capture fish, count how many of each species they find, and take measurements to see how healthy they seem. The fish are then released. This kind of survey is done at different times of the year to see how the fish are doing. Another kind of survey is called a "creel survey". People called "creel clerks" visit lakes at different times and basically interview the fishermen they come across. The creel clerks find out things like how many hours they've fished, how many fish they've caught, and how many fish they've kept or released. The answers to these questions help biologists figure out how many fish are being caught (or "harvested") from each lake, and what the harvesting limits should be in the future. If you would like to do your own fish survey at school, ask your teacher to go to:

Conduct a Fish Survey in Your Class