Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Strong walleye run at Pike River hatchery

Posted 5/10/13

LAKE VERMILION—A late start at the Pike River Hatchery usually means an early end to the walleye egg harvest, and this year appears to be running true to that trend.

The DNR hatchery crew …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Strong walleye run at Pike River hatchery

Posted

LAKE VERMILION—A late start at the Pike River Hatchery usually means an early end to the walleye egg harvest, and this year appears to be running true to that trend.

The DNR hatchery crew pulled their first nets this past Saturday and by the second day a strong spawning run was well underway. With luck the egg take could wrap up as early as this weekend. As of Tuesday, the hatchery crew had collected about 300-350 quarts of walleye eggs, according to the Tower DNR’s Jeff Eibler. “There were a lot of fish today,” said Eibler on Tuesday, who estimated the crew harvested about 200 quarts of eggs that morning.

The hatchery’s quota this year is 900 quarts, so a few more good days could finish up the season.

It’s a sharp contrast to last year, when the hatchery began egg taking in late March, the earliest start ever, but a slow spawning run forced the fisheries crew to work for weeks to gather a sufficient number of eggs.

About half of the eggs gathered will be used to stock lakes in northeastern Minnesota, while the other half will be raised in two other DNR hatcheries for use in other parts of the state. Lake Vermilion will be among the beneficiaries of the egg harvest. According to Eibler, a total of 11. 6 million walleye fry will be returned to Vermilion once the eggs hatch.