Walleye opener expected to net good catch

Darryl McLeod is predicting this Saturday’s walleye opener to be “good to excellent.”
McLeod, area biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources office here, said a strong year class in 1994 should mean an abundance of walleye being caught on Rainy Lake in the 42-cm (16.5-inch) range.
“This year is what we call a good season for walleye,” he noted Monday afternoon. “The ’94 year class is one of the strongest walleye classes and since ’95, walleye seasons have been average to good.”
And because this year’s opener falls five days later than last year, McLeod expects catches to be “encouraging” although he quickly warned it all depends on the weather.
“The fish have more time after the post spawn and the water temperatures should be warmer,” he explained. “The walleye tend to get more active in their response to feeding patterns.
“The fairly early ice-out should also help.”
Dave Byrnes, of Dave’s Guide Service here, also predicted a strong weekend for catching walleye, especially where he fishes on Lake of the Woods.
“Last year, fishing on Lake of the Woods was excellent and the numbers seem to be getting better and better every year,” said Byrnes, adding he expects the walleye to be hanging around the sand there.
Meanwhile, McLeod wanted anglers to be aware of the “slight changes” of the walleye catch and possession limits on Rainy Lake.
For residents with a sport fishing licence, the catch and possession limit for walleye has been upped from three to four, with only one being greater than 46 cm.
All other area lakes saw their limits drop from six to four last year.
Non-residents now have a daily catch limit of just one and a possession limit of four on Rainy Lake. For all other lakes in the district, they are allowed two per day and a possession limit of four.
The requirement that non-resident anglers must stay overnight in Ontario in order to keep walleye and sauger was dropped in the face of pressure from the U.S., which argued it violated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The MNR also removed the Border Water Conservation Tag introduced several years ago.
But McLeod said local anglers appear “happy” with the changes, and didn’t feel the changes would affect the number of U.S. anglers coming into Canada.
He urged all anglers to call the MNR or refer to the Year 2000 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary if they have any questions or concerns.