Courtesy photo An angler poses with his catch in the waters of Bays de Noc.
ESCANABA — The unusual weather — a mild winter marked by sparse ice coverage followed by an early spring — will almost certainly have an impact on the walleye populations in Bays de Noc. Nature is resilient in the face of some variability, but experts have raised concerns about long-term effects if extreme weather repeats. In the short term, seasoned anglers are likely to adjust their skills based on observed conditions.
Spawning is associated with thawing in freshwater bodies. Consistent weather patterns in the past have caused phytoplankton — plant-like marine microorganisms at the base of the food chain — to bloom as the ice melts, around the time walleye hatch. Phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton, which in turn prey on walleye fry. But if the fish don’t adapt as quickly as the weather and algae, they may not get their window for that food source.
“There is variation every year, and especially during the spawning season,” said Fisheries Biologist Darren Kramer, who works out of the Escanaba DNR Office. In the past, he points out, walleye spawning has been as late as early May. “Some diversity is kind of built in to the natural system… and walleyes are perfectly adapted to that and other environments. It’s when you get, you know, the extreme diversity (that) can have more and more problems.
Kramer said he doesn’t expect to see aggressive long-term changes, but noted that the last 10 years have shown more diversity than previous decades, and that “This year is kind of extreme compared to what we’ve witnessed in the past.”
Early springs bring early spawns, which can be isolated from plankton blooms.
“Walleyes are most successful when you have ice, and they’re spawning, and there’s this kind of slow, steady spring warming … that mates with food sources available when the walleye — the young fish that is fried — is looking for food,” Kramer explained.
At this point, of course, the projections are speculative, but educated.
Paul “Blade” Bloedorn of Blade’s Bait and Tackle in Kipling had an optimistic hypothesis built on the fact that the winter was mild with less ice coverage — and therefore less ice fishing — than usual.
“Because of the unusually warm temperatures and fewer people out fishing all season, that means less pressure, fewer fish being caught, and better fishing in general,” Bloedorn said. “It should be really prime for not only this spring, summer, but next season and seasons to come.”
An early spawn also means the fish will have more time to travel by the time the walleye season opener rolls around in May. Instead of being concentrated at the mouths of rivers and at the ends of bays, they must have spread out in search of food in deeper water before.
“When you get these early spawns, like we’re seeing this year — or you know, earlier in April, which can be normal — the walleyes tend to be away from those spawning locations, you know, in deeper offshore areas, more difficult. for fishermen to find and target them. So it can have an impact on the success of walleye anglers, especially earlier in the season,” Kramer said.
Angler Jerry Plourde said he recognizes that an early spawn will likely affect the migration this year, but doesn’t believe the weather will affect the overall population.
“It will definitely change where the fish are found, but it’s different every year,” Plourde said.
