The Fishing Line - October 22nd Edition

Freshwater Fishing, Fisheries Management, and Boating News

In This Issue:

• Good Signs for Lake Erie Walleye and Yellow Perch
• Lake Erie Open Lake Angler Survey Update - September 2021
• Annual Lake Sturgeon Stocking Complete
• I FISH NY Guide to Freshwater Fishing - New Video Release

Good Signs for Lake Erie Walleye and Yellow Perch

DEC’s Lake Erie Fisheries Research Unit completed its annual gillnet assessment of the Lake Erie warm water fish community in September. The survey catches a wide variety of warm water species, but its primary goal is to collect abundance and age structure information for walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass—the three most targeted fish species by anglers in New York’s portion of Lake Erie. The walleye and yellow perch data also contribute to lake-wide assessments that determine safe harvest levels.

The highlight of the 2021 warm water survey was the presence of solid juvenile walleye (age-1) and yellow perch (age-2) year classes, both of which should start to contribute to the fishery next year. Young-of-year (age-0) yellow perch, walleye, and smallmouth bass were also collected during the survey potentially indicating good hatching success in 2021. Walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass are not stocked in Lake Erie, meaning these fisheries depend entirely on the hatching success and survival of wild fish. Hatching success in 2021 bodes well for fishing quality in the New York waters Lake Erie in the coming years. A complete analysis of this survey will be available this winter in the Lake Erie Unit Annual Report. Until then, previous years' reports can be found on the DEC Lake Erie Reports webpage.

Lake Erie Open Lake Angler Survey Update - September 2021

High winds and waves throughout much of September led to a significant decline in angler effort compared to last September, with total angler effort in September 2021 being down by almost 17,000 angler hours from last year and well below the 20-year average (42,500 angler hours). Eighty-eight percent of September anglers targeted walleye or smallmouth bass.

Walleye
Daytime walleye angling effort in September (16,000 angler hours) was below the 20-year average (18,500 angler hours). September walleye angling effort was distributed more evenly than during the summer months, with Cattaraugus Creek (28%), Sturgeon Point (26%), Dunkirk (20%), and Buffalo (20%) all accounting for at least twenty percent of the effort. Anglers targeting walleye harvested 4 walleye per boat trip on average with a catch rate of 0.41 fish per angler hour, which is the 5th highest in the last 20 years for the month of September. About 6.2% of daytime walleye anglers achieved a 6 fish limit this September with an average length of 19.9 inches.

Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth bass fishing effort in September (4,400 angler hours) was higher than two of the last three years but was below the 20-year average (9,700 angler hours). The bulk of the smallmouth angler effort (88%) was based out of Buffalo. The September bass fishing quality was well below average in 2021 for the New York waters of Lake Erie, with anglers targeting bass catching an average of 4 bass per boat trip with a catch rate of 0.43 fish per angler hour (September average = 0.66 fish per hour).

Yellow Perch
Yellow perch fishing effort was very low in September 2021, with only 3 perch angler interviews for the entire month.

October is the final month of the open lake angler survey on Lake Erie and the beginning of the angler survey for New York’s Lake Erie tributaries, which will run through April 2022. Anglers getting out on the creeks to target the incoming steelhead can expect to run into survey technicians conducting interviews.

Complete results from the open lake angler survey will be available this winter in the Lake Erie Unit Annual Report. Until then, previous years' reports can be found on the DEC Lake Erie Reports webpage.

Annual Lake Sturgeon Stocking Complete

DEC’s Oneida Fish Hatchery and partners from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Genoa National Fish Hatchery recently stocked more than 23,000 lake sturgeon fingerlings across their New York range. Lake sturgeon are raised at both hatcheries from eggs taken from wild fish in early June near the Moses-Saunders Dam in Massena, NY. By the time they're stocked they've grown to about seven inches in just four and a half months!

In case you missed it, DEC Fisheries Biologists did a Facebook Live broadcast from Cayuga Lake that gave viewers an up-close and "virtual" glimpse of juvenile sturgeon before they were released into their permanent home. Check out a recording on DEC's Facebook page.

For more information about New York’s lake sturgeon visit our website:
Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan
Life History of Lake Sturgeon

I FISH NY Guide to Freshwater Fishing - New Video Release

We recently added a new video to the
I FISH NY Guide to Freshwater Fishing video series to DEC's YouTube channel. Featuring fish commonly found in local freshwater ponds and lakes, new anglers can learn how to correctly identify their catch.

Interested in providing feedback or sharing ideas for future videos? Let us know! Email fwfish@dec.ny.gov.

DEC's YouTube channel has its own playlist dedicated to fishing content.

Videos included are:

How to Start Fishing: Family Fishing Basics

Basic Fishing Knots

Bobber & Worm Rig

How to Cast a Spin Casting Rod