big stone lake has been a yellow perch factory!
TRANSCRIPT
Ortonville Area Newsletter March 2021
Big Stone Lake has been a Yellow Perch factory!
By BJ Bauer
Anglers familiar with Big Stone
Lake know what an amazing Yel-
low Perch fishery it has. In fact,
the 2020 net catch was the highest
on record for Big Stone! The popu-
lation, has high numbers of young
perch in the 5 to 7-inch range but
also many in the 8 to 9.5-inch
range as well. While the size
structure of the population does
fluctuate over time, tremendous
natural reproduction and survival
of young fish to adult-
hood continue to provide
excellent numbers of perch.
So how does the lake
keep producing? Big Stone is a
large and very productive lake in a
very fertile part of the state. The
nutrients that produce algae
blooms in the summer
are also an important part of
the food web for zooplankton
and other aquatic inverte-
brates (insects). Aquatic inver-
tebrates and small prey fish are
abundant and allow perch of all
sizes to grow fast in Big
Stone. It typically takes 3
summers for a Big Stone perch
to reach 9 inches, which is
some of the fastest growth in
the state. It is remarkable how
the quality of the Yellow Perch
population has maintained
itself over the last 30 years.
There are very few lakes in the
state of Minne-
sota that can compete with Big
Stone Lake in regard
to numbers and average size of
Yellow Perch. Check
out the graph to see how the
Yellow Perch population in Big
Stone Lake compares to some
other large lakes in the state,
based on recent surveys.
Assessing our fisheries
By BJ Bauer
Various nets and other sampling gear
are used in our area lakes to gather
information about fish numbers, sizes,
ages, food and health. Annual fish pop-
ulation surveys occur on Artichoke, Big
Stone, Hendricks, Lac qui Parle and
Traverse Lakes. In 2020, other lakes
surveyed were East Toqua, Long Tom,
Steep Bank, Little Long and Marsh lakes.
Results of these surveys and stocking
records can be found at the Lakefinder
link on the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources website at
mndnr.gov/lakefinder Also, check out
the 2021 Fishing Outlook on the
Ortonville Area Fisheries webpage.
In addition to the annually sampled
lakes, we will assess John Reservoir,
Porter Reservoir, Perch Lake, Marsh
Lake and Canby Creek this season. We will have preliminary data available by early fall. Full reports will be completed by the following March.
Walleye Harvest 2020
By Kyle Anderson
In 2020, COVID 19 brought
challenges to the entire globe.
Nearly everyone had to learn
how to deal with shutdowns,
restrictions, and new ways of
doing things. The Department
of Natural Resources Section of
Fisheries was no different. For
the first time in over a century,
the spring walleye egg take op-
eration was suspended at all
seven collection sites. Because
of this, the 250 to 300 million
walleye fry normally stocked
each year into lakes and rearing
ponds across the state were not
available. The Ortonville Area
Fisheries office typically stocks
20 to 25 million into rearing
ponds, to be harvested during
the fall as fingerlings. With fin-
gerling harvest not an option,
the Ortonville Fisheries staff,
using new COVID safety proto-
cols, concentrated their efforts
on ponds that had not winter-
killed in recent years to harvest
carryover walleyes.
The Ortonville Area’s
average yearly harvest of walleyes is a little over 15,000
pounds of combined
fingerlings, yearlings, and
adults. In 2020, the harvest
included 3,356 pounds of adult
walleyes and 4,844 pounds of
yearling walleyes, for a total of
8,200 pounds. Adult walleyes
averaging one pound or more
were primarily stocked within
the Ortonville Management Ar-
ea. Basins stocked included
Kids Fishing Ponds located in or
near the cities of Appleton, Can-
by, Clinton and Marietta, and
small lakes, including Botkers,
John, Long Tom and Porter.
Over 500 pounds of these larger
fish were transferred to the East
Metro office to stock Fishing in
the Neighborhood ponds, which
are small basins stocked to
enhance urban shore fishing
opportunities.
Most of the yearling walleyes
were transferred to other DNR
Areas, including Detroit Lakes,
Fergus Falls, Glenwood, and
Hinckley, to help fill their
stocking quotas.
Yearling walleyes were also
stocked into the west basin of
Oliver Lake, north of the City of
Appleton. The right pelvic fin of
each walleye stocked into West
Oliver was clipped prior to
stocking. Fin clips allow survey
crews to use future netting as-
sessments to evaluate the con-
tribution these stocked walleyes make to the overall population.
The year 2020 certainly
came with many challenges, but
with some effort and
cooperation, most local and
statewide stocking quotas were
met. We are hoping 2021 brings
us back to more normal
operating conditions!
Photos of adult walleyes being stocked into Clinton Kids Fishing Pond.
Why Stream Connectivity Matters – Dams
By Chris Domeier
A friend called me one
evening in December and
said there were ten fish
houses on the West Branch
of the Lac qui Parle (WBLQP) River in Dawson. It was
welcomed news, especially
when he said that anglers
had been catching good
numbers of nice sized wall-
eyes.
To understand the good
fishing, we need to look
back to 2009 when Dawson’s
100 year-old dam was
removed and replaced with a
rock-arch rapids fishway.
Dams limit or completely
prevent desirable fish
species from swimming
upstream and accessing
important habitats. Quite
typically, the only species
that are capable of
“jumping” the dams are the
non-desirable carp species.
By removing dams or con-
verting them to fishways,
the desirable fish species
can access those important
up-
stream habitats.
Following completion of
the fishway, I expected to
see a substantial increase in
native fishes upstream in the
WBLQP, and also in its many
tributaries including Florida,
Lost, Crow and Cobb Creeks
to name a few. With more
streams and wetlands acces-
sible to fish, more fish
would be produced and
available for anglers to
catch. It’s sort of like
expanding your garden, one
acre is good, but five acres is
considerably better. If all
streams and wetlands were
well connected in the WBLQP
watershed, it would amount
to hundreds of miles of
streams and hundreds of
acres of additional fish habi-
tat.
During wetter periods,
such as 2017-2019, adult
game fish will use these hab-
itats and substantially ex-
pand their populations.
During the winter, larger fish
typically move downstream
and congregate in pool are-
as, similar to the one in Daw-
son. This is especially true
following drier years such as
2020 when many of the up-
stream areas are too low to
provide good wintering habi-
tat. This is what probably
caused the high numbers of
walleyes this winter in Daw-
son. Some fish may have also moved upstream from
the main stem of the LQP
River or LQP Lake, which is
approximately 30 stream
miles downstream.
The important take home
message is that fish popula-
tions will increase as good
habitat increases. And if
people can provide fish with
good habitat, fish will pro-
vide people with good fish-
ing!
Pic. 1 shows Dawson Dam during spring of 2009 prior to replacement with fishway. The dam was a bar-
rier to most desirable fish. Pic. 2 is Dawson rock-arch rapids fishway that fish can easily swim through.
Why Stream Connectivity Matters – Culverts
By Chris Domeier
In the previous article I discussed how
removing a single dam can allow native fish
species access to hundreds of miles and
acres of upstream habitat. Unfortunately,
there is always more to the story. Typically,
fish will encounter additional barriers at nu-
merous road crossings due to “perched” cul-
verts and culverts that have fast flows
through them. The sizes and species of fish
that will not be able to swim upstream will
depend on the height of the perching and
the speed of the flow. For example, walleyes
may be able to swim through the velocity in
a culvert, whereas many of the smaller for-
age species such as shiners and darters may
not. This results in fewer and fewer species
of fish that are capable of reaching im-
portant habitats as one travels further up-
stream.
From a fish’s perspective, bridges would
be used at all road crossings instead of cul-
verts. Natural channels below bridges allow
fish to migrate as necessary. However, cul-
verts provide a more practical road crossing
option for smaller streams. Historically, cul-
verts were often placed without considera-
tion for fish movements. More recently,
“fish-friendly” culvert crossings have fre-
quently been used to provide good fish pas-
sage. Typically, these culverts allow a rela-
tively “natural” stream bed to exist through
them, much like a bridge. The goal is to al-
low all sizes of all native species to readily
move upstream and downstream as their life
cycles require.
It matters! In west-central Minnesota,
streams that are well “connected” can have
up to 50 native species of fish present.
That’s pretty amazing considering streams
that have been “disconnected” may have less
than five species remaining. Of course, more
habitat means more fish to catch!
Example of a culvert that is “fish-friendly” which will
allow all sizes and species of desirable native fishes to
migrate upstream and downstream.
Example of culverts that are “carp-friendly”. These will prevent
desirable native fishes from migrating. Unlike native fishes, Com-
mon Carp can often easily navigate barriers, and therefore can domi-
nate upstream habitats.
Teleworking during Covid-19
By Danielle Hage
If someone would have told me that I would live
through a pandemic in my lifetime I would have
thought they were crazy! But that’s exactly
where we find ourselves today. One of the big-
gest changes for most of us was teleworking. It
has challenged us to step outside of our comfort
zone and learn new ways of doing things. While
many have enjoyed working from home, many
have also struggled with this new “normal”.
Here are things I have found helpful during my
teleworking experience.
Have a designated work
area
I set up a desk in my din-
ing room where I have big
windows allowing lots of
light! l surrounded my
desk with things that
make me happy; plants,
pictures of my family and
positive quotes. I make
sure to keep it clean, or-
ganized and for work re-
lated items only. It helps
me stay on track and fo-
cused on work related
tasks.
Keep a routine
My whole family’s routine
changed right away. My children
were starting e-learning as I was
trying to navigate teleworking. I
knew without structure or a
“new” routine it would ultimately
result in chaos. As much as the
kids wanted to stay in pajamas,
(okay maybe mom too), and sleep
in, we stuck to our normal
school/work schedules. We made
adjustments as we went along
and before long we found a
schedule that worked for all of
us. Knowing what to expect on a
daily basis and what needed to
be done helped us all to be
productive at home. When my
work day is done I shut down my
computer and walk away. This
way I am not tempted to check
emails outside of work hours.
Using Resources and keeping
in touch with coworkers
Lastly, make sure to utilize re-
sources that are available to you.
Many times local clinics and pub-
lic health offices are a great
place to look. This is a stressful
time for many of us. Many enjoy
that day-to-day interaction with
other people and without that
have found themselves feeling
cut off from the world and at
times depressed. Reaching out
and utilizing resources that are
available if you are feeling
depressed or overwhelmed is
extremely important. Another
great way to feel connected to
others is to keep in touch with
coworkers. It has been great to
share different ideas that have
helped us along this transition
and to check in and see how we
are all doing. Change is not
always easy but with the right
mindset and the right setup you
will set yourself up for success!
Ortonville Region 4 Fisheries
890 Pine Ave.
Ortonville, MN 56278
Phone: 320-839-2656
Email: [email protected]
Our office currently remains
closed to the public. We are
still teleworking so please call
us at the phone number listed
and leave a message or send us
an email and we will return
your message as soon as we can.