Opinion on Walleye in Ririe?

[DeeCee]

Hello Goosebuster! It was good to hear your thoughts, but, I must respectively diagree. Walleye like pike are highly predatory fish who consume mainly fish. Walleye in the Columbia have already proven to be a problem for salmon fingerlings migrating to the ocean. Where Colorado has walleye they have to stock trout larger than most of the walleye can eat (higher cost production per trout). Also if you study the biology of splake ( a hybrid between mackinaw trout and brook trout) they are sterile and can't reproduce, that's why they were planted with little concern in Ririe Reservoir. Fish and Game has only planted Walleye in closed river systems in Idaho viz. Mud Lake and Oakly Res. Oneida Narrows by Preston flows into a system in Utah that already has Walleye and Salmon Falls Reservoir is not capable of delivering walleye to the Snake River. Concerning the Missouri River, walleye are native to the system including the Mississipi and Ohio Rivers. Discuss these concepts with Fish and Game and study the facts more. Walleye and very sensitive fish such as trout do coexist together but in systems usually where one or both can't reproduce well making the issue much less of a concern. However, the South Fork and Salmon Rivers have the potential to be very good spawning grounds for walleye, oh and I missed mentioning the Henry's Fork too. The walleye will run clear to the top of a river system to spawn unless blocked by a dam. This will be a blessing to a small extent but not a solution. Yellowstone trout could be further imperiled and Federal (Endangered Species Act) regs laid on our fishing holes with possible drastic effects. Ouch![frown]
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