Walleye in Lake Cascade

[rancid_crabtree]

Looks like the Bucket Biologists are doing their thing in Idaho now..a Walleye was
caught in Lake Cascade
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[AverysAdventure]

https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/walleye-dis...ke-cascade
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[wiperhunter2]

You guys have a good discussion about it on the Idaho board:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...st=1050249
You said the biologist ask the question about anyone knowing of another lake in the West that produces trophy perch like Cascade, I would say none that get that big but a few years back we were catching perch that were 10 to 12" in Starvation and they have walleye up to 7 or 8 lbs there. There problem is the population is always in flux and who knows when we will see that again there and that is a far cry from the monster perch Cascade produces, year in a year out.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I read that thread on the Idaho board too, but did not feel worthy to post anything contradictory.
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[#0000FF]Walleyes, smallmouth and perch coexist in more than a few western reservoirs. Actually, the smallmouths are more detrimental to the perch population than the walleyes. Walleyes tend to eat larger perch...between the fry and 2 year old size. Smallmouth young eat hundreds of newly hatched perchlets...leaving far fewer to grow to walleye food size.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]There is Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir in southern Idaho that has populations of all three...plus trout, crappies and pike minnows (the fish formerly known as squawfish). All do well but populations and sizes can vary with water years...as in many reservoirs.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I am not a Cascade expert, but I have heard there are weed beds that produce quantities of aquatic insects...good food for perch of all sizes. That is one difference between Cascade and our " holy trinity" lakes in Utah. None of our lakes has many weeds or invertebrates...other than a few crawdads. When perch have a good spawn, all the predators live on the baby perch. When the perch have a die off or a poor spawn, all the meat eaters suffer.
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[AverysAdventure]

I fish Salmon Falls a lot. It is a good fishery but not fantastic by any means. The walleye overall are not going as good as the old days. Sure a few nice fish get caught but the average fish is skinny. F&G will admit their trout planting program is just walleye food and has had to start planting larger fish that don't get prayed on as much. Perch fishing is marginal at best and we get excited when we catch a few. The reservoir does have crayfish and the bottom is crawling with them. Any smb or walleye you catch will be full of them. I think that is what is keeping the reservoir a decent fishery.
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[Troll]

I haven't fished it lately, but when I did I liked it. It has lots of structure and being a lake it does not go through the high/low water each year the way many western water bodies do. It keeps enough water that the weed beds do stay flooded. I think that will be the saving grace.
Perch, Walleye and SMB exist together very well in many eastern waters, I think because of the weedbeds not getting dried up every year.

Anyway, we will see. I love McCall and can't think of a better place to spend a week fishing and rafting. I will keep watch to see when I should go.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]As with most fisheries, it's a food chain thing. When waters such as some of our reservoirs in Utah have little natural food sources the predators have to rely on each other to produce enough fry to feed both themselves and others. A good example is Yuba. As long as that pond maintained water levels high enough for the perch to bring off a good spawn each year there were amazing numbers of both perch and walleyes...and both grew to good sizes. But with the drought years of the early 2000s, Yuba was reduced to a muddy trickle down the middle of the lakebed. Since then it has never reestablished any kind of balance.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]There can be similar comparisons to Starvation and to Deer Creek. Ups and downs in the perch population translate to ups and downs with walleyes and smallmouths too. If it weren't for a few crawdads for desperate mouths to eat there would probably be a total crash some years.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]You made the comparison to compatibility in eastern lakes. Besides having weed beds a lot of those old lakes also have thriving populations of several different forage species...minnows. Huge difference between those and our sterile reservoirs.
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[Fishrmn]

[quote Troll]It has lots of structure and being a lake it does not go through the high/low water each year the way many western water bodies do. It keeps enough water that the weed beds do stay flooded.[/quote]

Really??

Lake Cascade (formerly Cascade Reservoir,[1] also formerly known as Payette Lake[dubious – discuss] "The Mile High Playground"[verification needed][2]) is a reservoir in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County, Idaho. Located in the Boise National Forest, it has a surface area of 47 square miles (122 km2), and is the fourth largest lake or reservoir in the state. The closest cities are Cascade, Donnelly, and McCall, all in the Long Valley of Valley County.

Following a delay due to World War II, the earthen dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, and completed in 1948.[3] The term "Lake Cascade" came into common use in the 1990s, with the federal name change made in 1999.[1]

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[dubob]

[quote Fishrmn][quote Troll]It has lots of structure and being a lake it does not go through the high/low water each year the way many western water bodies do. It keeps enough water that the weed beds do stay flooded.[/quote]

Really??

Lake Cascade (formerly Cascade Reservoir,[1] also formerly known as Payette Lake[dubious – discuss] "The Mile High Playground"[verification needed][2]) is a reservoir in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County, Idaho. Located in the Boise National Forest, it has a surface area of 47 square miles (122 km2), and is the fourth largest lake or reservoir in the state. The closest cities are Cascade, Donnelly, and McCall, all in the Long Valley of Valley County.

Following a delay due to World War II, the earthen dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, and completed in 1948.[3] The term "Lake Cascade" came into common use in the 1990s, with the federal name change made in 1999.[1]

[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Yep - it IS a reservoir, not a natural lake.[/#800000][/font]
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[wormandbobber]

[quote TubeDude] Besides having weed beds a lot of those old lakes also have thriving populations of several different forage species...minnows. Huge difference between those and our sterile reservoirs.
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Utah, too, has quite a few native minnow species (as well as introduced minnow species in its rivers and lakes). Those species include--among others--leatherside chubs, speckled dace, least chubs, and redside shiners. The problem is that nonnative fishes have either outcompeted our minnow species or predators have consumed and held their numbers in check. The reality is that are reservoirs in Utah have never been and never will be places where consistent populations of perch and walleye can thrive and coexist. Prey populations is only one aspect of that equation...
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[wormandbobber]

[quote AverysAdventure]I fish Salmon Falls a lot. It is a good fishery but not fantastic by any means. The walleye overall are not going as good as the old days. Sure a few nice fish get caught but the average fish is skinny. F&G will admit their trout planting program is just walleye food and has had to start planting larger fish that don't get prayed on as much. Perch fishing is marginal at best and we get excited when we catch a few. The reservoir does have crayfish and the bottom is crawling with them. Any smb or walleye you catch will be full of them. I think that is what is keeping the reservoir a decent fishery.[/quote]

Sounds to me like Salmon Falls has gone the same route most western reservoirs go with walleye...
https://magicvalley.com/lifestyles/recre...2790b.html
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[Uncle_Arnie]

Got my jumbos last year
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[Fishrmn]

[quote Uncle_Arnie]Got my jumbos last year[/quote]

Might be a good thing. They may become few and far between now.




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[TopH2O]

Whoever placed the walleye in Cascade should be condemned in the strongest terms possible and if identified, prosecuted to the full extent of the Idaho regulations.

The perch fishery in Cascade is without question one of the best in North America. I know many Utah anglers make the long drive up there each year and we have enjoyed the benefits of Idaho's well-considered fishery management strategy for the reservoir.

If the walleye were illegally introduced in sufficient numbers they will thrive and will eventually be a detriment to the perch and other fish in the water. One thing that will prevent the walleye from having a huge immediate impact is the nature of the Lake Cascade habitat. Lake Cascade has a huge amount of aquatic vegetation that provides invaluable escape cover for young fish of all species. Even with significant water level fluctuations the reservoir normally contains vast expanses of thick cover that works to prevent the predators from consuming all of the forage each year.

My local favorite, Starvation, doesn't support aquatic vegetation sufficient to protect young of the year fish. Starvation is way down this season to the lowest I've seen in years and there is virtually no escape cover to keep the plentiful walleye from eating anything that will fit in their mouths.

I know the Idaho F & G folks will carefully monitor the walleye numbers in Cascade and they will employ mitigation efforts that are cost-effective and impactful. Spawning area electro-shocking might be a tool at the disposal of the Idaho Department that might work with their Columbia Squawfish mitigation efforts.

All I can say is, good luck and I hope the walleye do not become established.

Mike
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[Troll]

That difference is the water level fluctuation.

Yes, lots of structure and underwater weed beds. The weed beds are the key, many remain flooded well into the irrigation season.
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