I’m curious to hear what folks think about the current slot on Wissota. For those that don’t know, currently there is a protected slot from 14″ to 18″ with the total harvest of three with a maximum of one over 18″.
Do you like the current slot?
If not, what would you change?
Sully
Oh that’s not a loaded question 
… just yesterday I was lamenting that I had to throw back several nice 15″ers to 17″ers…
I’ve been fishing Wissota for only three years now but it seems to me that we’re pulling in more and more fish in the slot… Sure is frustrating when you’re trying to bring some nice walleye home for a family fish fry and you have to release most of the ‘nice’ fish you catch.
I haven’t seen too many ‘trophy’ sized fish coming out of there so I’m not too sure the slot is accomplishing that goal, if that was one of the goals of the slot. On the upside, the population seems pretty healthy with fair numbers of slot fish. Given more time, these should grow into the trophy class, assuming the river and lake can properly support a ‘large’ population of walleyes in this class-size. (A point of another debate…).
Maybe it’s time to ratchet the slot up a notch or two… instead of 14-18 with only one over 18, they could move it up to 17-21 with only one over 21? For most anglers, anything much bigger than that would only be kept as a trophy as they’re not the best ‘eaters’. Personally, I’d throw back anything over 20″ anyway after a nice photo… A slot that started at 17″ and protected them into that ‘non-eater’ size might help grow some bigguns’ out there and would reduce the level of competition for forage!
Maybe even apply the 15″ minimum. I guess then you’d have a 15″-17″ ‘keeper’ slot – make it a three fish per day limit and then also allow 1 fish per day over 22″ (or even bigger?) as a ‘trophy’ limit. I would think allowing the under-15’s some protection would increase some forage for the muskies and other ‘top chain’ (including bigger eyes) predators out there?
After 10 years experience fishing Wissota, all I can say is that the slot WORKS!
There are more 15-18″ fish in the system now than I have seen in the 10 years I have been fishing here. The numbers of overs are on the rise too. We’ve had good numbers of fish in the 20+ inch class so far this season, and frankly I couldn’t be happier.
I’m not out to harvest eyes on every trip. In fact, there have only been a couple of handfuls of walleyes taken out of the lake from my boat, and those have all been by clients.
It is my perception that Wissota eyes have good reproduction but are slow growing, and that it takes a long time to get those fish promoted into the protected slot. Why not keep them around long enough to get them to grow into 20’s (or 20+’s), rather then stick a knife in them once they hit 15″?
I’ll start off by saying that I don’t like the slot limit today.
Before I condemn it though, how long has it been in place. I fished Wissota for the first time on opener and once since and its a beautiful body of water and one I hope to learn better.
But….it is hard to understand the current slot. What’s the goal? It is very hard to get excited about keeping 12-13″ fish and releasing the 14-18’s. If I knew how long this slot had been in place and the results during that time, and the long term goal of this slot, it might help.
Eric
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I’m not out to harvest eyes on every trip.…Why not keep them around long enough to get them to grow into 20’s (or 20+’s), rather then stick a knife in them once they hit 15″?
And this is where we differ…. I fish for the fun of it too but I also fish to provide some fresh ‘meat’ for the table. My entire family really enjoys an excellent fish-fry and its a real treat (for me and them) to be able to go out and catch some dinner! With that in mind, for ‘meat hunters’ like me, I’d much rather keep 3 ‘nice eater’ than 3 ‘sandwich fillets’. I don’t fish Wissota often (a couple of times per year) and the number of fishes taken out really has nothing to do with the slot size – the ‘limit’ is what counts!
I have never fished Wissota and do not know anything about this fishery but this slot seems off to me.
It seems to encourage the harvest of the bigger walleyes. If fisherman cannot keep eater size fish (15-18 inches) many will keep the fish they can legally keep, many will undoubtedly be 20 plus inch walleyes. The willing sacrifice of the larger walleyes to protect the younger does not make sense to me.
I may be misreading this but I do not see where the fishery gains with this slot..
My two cents.
Hey there Lenny…. To clarify, there’s a three fish limit on Wissota and protected slot of 14-18″. Of the three ‘keepers’, only one can be over 18″. Thus, if you’re keeping walleye for a dinner, you can keep two under 14″ and one over 18″.
I’d rather see a three fish limit with a 15″ to maybe 18″ keeper slot and allow one additional fish if you catch a ‘trophy’ and want to mount it. I would rather see larger fish CPR’ed and make a replica if you catch a true trophy…
I just don’t see the difference of keeping three fish that are 15, 16, 17, or even 18 inches rather than keeping three fish that are 13 inches…
Jason – a question: do you know the rationale for the current slot? I was wondering if they found a higher natural mortality for ‘eyes in the 14+” range…
It was explained to me once a long time ago, but I’m not sure I can harvest all the details correctly from my memory banks.
I’ll drop Joe Kurz, our area fisheries manager, a line and see if he can provide some insight. I’ll post whatever he has to say here.
A little added input on the slot, it runs north of the first dam up from the Mississippi on the Chippewa (downtown Eau Claire) and every pool north as far as I have fished it. At first I didnt like the slot at all to the point of not bothering putting my time on “slot waters” but with age comes some wisdom (in my case I hope) and now I dont mind it at all, it does seem to be keeping more fish of decent size in the entire system…..
I’ve just started to fish Wissota with some regularity but I know from years past that I heard nothing but complaints about the size of walleyes caught…it would seem they were all in the 13″ category if my memory serves me correctly. It was rare that you would get a 20″ walleye…and if you did people would know it because it was so rare. I believe the slot is working as I know first hand with the fish I have been lucky enough to catch.
This is a tough subject though as I know the best eating walleyes are from 15″ to 17″ inches and people have a hard time throwing them back (my brother in particular 
) Anyway, for me I believe I’ve kept two walleyes this year out of Wissota…one that was under the slot and one that was 19 (that’s because my kids wouldn’t let me throw them back). For me, if I’m looking to put meat on the table, I make a run to the Mississippi where I know I can get some nice fillets for the table. 
This is a great topic for discussion though.
Keeping 13.5″ fish to eat sucks, big time actually. BUT having grown up on the lake basically, I have seen the difference the slot makes. I eat fish maybe once a week, on average. That combines, walleye, panfish, trout and salmon, catfish, northern, bullheads, all cooked a variety of ways. So I would much rather be able to got out and catch a bunch of 15″-17″ fish and have fun (presently), than go out and keep the 15″-17″ fish, but not hardly be able to keep one, because they are all 14″ or so (5-7 years ago), then I just keep a few small ones out there, and go elsewhere for some meat. The slot works for me.
WTA
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So I would much rather be able to got out and catch a bunch of 15″-17″ fish and have fun (presently), than go out and keep the 15″-17″ fish, but not hardly be able to keep one, because they are all 14″ or so (5-7 years ago),
Bullseye! (IMHO)
here is my .02
I don,t know that much about how fish grow but I like to catch bigger fish, if some one catches the fish and keeps it to eat that is fine, I do that at times to but if people are keeping the 14″ to 18″ to eat and we know that the muskies and others are eating the 8″ to 13″ what is left to grow and catch later, my vote is for a new slot you may not like this but 14″ to 20″ sounds good so that a half a## fisherman like myself can go out and catch 20+” in a year or so like I am catching the the 18+” now
just a thought
Kevin
Good thread guys,
Jason, did you ever get a clarification on the current slot and what they were trying to accomplish? I do know one thing, the current WI reg’s and slots have kept people from fishing certain waters due to not liking the slots and regs.(think some people like that aspect!).
Nope….two days and no reply. I’ll give Joe a couple more days…. 
I am 38 and have fished Wissota since I was 5 and I will say one thing about the slot, it has made for some larger fish. I can remember when I was a kid and a 14″ walleye was a rare fish indeed. If you want to discuss something that makes no sense, discuss the three fish limit. I have never agreed with ceded territory and to lower the limit on Wissota due to spearing is just a little ridiculous.
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