The DNR says last fall’s drawdown of the Chippewa Flowage in Sawyer County is contributing to some of the healthiest young walleyes they’ve ever seen.
The 15,000 acre Chippewa flowage feeds a number of hydroelectric dams down river and its level is drawn down every year. A persistent drought, though, has led to smaller withdrawals, giving invasive weeds a chance to take hold along the shorelines. This has been good for young panfish but bad for their predators, young walleyes.
Last fall, Xcel Energy, the DNR, tribal and private partners decided to draw more water out of the Chippewa Flowage to expose and freeze out the unwanted weeds. DNR fisheries supervisor Dave Neuswanger says they hoped this would make it easier for walleye to catch their prey.
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It seems to be working.
“We’ve never seen the young walleyes as plump or fat as they seem to be this year,” he said. “There’s a lot of fat in their body cavity, they are just in superb condition.”
Neuswanger says there are other factors playing into the healthy walleyes surveyed this spring, and it’ll take more time to tell how much increased drawdowns impact walleye survival. But, he says, these are surprising and encouraging results.
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