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Location: Darboy USA | Alright you Wolf gurus, with the ice being out at least 2 weeks later than last year, will that mean the eyes will stay in the river longer or is it all going to be dictated by how quickly the water warms and the females can drop the eggs? I'm assuming we need at least a 10 degree water warmup to get them dropping?
I'm curious as there are a number of tournaments at the end of April and I'm guessing there will be alot more fish in the river than there was for the PWT last year? Is that a correct assumption?
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| It's all about the current. By late April, your guess is as good as any one else's right now. A lot can happen between now and the end of April.
Hope everyone is ready, because the season is upon us. Hope everyone has a good season. |
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Location: McFarland, WI | Marsh temps will dictate spawning. I remember years where we caught spawned out females with ice flows coming down the river and I have a bent trolling motor shaft to prove it.
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| Larry is dead on, the temp hits 42-45 in the marshes alot faster than in the river itself and if there is no water in the marshes the fish keep moving farther north. The "run" starts usually around 45-48 degrees and the current increases causing the level to drop in the marshes. This kicks the males out as they tend to hang around after the majority of the females have left.
Game-ON
Good Luck
Tyee |
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| I'll respectfully disagree, temp is a factor....but not a direct indicator of how long the run will last.
But hey what do I know......:) |
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Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | The answers are as long to this question as there are fisherman with there own opinions as well as the DNR. Temps dictate one thing, when will the fish spawn. Thats about it. Before and after the spawn, I believe it to be, current controlled. |
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| Current dictates how many fish come up the system and how far they go. Usually low water means that the fish that use the Wolf go way up the river looking to spawn. High water draws more fish, but they could spawn in Fremont if the temp is right when they get there. Length of daylight is also a factor in fish movement.
Temp and current in the marsh dictates spawning activity.
Water level in the marsh affects the flushing of the fry, not how long the adults stay unless flow decreases to the point the fish spook from that particular marsh prior to spawning.
A BIG flush will move lots of fish to the lakes in some cases and in some cases it will create a bonanza of shallow water food opportunities in the river so some will stay.
Comes down to this for the most part. If the water is low and the bulk of the fish go all the way to the Shawano dam, it takes them longer to come back and if they find lots of food, many could stay. On a low water year a short time ago the bulk of the big females stayed in the river all year long. We had decent water and there was lots of food. People on this board who fish bago were saying that there were no big fish and guys like Tyee and I were saying there are lots of them in the river still, in August.
If it gets warm fast and the fish spawn in the lower marshes, the late start could make no difference and by April 15th, the average spawning time, things could be in full swing. The last two years we had post spawn fish in the marsh 7 days after the ice left. With the Templeton bayou marsh now "fixed" to allow current, and other below New London marshes full of water, there could be more fish in the lower river this year and they could make a quick exit to the lakes. Good numbers of fish are already up river, but that's normal. We'll know the bulk of the "bago" fish are coming when action starts on the Winneconne bridge. Where they spawn will be determined by water temp in the river as well as in the marsh.
Edited by Joel "Doc" Kunz 3/27/2008 1:48 PM
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| Well said, Doc. |
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Location: Darboy USA | Thanks for the replies gents. I was hoping Doc would chime in, he always seems to be in the "know" of what is going on with the river. Hopefully about 5 of those fat post spawn females make it to my net on April 27!
See you guys on the river!! |
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| Of course everything I wrote could be wrong too. Just when you think you have them figured out, something changes and so do the fish. Thanks for the "props" Jayman but I'll pass Kendall the credit. He's the guy I'm lucky enough to learn from. |
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Late Ice Out=Late Return??