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| How many of you can honestly say you have caught and measured a Walleye that was greater than 24 inches on Bago. In 17 years of fishing Bago and doing pretty well every time I go out, I personally have never caught a 25 inch Walleye.
So with all these tournaments on Bago over the last few weeks and all the fish caught, has anyone seen a fish larger than 24 inches. The reason I ask is I see lots of reports on the web that talk about 25-26-27 inch fish caught almost every trip out and I wonder if they are telling the truth or am I just cursed with 24 as my biggest bago fish. I've caught plenty of 29-31's on the Bay, but that's a different story.
Purple Skeeter |
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Location: WI | 2 years ago I caught a 26" and a bunch of 23's out of Pipe. After That year I bought a boat load of purple prizms. I don't get the on-water time as you. I guess it was the blind pig theory. |
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Posts: 269
| Ive fished the lake pretty hard for about 14years, and I have caught one 29" walleye casting the shoreline about 13 years ago. My friend caught a 26" in the mud trolling cranks in the mud about 3 years ago. I spend most of my time fishing 6 ft or less. Iam thinking the mud would be better 4 bigger fish?  |
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Posts: 116
| I caught a 27" in 4' on Butt des Morts in 1995 when my oldest son was with me. He was 12 at the time and still talks about it. In 2001 I caught two 26" eyes trolling the mud. Both weighed exactly 6 pounds. They are there but I sure don't connect with them on a regular basis. |
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Posts: 2393
Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | My biggest to date is 28 1/2". |
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| 26" trolling 8ft of water just south of Stockbridge 3 years ago, last week in April |
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| I personnally caught a 7.89 during Otter Street with Jim Ordway and go figure with that fish we got third for big fish I believe it was a little over 27 so 2 other fish beat us out. my personal best was 29 last year but did not weigh it had no camera. |
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Posts: 2300
Location: Berlin | I got a 25" and a 24" (measured) the day before the Terry's tournament. I got a 25" er on monday. We got a 27"er in the WWA tournament last year. My wife and I got a 26.5"er in the Nigls tournament a few years ago. This year I have not seen the huge fish as I have in the past few years but I am seeing more 20-25" fish then I ever have in the past.
With as much time as you put in, it is just horrible luck that you have not caught one bigger. I got money says you get 2 over 25" this year yet |
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Posts: 1406
| PS, Although we have not met I feel you may have been questioning the validity of my post. So for the record take a look and tell me what group of fish a person that is targeting quality rather than quantity should learn! Once figured out your entire outlook on fishing changes! Not that catching 14-20" is a bad thing, I just prefer to shoot the 10 pointer than take the scrub buck. My personal quest I guess and if I thought I could do it consistantly during tourney hours I would play in that arena but thats not my game!
For the record the slides are from the WDNR!
Good Luck
Tyee
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Posts: 149
Location: Appleton, WI | Last year at Quennie Quencher it was a 3 way tie for big fish. we all had 24 1/2 to 25inch fish weighing in at just shy of 4 lbs. |
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Location: Berlin | Those are some VERY skinny fish. |
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Posts: 617
Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | Most people don't use a tape measure PS. And I know for a fact that one of Rich S's friend had a ruler that started at "1" instead of at "0"... hahaha
Don't think your ever going to see a large population of fish on 'bago over 25 inches. Most people simply won't release enough fish for them to grow that large in big numbers. Just like the DNR chart Tyee posted - something like 6% of the walleye sampled in the spring of 2006 were 25 inches or larger. Good or bad, that's not going to change unless the majority of people fishing 'bago want it to.
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Location: Berlin | I agree Brad, most fish are extremely exaggerated and others just don't know. Some guys catch a 23"er and say it is a 5 lber. That is why I go with inches and measure anything I am about to brag about. If a fish is worth bragging about, it is worth the 10 seconds it takes to measure them.
And by the way, that ruler of ChrisM's was awesome! We always caught big ones!
Edited by Rich S 6/1/2007 1:45 PM
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Posts: 591
Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | i have been out a bunch and the largest i have caught this year was a true 21 1/2.. and a 20 bunch of 19 and 18 but they are heavy fish that 21 might have made 5 lbs fat as heck... but i dont know.. 2 and 3 lb fish are plentyfull it seems but even a 17 incher is thick and seems larger than it is.. i have caught plenty of big fish on the bay but this years bago fish are heathy(fat) more so than i have seen in my 39 years of life. |
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| I have fished Winnebago hard for more than 30 years. On a good year I will catch 12-15 walleyes that are over 24", my personal best is 28.5". You're right, big eyes out there are rare. |
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Posts: 132
Location: Southwest shore Bago | 29" with tail pulled down |
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Posts: 340
Location: McFarland, WI | 26.5 incher today. I thought I was on Green Bay until I choked on some lake flies. Caught it in Tyees spot at 2 pm |
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Posts: 538
| Last year we did not put a 7lb in the boat at any time on Bago. In the previous 2 years, Kegler and I caught a 7lb fish pre-fish for the Merc, but could not get even close at show time. I know Dave have a picture of the last one, not sure about the one before that.
It sure was a bummer that the one Kissinger and I caught in the Otter was beat out by two other boats. Any other day it would have been a winner.
Take care,
Jim O |
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Posts: 378
Location: Omro,Wi. | Take a look at the picture on the left, one is 28" and the other is 26". I have had two over thirty inches, and a dozen over 10lbs in the history of fishing this lake. I have 2 over 26" this year in the mud and will get at least a dozen more at 26" before it's over. They are there and some days that is all we can get, but on a good note everything over 20" goes back, to keep the fishery strong. |
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| Hafe, There sure are some nice ones out there this year, no? Recently I was confronted by a few about me kepping "large" fish. I do believe that releasing "big" fish is good for the health of the system, and have taken some slams because I have cleaned a few 20"ers. in the recent past. (for the record I have cleaned fish 3 times this year) Wish the guys taking 5 14" a day 7 days a week off the reefs and filling their freezers would do the same. A FISH REMOVED FROM THE SYSTEM IS JUST THAT REMOVED, BE IT BIG OR SMALL IT NEVER GETS THE CHANCE TO SPAWN! Someone define "big" for me please? It never ceases to amaze me that people clean 25" fish from the bay all the time but it is frowned upon on Winnebago? SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY? Why is it that something that is so out of reach for some is so sought after by so many?
Good Luck
Tyee |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Tyee,
Go to Erie sometime and watch all of the 7 and 8 pounders that are put to the knife. It comes down to what you are after for a "trophy" and what the typical size fish is in the system. I believe that the chart you provided earlier gives some of the answers.
As you follow the recent threads you realize that many who fish bago religiously want it to be a trophy fishery defined by a 30" fish. Some say that it's not practical to expect this body of water to produce fish of that size on a regular basis. Others say it's a guarantee that we will never see 30" as long as people continue to keep the 24 and 25 inch fish.
Look at the chart and see the makeup of the fish population. You're a very smart guy! Tell me what population of fish need to be released if your goal is set on the magic 30'.
Before I get beat up in this fight .................. please understand that I like bago just as it is now ................ if I want a 30 incher I drive a little further and get it on the bay. I have no problem identifying bago as a fishery where 27" is a real trophy.
You are in your legal limits to keep the fish that you do so the final decision is yours. Some try a little harder than necessary to instill their preferences onto you through peer pressure.
And if truth be known .................... I'm deathly afraid that many of us will be watching thousands of floaters next spring saying to ourselves: "why didn't I keep that fish last summer instead of it going to waste".
Edited by Sunshine 6/7/2007 5:57 AM
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Location: LaCrosse, WI | I've only been fishing Bago for a few years and at first I really had a hard time finding anything consistantly over 18. Last year I finally cracked the 24" mark when I had two in one day that both measured almost exactly 25". They were not pigs by most peoples standards, but I would take as many 25" eyes as I could get in any Bago tournament ever.
I may be way off base with this, but I've noticed that most of the bigger (22-25") fish I've caught on the Winnebago system haven't been mixed in with the higher concentration of fish. They've all been on the mud, but seem to be the only fish around when I'm getting any size. When I have boards going back like crazy, I'm lucky to have a 20".
We see this on the Mississippi River a lot. It seems like you'll have multiple year classes lumped together, but the older fish kind of go off in their own schools. You can usually catch tons of 12"-20" fish, but the better fish are almost always in their own little groups. |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Marshall,
That is an astute observation that I totally concur with. |
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Posts: 2300
Location: Berlin | I 100% completely and totally agree. The mud is the place to be. |
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