The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has established a walleye stocking program in the Watts Bar Reservoir by recently releasing over 220,000 fingerlings in the lake. The young walleye were raised at the Eagle Bend Fish Hatchery and were stocked in various locations around the reservoir to augment sauger stocking in Watts Bar.
"This venture is based on much biological forethought and consideration," said Mike Jolley, TWRA Region III Reservoir Fisheries Manager. "Currently, several reservoirs across the state are stocked with walleye with good success. In an effort to offset the proven challenges in managing and maintaining sauger populations, TWRA will instead stock walleye on an annual basis at Watts Bar. Fisheries managers believe stocking the walleye will provide anglers with greater fishing opportunity with more sustainability," Jolly added.
The decision to replace the sauger stocking program with walleye is based on reoccurring issues with the sauger's low natural reproduction, challenging hatchery propagation, and the management of the sauger as a sportfish.
"Walleye, when compared to sauger as a manageable fish, offer more opportunity for success on several levels. Walleye on average live longer than sauger, they obtain a larger size, more conducive to year around fishing, the brood fish are less of a challenge to obtain, and walleye require fewer man hours to produce in TWRA hatcheries," Jolly said.
Walleye and sauger have several parallel characteristics and are closely related. Both migrate up rivers to spawn, share similar feeding patterns, and are good night feeders because of they have a light reflective coating located behind the eye. Both fish also offer great table fare that is highly sought after by anglers.
"The Watts Bar Reservoir has a proven good forage base of shad that should promote the new walleye stocking program. What biologists call "preferred habitat", which is critical to the success of any fishery, is also available in Watts Bar. Walleye are caught by anglers and TWRA data collection crews in the Tennessee River system where there is no stocking program and Watts Bar is no exception", stated Jolley.
The current regulations for walleye on Watts Bar Reservoir are: five per day, with a 16 inch minimum length limit.
The State record walleye, 25 pounds, was caught by Mabry Harper in 1960 on Old Hickory Reservoir and is recognized as the "All-Tackle World Record".
The state record sauger is currently seven pounds and six ounces and the fish was caught by Rayford D. Voss on Kentucky Reservoir in 1973.
"Based on the average growth rate data recorded for walleye in Tennessee Reservoirs, we anticipate the Watts Bar stocking program to produce a 16-inch size limit by the time the fish reach the age of two to three years old," said Jolley.
TWRA Region III Reservoir Fisheries crew will continue to closely monitor the stocking program and fish populations. This is accomplished by various types of surveys.
"We may use gill netting, seining, creel surveys, and elector fishing", Jolley said. "Hopefully this walleye stocking program will prove to be a great addition to fishing opportunities in Tennessee.