By Louie Stout

St. Joe River Walleye, Bass Looking Good

Not every biological survey of the St. Joseph River turns up good results.

However, District DNR biologist Neil Ledet liked what he saw on the St. Joseph River above Twin Branch Dam last month.

Ledet and his crew were doing a quick survey of walleye survival between the dam and Baugo Creek, just as they do every fall. They run an electrofishing boat around the shallows, stunning fish to the surface so that they can check their ages, condition and numbers.

“It wasn’t the best we’ve ever seen but it was pretty darn good,” said Ledet. “We’ve had as high as 25 walleyes per hour and as low as 6 per hour. On this trip, we turned up 17 per hour which is pretty darn good.”

Most of the fish he saw were planted a year ago at 6- to 8-inches long. Those fish are 11 to 14 inches now which is a good growth rate and a sign the ones stocked a year ago are doing quite well. Some should be pushing 16 inches next year.

“We also saw quite a few in the 15- to 16-inch range and had some walleyes up to 23 inches,” Ledet added. “Most of the fish were in three feet of water or less and in the weeds or on the edges.”

The walleyes must be 16 inches to be considered keepers, a regulation that took effect this year.

“We’ve had feedback from anglers that they are catching more 15½-inch walleyes than previously so that’s a positive sign the size limit is working,” said Ledet. “We hope to see a shift in that direction on river fish as well.”

Although the survey focused on walleyes, the biologists were blown away by the numbers and quality of largemouth they turned up during the survey.

“The largemouth population exploded a few years ago then kinda dwindled off,” he recalled. “But man, the number and size of largemouth we saw this fall was remarkable. There’s a huge group in that 13- to 14½-inch size range. We could have filled the boat up with them.”

Ledet said they rolled fish up to 18 inches long, something they don’t see in lakes at that time of year.

“And they were really healthy!” he added.

He also was encouraged by the lack of young shad the electrodes brought to the top but saw a lot of small bluegills. Shad can be a nuisance while the young bluegills provide a solid forage base for bass.

“Overall, I’d say the river is looking really good,” said Ledet.