Approximately 83 million tiny walleye soon will be swimming at locations throughout Colorado, the final product of the annual spawn-taking operation by the Division of Wildlife. When the agency completed its take at four Front Range reservoirs last week, approximately 114 million eggs had been counted: 70.3 million from Pueblo, 19.2 million from Cherry Creek, 17.8 million from Chatfield and 6.9 million from Carter.
The success rate from eggs to hatched fry is roughly 73 percent.
In a departure from standard practice, all were used to make walleye. The conversion of several million eggs to saugeye, the walleye-sauger hybrid, was abandoned this year because of disease concerns in states from which sauger milt is obtained. Instead, DOW has taken steps to develop its own sauger brood stock as a hedge against continuing problems from traditional outside sources.
“We’ll make up some of those saugeye stockings by putting in a year class of walleye,” acting aquatics manager Greg Gerlich said of the revised strategy. In addition, Colorado again will trade approximately 10 million walleye eggs to other states for white bass, gizzard shad and northern pike.
