Quote:
Originally Posted by walleye guy
So are there not any old-timer's on here who can verify that walleye were ever naturally present in Wabamun before all of this started, like way back in the 60's or early 70's. Before the power plant screwed up the lakes water temp.
I read in an article, that way back when, it was reported that "X" amount of pickerel was reported to have been netted from the lake, and then the author stated that this was probably a miss reporting of pike being caught.
Well I am Alberta born, and have also lived in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and grew up wrongfully calling walleye pickerel. And they are still commonly called this all over western Canada. But never have I ever herd a western Canadian refer to a Northern Pike as a pickerel. So I'm thinking if they reported pickerel being caught it was likely walleye.
|
There has been some argument whether walleye were ever in the lake. Old federal commercial fishing reports dating before 1920 refer to "pickerel" being caught. So, it's likely they were present. But there were no reports of walleye being caught since then. The lake got along without them for a long time. The Wabamun power plant was built in the 1950s, so the only effect it had on walleye was preventing them being introduced. What effect the lack of open water during the winter has had on the fish is yet to be studied, at least as far as I know.