Wipers...

[BojiHawk]

I caught some more nice wipers yesterday.  Some guy and his kids (super nice people) let me fish next to them after I had been striking out in deeper water....drilled about 50 holes. :-(

Something concerning.  The guy asked if her could keep the wiper I caught.  We had catfish galore, a walleye and it was very early in the day.  Here's the deal with wipers:  The don't reproduce naturally.  OK...that's not entirely accurate.  Wiper CAN reproduce ONLY with a parent species (white or striped bass).  In any event, these are not indigenous fish and should be released.  I'm not going to argue with people about this since they are not breaking the law.  Yeah, stocked fish are there for catching...that's why they are there.  These fish aren't palatable table fare...they have red meat along the lateral line especially when they hit the 3 pounds range.

This isn't a rant about forcing my fishing mantra on people...it's more of an informative piece since a lot of people don't understand the reproductive habits of many of these fish.  Take crappies and gills...all you want.  Catfish also.  These are durable fish as far as harvest pressure (any fish has it's breaking point obviously)...but check the species you are harvesting to make sure you are not negatively influencing the health of a particular fish population that you want to enjoy in the future.  That wiper may have been caught several more times for photos and enjoyment...at 3.2 pounds he was a drag stripper.  Now, that beutiful fish is head and skin in a dumpster.  Just think it through...food for thought, not pontification..

[augergas]

Out west, you can take all of the wipers you want. In fact, take all you can and throw the rest on the bank as far as I'm concerned. They have been overstocked in our reservoirs and are the dominant species, yet no one wants them and always throws them back. At lakes like Mac, the slot limit is just ridiculous, when you catch so many over the slot and people don't keep them anyway. They are more or less a trash fish that fights like crazy. Not much better than carp.

[BojiHawk]

Out west, you can take all of the wipers you want. In fact, take all you can and throw the rest on the bank as far as I'm concerned. They have been overstocked in our reservoirs and are the dominant species, yet no one wants them and always throws them back. At lakes like Mac, the slot limit is just ridiculous, when you catch so many over the slot and people don't keep them anyway. They are more or less a trash fish that fights like crazy. Not much better than carp.

Yeah...point taken.  But the good tug of war provided on ice rods to me is a great bonus along side of catching eating fish.  As far as carp...the over population of grass carp degrades vegetation and can lead to the demise of good fisheries by devastating emergent vegetation.  In lakes like Goose lake near Oneill, they removed the refuge of vegetative cover and the pike put the smack down on perch.  So comparing them to carp or other exotic and invasive species might be a little tilted.  Also, carp do not readily take plugs and minnows and are normally not found alongside walleye and crappie and othe bag fish.  Any species that dominates a lake is a nuisance and would fall under healthy harvest guidelines.  Certainly not the case at Willow...the Iowa great lakes recently protected a slot of 17-22" on walleyes.  This is in response to an uncontrolable population of 13-14" walleye that you could catch with a plain gold hook one after another.  IMO...the tremendous fight of these wipers and their willingness to take baits through the ice provide a very exciting game fish not the norm for ice anglers.  I was pleasantly surprised with the difficulty of getting one of these brawlers onto the ice and I'm looking forward to getting some more of these to hit.  I just can't see harvesting these pretty bass in the numbers they now exsist.  I think it depends on the body of water.  In Canada, I was surprised to see a guide of all people thump a 13" perch and toss it out for bald eagles to eat.  They consider that fish junk...but I spend $400 heading to Waubay to catch these same fish only 500 miles to the south of the lake they toss them.  So it's definitely a "per lake" stance when you talk about a nuisance versus game fish.

[augergas]

True enough. One man's trash is another man's treasure. I just wish the NGPC would give us some relief from the constant stocking of these fish into our reservoirs out here in the netherlands. They can grow them like fleas in the hatchery and I know they need a place to go with them but 95% of the fishemen around here would prefer a perch or crappie panfish base with walleye as the predominant species.

The campgrounds at Mac and Minatare were jam packed and the vendors were overrun when the walleye fishing was good. Now, the walleye fishing is awful and the Wiper and white bass fishing is as good right now as it has ever been and the compgrounds are empty at Mac. The vendors are going broke. That should tell the NGPC something. And for crying out loud, get rid of that stupid slot limit. If someone actually wants to keep some of those fish, by all means, let them keep 'em!

Beauracracies are always behind the curve and slow to respond but surely they can see that a white bass/wiper fishery is of low value out west? If nothing else, the damage to their agency coffers should open their eyes. Try to get a perch/crappie fishery going in these lakes. Mac is loaded with structure right now, prime crappie habitat. Take advantage of it!

[BojiHawk]

Admittedly...I have caught all but a handful prior to this season and never had one through the ice.  So I think I like them since they are new and different.  This is obviously not a fish many people would organize a trip around and I like to target walleye, perch, crappie and pike (in that order).  I would love to find a lake chocked full of these things...I just don't know what to do with them other than pictures and release.  I'm sure if I went out there and stopped catching walleye and crappies due to these things I would think differently.

[SnipeHntr]

Last year at Mac I kept 15 per person everytime we could manage to catch that many, and the one big one too.  I would rather catch walleye any day, but if whitebass/wipers are biting then I guess I am in . . . at least for a year or so.  And if you have a mess of the smaller ones and slice that little bit of red meat off the filet they taste pretty good too

[playin4funami]

well they are kind of fun to catch now and then,it just seems that they are the only fish the fisheries managment wants to stock any more. I would also rather catch walleye perch crappie over the wiper any day. They ruined alot of good lakes with these fish but I think that the white bass did the majority of the damage,they put them into our lakes cause any idiot can catch them one after another,hoping it would attract more people to fishing. the other fish just can't compete for forage against a school of white bass,when I was a kid people threw them on the bank as a trash fish,then the fisheries dept. started telling everyone what a wonderful fish they were,and convinced many that they were table fair,next they'll try telling us carp are good too,oh wait, their already trying that!!
  I don't mind the wiper so bad if a stocking of a certain amount was put in a lake that wouldn't be able to compete againt the other fish,but they put too many in and they put them everywhere. I wish they would do them more like the muskie program and just put a few in for trophy potential and not dump truckload after truckload into a nice lake and ruin it.

[augergas]

To be fair, white bass and small wiper are fine to eat. A little smelly when you cook them but good enough eating. I think most folks who ignore them are missing the boat. Especially at Mac nowadays. The white bass fishing is outstanding. My biggest gripe is the undue focus the NGPC has put on stocking Wipers. They have operated under the assumption that wipers are a highly desirable fishery when that has proven not the be the case and has never been the case. The NGPC continues to raise huge amounts of Wiper in their hatchery system while ignoring walleye and other species almost entirely.

I have not seen the production number for this last year so I don't know what the focus is right now. I do know they stocked walleye heavily at Mac but they are too late in that effort. Behind the curve, and it's costing that area big-time. Why focus so heavily on stocking an undesirable fish? Why not adapt to fishery to what the anglers want?

I know that the white bass aren't going anywhere, too late for that. But to relentlessly dump wipers into Minatare and Mac while slacking or completely skpping year classes of walleye over the last 5 years? Bad management. Also, the complete disregard of panfish species is something I would like to see explained.

[eepks]

I know that the white bass aren't going anywhere, too late for that. But to relentlessly dump wipers into Minatare and Mac while slacking or completely skpping year classes of walleye over the last 5 years? Bad management. Also, the complete disregard of panfish species is something I would like to see explained.

I couldn't agree more. Maybe we should start emailing and calling these folks with our concerns. Can't hurt.

[playin4funami]

without naming any names or anything I can attest to one lake that I know very well and have fished since I was a kid,it used to be a great walleye spot and had good crappie fishing too,after the introduction of white bass and wipers it went downhill in a hurry as far as the walleye and crappie were concerned,I understand that fisherys change and that the fish they support can change,but it seems quite coincidental that white bass and wiper stockings pretty much end a lakes walleye production. that being said,I still do catch a few,the trick is keeping the white bass off the line long enough to entice a walleye to hit,which can be amazingly difficult as the lake is full of stunted size white bass that are everywhere. I see all the part time once a year non-serious fisherpeople(whom I have nothing against) just love pulling in 7 inch long white bass one after another and an occasional wiper and I think that is what game and parks cares about,not the guys that fish 100+ days a year,and take their fishing seriously. The game and parks guys can't please everyone so they try to please the majority whom just want to catch a fish and don't care what kind it is.

[Outdoor_Joe_26]

There has to be a balance somewhere.  I live in Omaha and spend most of my time going for bass.  The walleyes around here aren't anything that I'd go out of my way to target on a daily basis.  Now if I lived west or up around Sprit Lake, IA it was be the opposite.  I'd go after walleye every day.  Living over here where bass is king, I'd love a lake close by where I could hammer the wipers.  They fight great and the action is fast!  I'm sure every kind of fisherman has a gripe about the species they target vs. another.  Overstocking a small lake can be very bad for any species.  Cunningham lake (omaha's largest) was drained last year due to a over population of yellow and white bass so I do see your point.  Not sure if I got any point across, just the grass isn't always greener, and one mans trash fish is another mans photo opportunity.