Walleye restoration and conservation in the Lake Champlain Basin 

Walleye Fingerlings

In an effort to see survival rates in stocked Walleye increase an effort was made to stock more fingerling size fish to the Lake Champlain Basin. LCWA began raising fingerlings in ponds in the Vergennes Vermont area back in the early eighties. When we were able to establish a Walleye restoration program within Vermont Fish & Wildlife more ponds were put into use at the VTF&W Bald Hill Facility. Old Salmon ponds were converted and used to raise Walleye Fingerlings.

LCWA since has built three more ponds in the Swanton, St. Albans Vermont area. The first of the three ponds was built in Campbell’s Bay and the second two were built in St. Albans Town on the Samson Farm. The picture below is of the St. Albans ponds and catch basin under construction (2005). 

We are very fortunate to have the support of different land owners. They allow us free long term use of their land for our fingerling ponds. Without the help of these people LCWA would be hard pressed to have a fingerling program. A very grateful THANK YOU to Bob Perkins of Vergennes, Alex Campbell and family of Campbell’s Bay and Bob Samson of St. Albans Town.

LCWA receives Advanced Fry from the Bald Hill Facility in May. We stock our ponds with these fish and raise them to fingerling size. The process is a short but intense one. Daily care of these ponds is essential to success. Oxygen levels are crucial, they are monitored twice daily and adjusted by adding fresh water as necessary. Water temperatures are monitored daily also. They also in most cases can be adjusted by adding usually cooler water during this time of year.

The big challenge is maintaining adequate feed. These little guys are ferocious feeders. They feed on plankton, mosquito larvae and other insects in the ponds. We feed our ponds inactive yeast and alp Alf alpha  meal to get the bugs growing. This process is a balancing act. To much yeast or alphalfa meal and oxygen levels drop, and they can drop dangerously low very quickly.

One of the bugs they eat “Daphnia”

When feed and all other conditions seem good the demise of fish can come in the form of predatory bugs. They come in many varieties and can have a devastating effect on production if not kept in check. Beetles, water scorpions, back swimmers are among some of the deadliest. Most of these bugs are air breathing. To keep them under control we spread small amounts of cooking oil over the surface of the ponds for short periods of time. The bugs get caught in the oil or get coated with it and can’t breathe.

                Backswimmer                                                             Toebiter Beetle

It takes about thirty to forty five days to get these fish to fingerling stage. Once they are at the right size for stocking we drain our ponds into catch basins and hopefully there are lots of walleye to be stocked. Our catch basins can hold forty to sixty thousand fish at a time and we have a great supply of clean fresh water all the time. On this particular day there was about thirty thousand fish in the basin.

Oh Boy! Fish in the catch basin to be stocked