LLAA Fisheries Committee Update

by Charlie Garr (published in the LLAA Spring Newsletter)

The LLAA Fisheries Committee was formed as a team in 2022 with the purpose of monitoring the overall Long Lake fishery and to build a relationship with the DNR Park Rapids area fisheries. One objective the LLAA team identified early on was to work with the local DNR to increase walleye stocking levels in Long Lake. In the fall of 2023, LLAA was awarded conditional approval to supplement walleye stocking in Long Lake, starting in the fall of 2024. This a big win for those that like to fish for walleye in Long Lake.

Stocking more walleye in Long Lake became one of the objectives for several reasons, a few of which follow.

Long Lake Can Sustain A Higher Level of Walleye Stocking

• The current “one size fits all” DNR fisheries stocking approach of walleye fingerling at 1 pound per littoral acre with no deviation does not optimize the overall walleye fishing on Long Lake. This lake can sustain a higher level of walleye stocking.

• DNR staff indicates that natural reproduction in Long Lake is insignificant; 95% or more of its walleye result from stocking. The LLAA depends on the DNR to stock the lake.

• Long Lake is truly a put and take fishery. Long Lake is a very densely populated lake that receives above average fishing pressure for area lakes. The default 1 pound per littoral acre stocking rate is not enough to keep up with the level of fishing pressure Long Lake experiences.

• Starting in 2016, DNR fisheries stocking levels were reduced in MN. So Long Lake began to again receive less walleye; 485 pounds every other year, down from the 935 pounds that had been stocked from 2006 to 2014. All lakes in the area that were stocked with fingerlings were being stocked at the same rate (one pound per littoral acre.) Only 24% of Long Lake is littoral acres (less than 15 feet deep) so credit for deep water was never granted. For comparison, at one pound per littoral acre, small Blueberry Lake near Menahga received more pounds of walleye stock than did Long Lake.

  Reduction in Fishing Success

• The collective experience of LLAA’s members who fish on Long Lake, day after day, all year long, year after year, is a valuable metric and very important. A widespread group – from casual anglers to retired folks that fish every day to guides that frequent the lake – shared that fishing was better in the years following the higher stocking rates.

• Slower walleye fishing has been noticeable for the last three seasons which roughly correlate with fish from the last higher stocking year of 2014 working their way out of the system. No evidence was observed of walleyes starving to death or baitfish being eliminated when the lake was stocked at the two pounds per littoral acre.

  Efforts With the DNR

  In addition to this reduction in angler fishing success, the LLAA fisheries team also wanted to consider the DNR’s every five-year fisheries survey
  The DNR survey metric from their 2019 survey of Long was 4.73 CPUE (catch per unit effort). This was lower than any other recent survey, a result that means fewer fish were sampled. The CPUE metric can help measure trends in fish populations. The LLAA fisheries team looks forward to the findings of the DNR’s survey of Long Lake this summer.

  With this and much other analysis in mind, we began working with the DNR to find a way to increase walleye stocking in Long Lake. The DNR stocks walleye in Long Lake in even numbered years so in the fall of 2024 when the DNR stocks the usual 485 pounds of walleye fingerlings, the lake association/ foundation will provide for the stocking of an additional 240 pounds of walleye fingerlings. The plan is that our conditional supplemental walleye stocking will be repeated in the fall of 2026 and the fall of 2028. During the summer of 2029 Long Lake is scheduled again for the DNR’s every fifth-year DNR fish survey, at which point the walleye stocking plan will be reviewed again by the DNR fisheries. Our expectation is that these higher walleye stocking levels will continue in 2030 and beyond.

LLAA Fisheries Committee Cont’d

Costs and Funding

The funding mechanism to pay for the supplemental 240 pounds of walleye fingerlings every other year will be through the Long Lake Area Association Foundation, This Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Donations are tax exempt. Donate here.

Current cost estimates for walleye fingerlings are about $21 per pound with a pound containing roughly 15 to 25 fingerlings, five to seven inches long. Walleye fingerlings cost a little over one dollar each at 20 per pound. The fish will cost about $5,000 plus delivery in fall of 2024. The fisheries team expects some future inflation. Estimated walleye stocking expenses are $5,000 for 2024 and $6,000 for 2026 and 2028 – a total commitment of about $17,000 - $20,000.

The LLAA has also been stocking some perch in the spring and fall, based on DNR concerns about a low food forage base for walleyes in Long Lake. The LLAA has completed stocking perch in spring of 2024 at a cost of about $1,200. Perch stocking will be re-evaluated once the summer of 2024 DNR fish survey data is available. See LLAA Fisheries walleye info summary and guidance by fish species.

Everybody needs to be patient with this process; it will take years to see results. DNR data on walleye growth rates in Long Lake indicate that fingerling walleyes will grow about three or four inches per year. With best case conditions it will be 2027 before some of the fish stocked in 2024 will reach the length of 14 inches, considered the minimum keeper size for walleye. We need to stick with the plan for several years before we see better walleye fishing.