CJ Brown Atricles-Walleye Stocked-Mystery Fish

SPRINGFIELD — The walleye population at C.J. Brown Reservoir got a boost in May.

Actually, it was 420,000 boosts.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife released that many walleye fingerlings (fish 1 to 3 inches long) into the reservoir on May 21 and May 30.

"If you look historically over the past 20 years or so, that's a pretty healthy dose," said Doug Maloney, fish management supervisor with the ODOW District 5 office in Xenia.

Walleye cannot maintain a natural population at C.J. Brown, so the annual stocking supplants the breeding process.

The last time the reservoir was stocked with such a large number of walleye was 2003 (443,000). The number is well above 2007 (280,000).

Maloney listed several reasons to increase the stocking, including a good hatch across the state and lower numbers in C.J. Brown's spring netting.

As a supplier of walleye eggs statewide, the ODOW wanted to ensure the reservoir would continue to produce in the future.

But mostly, anglers had a rough spring, and it looked as if C.J.'s walleye population might be dwindling.

"We had requested specifically to bump up the stocking rate to try to give it a shot in the arm for what we, and some fisherman, have perceived as not such a strong population in recent years," Maloney said.

That said, anglers have been catching plenty of walleye lately, and that includes Maloney.

He said he caught a limit (six) on June 14.

"Then what happens is the walleye fishing turns on like crazy in the last couple weeks and the fishermen are all happy," Maloney said. "There's a lot of good comments in the last couple weeks about how good the walleye fishing is at C.J. Go figure."

Any walleye under 15 inches caught at C.J. Brown must be immediately returned to the water. Maloney said the first of the fingerlings released in May could reach that length by the fall of 2009. Most will be 15 inches by the summer of 2010.

That's if they survive their first year. The survival rate for walleye fingerlings is anywhere from less than 1 percent to 10 percent. Survival rate depends on, among other things, food availability and the number of predators.







SPRINGFIELD — It could not have been a more delightful day to be on the water at C. J. Brown Reservoir in Buck Creek State Park.

A faint breeze barely riffled the surface of the 2,120-acre lake off Route 4, on the northeast side of Springfield.
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Only a dozen or so car and boat trailers were parked at the lot near the boat ramp when I arrived one morning last week. Perhaps it was an indication that C. J. fishermen have not had much success lately.

Soon my own boat was launched and I headed northwest from the ramp, straight toward the mid-lake humps where so many walleyes have been caught in past years.

According to notes in my fishing log, Jim Carr of Dayton and I caught 24 walleyes in one day some six years ago. All were taken by trolling deep-running lures.

Most of the fish did not meet the 15-inch minimum size limit that applies at C.J., but we had a fishing day to remember.

Strangely, trolling no longer appears to be as effective at this mystery lake. Drifting or still-fishing with jig and live bait appear to get better results.

So what's happened at Brown? Why aren't more fish caught by trolling? Where are the walleyes, period?

The question was put to Doug Maloney, district fish management supervisor for the Division of Wildlife. He said he has been asked the same thing by others.

"I don't know," Maloney replied. "It baffles me."

The annual walleye stocking program continues. Test netting in years past has shown the lake has an abundance of walleyes, and many of them are huge.

To improve the fishing outlook for bluegills and crappies, the Division of Wildlife installed groups of pilings at various locations at 10- or 15-foot depths. Originally, there were 25 pilings per group.

On my recent outing I fished some of the piling structures, but did not find many fish. I did locate an abundance of crappies along a rock drop-off some 150 yards northwest of the entrance to the marina area.

The rock structure, one that's entirely natural, fell off from a depth of 3 feet down to more than 22 feet in a short distance.

Here crappies were spawning and I had the best success catching them on a small pink jig, fished just off bottom at the eight-foot level. Minnows accounted for some of the fish taken, most of which ranged from 8-to-10 inches.

David Lloyd, a friend who was fishing nearby in his boat, was urged to join me at this fishing spot and both of us had fun crappie fishing.

It allowed both of us to forget C. J. Brown's mysterious walleyes, at least for a day.

It certainly was weekend of fishing Let's visual a couple years from now, the walleye fishing should improve!! It will never be Lake Erie but at least we can hope to have some action The mystery lake will continue to puzzle the best of us. Till next time.... A bad day fishing is better than ANY day at work!!!