Ty Gray Region VI Fisheries Specialist Arizona Game and Fish Department 7200 E. University Rd. The fish were harvested from a pond at Bubbling Ponds State Fish Hatchery where they had been raised from sac-fry to inch and a half long fingerlings over the last month. After the fish were harvested they were put in transport tanks and driven to Apache and Saguaro Lake. Once the walleye reached the lakes they were met by more Department biologists and Southwest Walleye Anglers that offloaded the fish onto several boats and then distributed the tiny fish through out each lake. Approximately 8,000 walleye went to Apache lake and 12,000 went to Saguaro.
Apache Lake is stocked every year with walleye fingerlings.
This will be the first time Saguaro has received a load of walleye since October 1999 when the Department and the SWWA again teamed up to purchase a load of 15,000 5-inch walleye from a private fish grower in Minnesota. Canyon Lake was also stocked three weeks ago with 180,000 sac-fry walleye that the Department received from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. This marks the first year since 1997 that all three Salt River Lakes have been stocked with walleye the same year which has been a primary goal of the Walleye Stocking Program. The walleye were hatched at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish's Rock Lake Hatchery. Although the load only weighed 17 ounces, at 14,900 walleye per ounce the total number exceeded 250,000 walleye.