Over the past six weeks, wildlife managers have worked through weather more typical of the North Atlantic to take eggs and milt from walleyes. By the time they finish, the next generation of the prized sport fish will be in hatcheries waiting to be stocked. Over the next four months, the Division will stock nearly 46 million walleye fry and fingerlings in 25 lakes and reservoirs and another 12 million saugeye fingerlings and fry in 19 reservoirs east of the Continental Divide. The saugeye, a cross between walleye and their smaller cousin the sauger, are stocked into more shallow, muddy bottomed reservoirs where they thrive.
Walleyes go into deeper, colder bodies of water that they prefer.
Robin Knox, the Division's sport fish coordinator, predicted that the eventual saugeye state record could be close to 10 pounds. Over the next two to three months, eastern slope anglers can take advantage of Colorado's walleye tradition and enjoy some of the best cool-water fishing in the Western United States. In addition to walleye, spring is an excellent time to fish for wiper, crappie and smallmouth bass. Spring walleye fishing is good in part because that's when walleye spawn and after spawning they feed heavily to replenish their body fat. The Division's walleye spawning operation began this year in early March at Bonny Reservoir on Colorado's eastern plains less than ten miles from the Kansas border.