One day, Diamond Lake walleye from Central Minnesota might populate southern Minnesota lakes with a strain more suited for those shallow, nutrient-rich waters. Researchers discovered the genetically unique population while unraveling the mystery of Lake Sarah.
On this day in mid-April, however, Diamond Lake wasn’t giving up much in the way of potential brood stock. Two nets had blown down and a third had tangled in 40 mph winds the day before.
Spicer area fisheries supervisor Dave Coahran and Assistant Supervisor Brad Carlson worked the northwest corner of the lake, pulling up each of the 11 nets that extended about 40 feet perpendicular to the shore. They worked out the snarls, retied the openings, reset the nets on the cobbled lake bottom. By Net 4, the first walleyes turned up. Coahran and Carlson ran a thumb along the belly of each.
“She’s partially spent,” Coahran said, tossing a female back into the water. Green females, those that aren’t yet releasing eggs, went back, too.
Ripe females went into one side of a divided, aerated tank; males into the other. Spicer is the only one of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ eight egg-take stations that harvests walleye eggs from more than one lake.
The Spicer quota, 180 quarts, would come from four lakes — Diamond, Rice, Koronis and Elizabeth. The resulting walleye fry, fish about the size of a mosquito, will stock some of the 39 lakes managed by Spicer staff. Spicer also sends fry to Windom, whose territory includes Lake Sarah.
By late morning, Coahran and Carlson had transferred 21 Diamond Lake females and 15 males from boat to DNR truck and headed for the New London hatchery.
The effort produced only 1 quart of the pure Diamond Lake strain. Fertilization is more successful when the eggs of four females mix with the milt of 10 or 11 males. Continue reading – http://www.sctimes.com/story/sports/outdoors/2015/05/01/walleye-king/26712813/