Walleye

[smashdn]

Got to thinking this last night for some reason. Since COE, KDFWR and Nature Conservancy are so bent on removing dams on Green River and Barren, shouldn't they stock some of those river-run walleye in there now?

They stocked some way upstream in Barren a number of years back but I kind of forgot about them up there. Supposedly they were bred from native strain walleye from broodstock from Rockcastle River.

 

[mcbuck58]

Got to thinking this last night for some reason. Since COE, KDFWR and Nature Conservancy are so bent on removing dams on Green River and Barren, shouldn't they stock some of those river-run walleye in there now?

They stocked some way upstream in Barren a number of years back but I kind of forgot about them up there. Supposedly they were bred from native strain walleye from broodstock from Rockcastle River.

That sounds good to me. There are walleye in the Green River and they come up the Nolin River to the Nolin River Lake dam to spawn.

 

[slobear]

Got to thinking this last night for some reason. Since COE, KDFWR and Nature Conservancy are so bent on removing dams on Green River and Barren, shouldn't they stock some of those river-run walleye in there now?

They stocked some way upstream in Barren a number of years back but I kind of forgot about them up there. Supposedly they were bred from native strain walleye from broodstock from Rockcastle River.

It is a good question, I believe sauger run up to Barren Dam.

The reason I never asked it is because barren is the little brother to green and honestly nolin discharges. Once the thermocline sets up hard I figure it would be hard for walleye to survive in barrens discharge. Tailgaters at barren is a nice campground until they start dumping that dead water.

The headwaters on barren I could see supporting some walleye but I doubt it has the capability to support many. The ones that I believe catch walleye are pretty tight lipped about them.

 

[slobear]

That sounds good to me. There are walleye in the Green River and they come up the Nolin River to the Nolin River Lake dam to spawn.

Yet I have never heard of one running up barren. I’m guessing it is water conditions as I have floated Nolin to Green and been all around Barren to green.

 

[claynut69]

Got to thinking this last night for some reason. Since COE, KDFWR and Nature Conservancy are so bent on removing dams on Green River and Barren, shouldn't they stock some of those river-run walleye in there now?

They stocked some way upstream in Barren a number of years back but I kind of forgot about them up there. Supposedly they were bred from native strain walleye from broodstock from Rockcastle River.

My sons roommate in college co-oped with KDFW and worked with the shocking crew on the Rockcastle. They shocked a 14 and 19lb walleye in their studies for native strain walleye. He never told me where they were though lol.

 

[smashdn]

The sauger study they did back years ago on the middle stretch of green and barren basically came to the conclusion that sauger didn't do as well through there as there were not long enough run sections nor deep enough holes. I suspect with the dam removal this is even more the case.

That lead me to thinking the river strain walleye would be a better fit. Upper Barren, above Holland, is a creek you can wade across. Not unlike Green above GRL or even Green down into parts of MCNP, but Green is definitely bigger there than Barren.

Anyway, from what I could gather from the kdfwr studies sauger start to be fair below Rochester. It is pretty shallow below woodbury till you get below the first big bend.

I feel like those two rivers in particular are not well managed or at least don't have the amount of and makeup of fish I would expect to see. I have been fishing the Cumberland down in TN a lot this past year. It is pretty rare I go down there and not get into fish. White bass are going crazy down there now. I don't know I have ever really heard of much of a white bass run on green or barren. Sauger and walleye have been really good too and it is an excellent river for size and numbers of blue cats. I get the size is different and the level of water control on the Cumberland is much greater than green but there is a noticeable disparity in fish and fishing quality.