Walleye culling

[Lee Borgersen]

This is about NY. regulations but all regs need to be followed in the state you reside in.

The following is a message from Ed Mills, president of the Oneida Lake Association:

I wanted to share with you some discussions the Oneida Lake Association (OLA) Board of Directors had at our July meeting. With Oneida Lake waters so warm, walleye fishing so good, and walleye tournaments so popular, OLA would like to bring to the attention of walleye anglers and walleye tournament organizers the need to follow DEC’s rules concerning walleye culling. Walleye culling occurs when anglers achieve their daily limit of three legal sized walleye but continue to fish. DEC’s rules for fishing that appear in New York’s fishing guide specifically state that all walleye caught subsequent to achieving the daily limit must be returned immediately to the lake, in this case Oneida Lake. As you might expect, holding a walleye in a boat live well for extended periods of time when summer temperatures are high is both harmful to the fish and will impact its survival upon release back into the lake. The bottom line is that culling for walleye is illegal in New York State.

On the other hand, culling for smallmouth and largemouth bass is legal.

New York State regulations regarding the culling of walleye and both smallmouth and largemouth bass can be found on page 13 of the NYS fishing guide. They are:

A person may not fish for a species (not even catch and release) during the closed season for that species on a given body of water.

A person may not possess, kill, or unnecessarily injure fish in excess of the daily limit for that species.

A person may not have in possession, or intentionally kill or injure fish other than the size specified and allowed for that species on a given body of water.

The fish an angler catches and immediately releases uninjured will not be counted as part of the daily limit for that species.

A person may continue to fish for a species while in possession of a daily limit for that species provided all fish of that species subsequently caught are immediately returned to the water. See below for special provisions made for largemouth and smallmouth bass.

A single, uninjured largemouth or smallmouth bass that an angler is landing, measuring or in the process of releasing from a recirculating or aerated live well, is not considered to be part of the daily limit.

OLA feels that it is important that anglers are knowledgeable about DEC’s rules for walleye culling. OLA also feels that it is important that walleye tournament organizers and the anglers that participate in these tournaments consciously follow DEC’s culling regulations. With summer temperatures trends in Oneida Lake increasing, angler caught fish like walleye become stressed not only from handling but also from elevated water temperatures, New York’s culling law for walleye needs to be followed and enforced.