Many of our wonderful fisheries are heavily sustained by stocking. I do not guide on lakes that are struggling to maintain healthy walleye numbers, it reduces the quality of the fishery for everyone, and places unneeded strain on the walleye population.

I highly encourage anyone who wants to keep fish to keep them on the smaller side, it can vary by lake but that is usually 15-19”. Those fish are on average 3-5 years old, and quickly replenished by stocking. A 25” walleye is roughly 8 years old, and they grow slowly after reaching that size. Keeping the larger fish reduces the quality of catch and release trophy fishing. By releasing them, we allow all anglers to have a shot at catching their biggest walleye ever.

I do not fish deeper than 30’ of water if I intend to release fish. There are larger walleye on the thermocline during the early evening hours, but bringing those fish up can kill them, their swim bladders can explode out of their mouth, crushing and displacing their organs. A picture is not worth a dead trophy.

I will never gloat, denigrate other guides, or make you feel bad for making mistakes. We are all human, we are sharing these wonderful resources, there is no place for arrogance and rude discourse. We are incredibly blessed to have access to these world class fisheries, there is no need to stress when you should be having fun!