# Grand River Walleye



## kaniff89x

I used to be able to limit out on walleye in the mid-sections of the Grand but in recent years I have not done that good. I know the DNR stocks 500,000 every other year in the section I fish at. I'm looking for some feedback on what others experience in this section. Do most of these fish migrate to the big lake or am I missing something? If you prefer to PM I would appreciate that as well.


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## fishintheblood

A check of the DNR fish stocking database shows the Grand has not been planted since 2006. http://www.michigandnr.com/fishstock/.


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## wally-eye

fishintheblood said:


> A check of the DNR fish stocking database shows the Grand has not been planted since 2006. http://www.michigandnr.com/fishstock/.




Depends on the county..........he didn't specify the county but check the Grand River walleye plantings for Ionia county.............lots and lots of eyes planted in the river in that county.


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## wolfgang510

Do these eyes migrate to the big lake and back? Do they travel up the fish ladders? Not sure I have much interest in eating a resident fish from the Grand River. I've caught a couple and based on the fight they put up the only reason to chase them for me would be for the table. Otherwise I have more fun battling carp.


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## Oldgrandman

Ionia...none since 2006. Used to be pretty good up there, never got out over there last year though, still should be some around.
The lower Grand from GR downstream has diminished over the years I can tell you that.

_Wolfgang, they do migrate up from the lake but I couldn't say if they use the ladders. Also, the Grand is not as bad as people make it out to be, sure it is far from perfect. Some of the more popular spots on the East side are probably worse as far as pollution goes. Most major waterways in Michigan are polluted beyond what I would call acceptable._


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## fishintheblood

wally-eye said:


> Depends on the county..........he didn't specify the county but check the Grand River walleye plantings for Ionia county.............lots and lots of eyes planted in the river in that county.


look before you leap!


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## diztortion

I was just talking about that story last night when I was fishing for walleye. I use to catch walleye fingerlings but in the last few years I haven't caught one in awhile. So I figured they must have stopped stocking them. 

Everyone likes to go to Grand Haven to go out to swim and fish. All that water from Lansing to Grand Haven gets dumped into the lake, so no matter how much pollution that river might have it goes directly into the Great Lakes. At least its not the K-Zoo!


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## bobo21

grand river walleye taste good


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## kaniff89x

fishintheblood said:


> A check of the DNR fish stocking database shows the Grand has not been planted since 2006. http://www.michigandnr.com/fishstock/.


We have a winner! Sorry about that, I usually check that database and for some reason I thought they were still doing that plant. But it does make sense that the numbers have dropped off drastically. Thanks for nothing Granholm.


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## wolfgang510

I'm sure they taste good - its the chemicals I am worried about. Of course the pollution makes it to the lake but at least out there it is diluted. Resident river fish grow slow and can accumulate a lot more chemicals by the time they are legal size. Also its not what is in the water but more what is in the sediment. Bio-accumulation can lead to some high chemical concentrations.


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## Jay Wesley

Walleye stocking numbers are down due to VHSv. Until we can be sure that the walleye are disease free, only lakes and streams with direct connection to the Great Lakes will be stocked. 

Hopefully, we can get our inland stocking program back on line next year. Most sites have gone 4 year without stocking.


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## Alpha Buck

Jay Wesley said:


> Walleye stocking numbers are down due to VHSv. Until we can be sure that the walleye are disease free, only lakes and streams with direct connection to the Great Lakes will be stocked.
> 
> Hopefully, we can get our inland stocking program back on line next year. Most sites have gone 4 year without stocking.


Isn't the Grand directly connected to the Great Lakes? If that is the case why would it not have been stocked?


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## diztortion

Alpha Buck said:


> Isn't the Grand directly connected to the Great Lakes? If that is the case why would it not have been stocked?


That is what I wondered when I read this.


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## kaniff89x

diztortion said:


> That is what I wondered when I read this.


 
there is a big article on the DNR website about VHS and walleye/pike/muskie hatchery programs.

Thank you for the reply Jay!


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## wally-eye

fishintheblood said:


> look before you leap!




Never did state that they were current plantings... 

But I imagine with the multiple thousands that have been planted in that area over the years that there are more than a few left.........


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## Jay Wesley

Alpha Buck said:


> Isn't the Grand directly connected to the Great Lakes? If that is the case why would it not have been stocked?


When VHSv first hit the state, we decided not to stock any up river areas even though they had great lakes (salmon) access through the fish ladders. 

The other issue is that we can not produce the same number of fish right now. All walleye are raised at Thompson hatchery now. We used to use both Thompson and Wolf Lake hatcheries. Once we can get Wolf Lake back on line, we should be able to continue the Grand Stocking. The Grand also got a large amount of fry. Right now, we do not have the ability to test fry for VHSv before stocking. 

Got our fingers crossed for 2011 to get back into stocking. Hopefully, our ability to test for the disease will be more advanced by then. 

Glad to here that some folks were catching them in the Grand while it was stocked. This is good to know so we can get back into it.


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