Eagle Creek Reservoir walleyes take a vacation

By Don Mulligan

In 2001, Indiana Department of Natural Resources press releases proclaimed Eagle Creek Reservoir (ECR)  in Indianapolis the next big thing in the emerging Hoosier walleye fishing scene.  Fast forward to 2003, however, and walleye anglers are coming off the lake with mostly empty live wells, scratching their heads, and wondering where all the walleye went?

“They’re still there.  They just aren’t biting like they were two years ago,” says Doug Keller, managing DNR Fisheries Biologist. Keller’s spring 2003 netting and shocking surveys of the lake turned up 24 walleyes, with eight of them over 14 inches long.  Informal creel surveys have revealed lots of bigger and healthier fish as well.

“We know the 1997 stocking was successful, and given the growth rates we have documented in ECR, I guarantee that entire year class of fish should be over 20 inches long by now,” he says. And growth rates for walleyes in ECR are comparatively impressive, according to Keller.  A two millimeter long walleye fry planted in April, will be eight inches long in six months, and 14 inches long  in 18 months in ECR. 

 That type of growth is typical for some lakes with a gizzard shad forage base, but not all.  Brookeville Reservoir in East Central Indiana, for example, is loaded with gizzard shad , but continually shows much slower growth rates for walleyes. Keller theorized that the shad at Brookeville grow slower than the ones at ECR, and in turn provide less food for scavenging walleyes. And  smaller gizzard shad mean slower growing walleyes, he said.

 In Northern Indiana lakes, where gizzard shad populations do not survive winters as well as they do in the south, walleye growth rates are even slower, Keller revealed. But despite his assurances that there are still lots of walleyes swimming around ECR, Keller acknowledges that they have stopped biting like they used to.  To try and solve the mystery, the IDNR plans formal creel surveys there next year. He also warned that perhaps the entire 2002 walleye stocking might have been lost.    Those fish would have been reaching legal size this fall. “The only chance we had to stock ECR in 2002 was at a time when the reservoir was flooded and muddy,” he said.  The result was lots of walleye fry either washed over the spillway, or starved to death. Keller said fry need to gorge themselves immediately upon release on zooplankton, and that muddy conditions make it too difficult for the fragile fish to find the forage.  The 2003 walleye stocking at ECR appears to have been successful, however.

 A fisherman’s insight

 Andy Moretti has another theory about the lost walleyes at ECR.  Moretti and his fishing boat have been a permanent fixture on ECR since 1990, and most consider him the final word on walleye fishing the 1350 acre body of water. He blames the lull in action on a copper based algaecide called Cutrine Plus that is applied to ECR every summer by the City of Indianapolis.  The city of Indianapolis uses ECR for their drinking water, and to combat a nasty taste and odor, they apply the algaecide several times a year. “I believe the fish are still there, but I guarantee they have stopped feeding like they used to,” says Moretti, who revealed he has caught very few walleyes at ECR this summer despite several attempts. “Every time they apply that algaecide, the oxygen level of the lake drops because of all the dying algae.  I don’t believe the depleted oxygen levels kill the fish, but it makes them lethargic and impossible to catch,” he theorized.

 Deep and slow

 Moretti also sees evidence of what he calls, “a confused summer pattern” for ECR walleyes.  Fish that he would normally catch feeding on 10 to 15 foot flats, are all staying out in much deeper water and not moving much, he says. Where trolling walleye cranks used to put fish in the box two years ago, Moretti says a slower presentation is necessary these days.  He likes black jigs, preferably with a blade for a little flash. Just north of the Dandy Trail boat ramp is a large 25 foot deep plateau that should always give up a few  walleyes, even during these troubled times.  It is a classic set-up, and especially attractive now that fish are staying deep. Determined anglers should find fish on the southern slope of the plateau, where it drops down to the creek channel.  This large flat is referred to as Hobie Beach by locals because of the hundreds of windsurfers that line the eastern shore adjacent to it.  It is also a good winter ice fishing spot because of it’s proximity to the parking area

 Another classic spot that both Moretti and Keller said still holds walleyes, is on the western side of the lake near the dam.  Just outside the mouth of the large sailboat bay, there is a submerged hump that is covered with gravel.  It too drops quickly into deep water and is near the creek channel.  This spot is perfect for vertical jigging if sailboat traffic isn’t too heavy, and the boat can be held in place. Moretti and Keller speak regularly about the walleye fishing at ECR, and both are committed to getting it back on track to be one of the state’s best walleye fisheries.  “The habitat is there, and the fish are there. Now we just have to figure out how to make them bite,” they both said.