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Indiana Walleye Walleye Waters provided by.......
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Pike Lake
Abstract Pike Lake is a 228 acre natural lake located at the north side of Warsaw in Kosciusko County, Indiana. A city park on the south shore provides a handicap accessible boat ramp, temporary mooring pier, parking lot, swimming beach, and campground. Hybrid walleye (female walleye X male sauger) fingerlings were stocked five of six years 1990-1995 in June. In 1996 both hybrids and pure walleye were stocked. Beginning in 1997, only walleye were stocked. Fingerlings were 1.0-2.0 inches in length when stocked. Stocking density varied from 141.4 per acre to 38.7 per acre. First year survival determined by fall electrofishing was very good all years. A 14 inch size limit on walleye and largemouth bass went into effect in August 1996. An angler creel survey was conducted 10 April-29 September, 2000 to measure angling effort, catch, and harvest of walleye and other species. Fishing pressure during the six month creel survey was 40.4 hours per acre. May accounted for 25% of the fishing pressure and June 23%. Average trip length was 2.84 hours. Boat anglers accounted for over 58% of the fishing pressure. About 31% of anglers were fishing for walleye while 56.5% percent said they were fishing for anything that was biting. Total harvest was an estimated 1,007 fish of nine species. Bluegills accounted for 35.6% of the harvest at 1.57 per acre. Walleye ranked second with 273 harvested (1.2 per acre). Most walleye harvest occurred in April and May. Another 1,314 were caught and released. Catch rate for walleye was 0.32 per hour Average length of walleye harvested was 15 inches. White bass harvest was estimated at 0.98 per acre, channel catfish at 0.35 per acre, crappie at 0.16 per acre, largemouth bass at 0.08 per acre, and yellow perch at 0.07 per acre. Walleye survival and growth at older ages appears to have been better than hybrids. Anglers had no preference for one or the other. Catch rates were not significantly different. Support for the stocking program and 14 inch size limit remain very high.
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