While Lake Erie’s record high water levels in recent years have plagued some communities along the western coast, such as the city of Port Clinton, with frequent flooding — it also appears to be one of the most significant contributing factors to the booming walleye production.
“It’s becoming clear to me that high water is very helpful in producing walleye,” Hartman said. “If you look at the ‘80s, we had very high water. If you look right now, we’re in that same type of high water scenario, actually higher.”
He said he does not yet know precisely what dynamics associated with the lake’s high water levels cause the increase in walleye production, but speculated about the possibility of more sustained plankton blooms that walleye larvae need to eat or, perhaps, currents bringing larvae inshore, potentially putting them in nursery habitats and a better chance of surviving.
“The bottom line is, when we have high water, we’re producing a lot of walleye,” he said.
Another likely contributing factor is preceding hard winter seasons, meaning late ice coverage and a delayed spawning season for walleye.
“But these last years have shown, we don’t have to have a hard winter,” Hartman said. “When you look at the west and you look at production, high water trumps everything.”
