Making a Walleye Pond
Beaver Island fishermen have long lusted for walleye fishing
here. At various times the talk fused into action, but each time
the action fell short. Wildlife Club president Jeff Powers thought
he’d worked out the details with the DNR’s Tom Rozich,
but there were last-minute complications. Five years ago the plan
to build a walleye-rearing pond was hatched, but it seemed likely
to go the way of other ambitious plans (one pond was built south
of McCauley's Road, but it was ruined by beaver) when the contractor
who had been hired to dig the pond on land at Applewood was called
away. The funding would disappear if work wasn’t done by
June 9th.
The Wildlife Club rose to the challenge. Gary Morgan and Doug
Tilly brought their loaders, and Doug and Bill Detwiler offered
their tractors. Long-time walleye afficionado Ivan Young climbed
onto one of the loaders. They spent 10 hours a day for 5 days
shaping a half-acre hole in the ground to fit the requirements,
and stacking the 5,000 yards of dirt into neat piles for the County
to remove. By Sunday, May 18th, everything was set to go.
A 10-mill rubberized tarp cut to fit the hole was purchased for
$2,000. It was so heavy that ten people had trouble unpacking
it, so Bill Detwiler strapped it to his tractor and pulled it,
accordion style, from its box. Twenty-two volunteers showed up
to help. After the tarp was pulled into a 200'-long snake along
one edge of the hole, and had one of its edges weighed down with
trucks and rocks, they spread out and marched down the steep near
side of the hole, across the flat bottom (carefully provided with
a circular depression), and up the far side, holding the edge.
Then the task became to work out the few wrinkles and pull the
tarp perfectly flat. Each time the tarp was lifted to be pulled,
a gust of wind got under it, sending a coruscating ripple across
its length. When this billow emerged at the far side, the heat
it had acquired from the sun on the dark rubber made it like a
blast from a revved-up furnace.
Once it was in place, the volunteers began to cover it with 6”
to 8" of dirt. Shovels went into action, and the loaders
and tractors began delivering soil. Reinforcements arrived: Jim
Gillingham, with 16 of his students. His natural interest was
augmented by an arrangement whereby CMU grad students would monitor
the water quality and growth of the fish. They jumped in with
shovels and rakes, and suddenly an overwhelming task was being
finished. By mid-afternoon a generator was fired up and Joe Nuke's
old well (100' deep, with 18' of water in the pipe, and a windmill
attached to supply a trickle to counteract evaporation) began
to deliver 40 gallons a minute, a rate that filled the 40,000-gallon
pool before dawn.
After the fry (1/4") were delivered, the next steps were
to fence the pool to prevent predation and cover it with a net
to keep birds from feasting. Within 3 to 4 weeks the fingerlings
(2 ½") should be ready for Lake Geneserath–if
left here longer, they would cannibalize each other down to a
single engorged fish left swimming slowly in a circle. To move
them they’ll be caught in a sieve. Then the dry pond will
be planted with rye, and later flooded to create a natural plankton
for food in the next cycle–this time $300 was spent for a
special algae.
If everything goes right, 25,000 to 40,000 fingerlings will be
delivered to Lake Geneserath. Past plantings have already led
to some good results: a 27" walleye was caught last summer
there, and a 30" fish was taken this winter through the ice.
The Wildlife Club intends to repeat this process over the next
few years, and then to apply it as needed. In the meantime it
will analyze the other lakes to see what kind of fish they could
support. After all, this pond can be used for more than one species.
Click
Here to see many more pictures as the Community, Beaver Island
Wildlife Club, and CMU Students worked to create the Beaver Island
Walleye Pond.
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