June 2023 • Nebraskaland 53
walleye's diet, have been noticeably
lower in the reservoir.
Researchers collected alewife at
locations throughout the lake within
48 hours of stocking walleye to
determine where they were and what
they were eating. They found alewife
were feeding almost exclusively on
larger zooplankton and not walleye
fry, as suspected.
Alewife, however, have proven to
be a reliable food source for walleyes,
allowing them to grow fast and
fat. With populations presently at
historically high levels, however, it is
likely compounding the zooplankton
part of the management equation.
High alewife populations isn't
making things easy on anglers either:
with more food than they can possibly
eat, the walleye that are swimming
in the state's largest reservoir can be
diffi cult to catch at times.
Biologists hope these research
eff orts can help identify the stocking
regimen that will help increase the
number of fi sh that grow big enough
to eat more alewife and tip the scales
in favor of fi sh and anglers alike —
keeping Lake Mac at the top of the
fi sheries list and more fi sh on the end
of an angler's line.
N
After stocking walleye at Lake McConaughy, predator fi sh — including wipers — were caught and their stomachs fl ushed to
see if they had eaten the newly stocked fi sh. JULIE GEISER, NEBRASKALAND
A team of researchers shock recently stocked walleye to measure their growth
and see what they have eaten. JULIE GEISER, NEBRASKALAND
