Biologists repeated the effort the following year, and were encouraged by the fact that they didn’t encounter any walleye in that smaller age class – perhaps indicating that walleye had not been able to spawn successfully in 2024 – but that optimism was short-lived.
Since then, dozens of anglers have reported catching walleye, most of which are in the 16- to 18-inch range.
Idaho and walleye just aren’t a good match in most places, and here’s why. Walleye are native to large Midwestern lakes that tend to have large and prolific forage bases of minnows, shiners, chubs and other small baitfish. Those baitfish are not available in most Idaho waters, so walleye are likely to eat other game fish that are highly valued by Idaho anglers. Eventually, those other fish species could be gone, or greatly diminished, and the result could be a bunch of unhealthy, unsustainable walleye populations.
Fisheries biologists aren’t biased against walleye, they simply recognize that not every species is compatible with every fishery and most of Idaho’s bodies of water just don’t have the forage base to accommodate the current fish species and walleye at the same time. Biologists are listening to anglers who voiced their preferences during surveys, and biologists provide diverse fishing opportunities that are geared toward those preferences, which includes walleye fishing in some waters.
However, in most Idaho waters, biologists aren’t managing a single species, they’re managing multiple species that must be somewhat compatible with each other. Any given water can only support so many fish, and while it’s common for game fish to feed on each other, there’s an opportunity to maintain a reasonable balance between species.
Biologists take all those factors into consideration before introducing a fish species into any water. Unfortunately, in the case of Lake Lowell, someone decided to illegally release walleye that are now established.