Water flows from the Wolf River into a spawning marsh through a passage created the previous fall as part of Partners for Fish and Wildlife habitat improvement project. USFWS photo by Gary Van Vreede April, 2008.

Spawning walleye are captured, measured, tagged and released back into Wisconsin's Wolf River. USFWS photo by Gary Van Vreede April, 2008.

Each spring, walleyes that spend most of their lives in Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago swim up the Wolf River to spawn.  The majority of the spawning takes place in the marshes, oxbows, and other backwater areas flooded by the high water levels which occur on the river in the spring.  Over the years, sedimentation and improperly placed road culverts have blocked fish access to many of the historic spawning marshes.  Working in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and local conservation groups such as Walleyes for Tomorrow, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Green Bay Field Office assisted with several spawning habitat improvement projects along the Wolf River this past field season.  This spring, the benefit of the increased water flow and fish access provided by these projects is now evident. 

Recently, Partners for Fish and Wildlife biologist Gary Van Vreede was able to view some of these improvements firsthand as he joined the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fisheries personnel in their annual shocking and tagging efforts in these habitat improvement areas.  Since 1986, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has conducted a spring walleye shocking and tagging program on the Wolf River.  The program looks at the size distribution of the male and female spawners on an annual basis.  Thousands of fish are captured, measured, tagged and released each spring.  Over time, this effort yields an annual health profile of the spawning population in the Lake Winnebago system.  Through these efforts, the Lake Winnebago system, which includes the Wolf River, has become one of the best walleye fisheries in the Midwest.