So, I just kind of
lay out the setup here.
How long have you had the ponds
here?
So we've had,
these ponds have been here since
1995, but
we actually, they were all...
Plastic-lined.
They were clay-lined for
until probably
six years ago.
So six years now we've had the
plastic-line ponds.
And how does that in fact success
versus the old playline ones?
It's made it a lot easier,
for sure, on getting the
final product, like getting the fish
out.
It drains a lot better and
you lose way less
fish.
When we had just the clay ponds, you
would lose a lot of fish in the clay
when you're trying to drain them.
So it's definitely improved our
success rate.
And how many,
obviously these are eggs that we saw
you harvest from Nelakagin,
and then you hatched them here
or over at N8DS.
So we did nemocogin
for NADF.
So we collect eggs from nemocoggins
for them.
And then we were actually at
Upper St. Croix Lake this
year. So that's the walleye we
have in our ponds.
So we collected them at the lake,
and then we brought them to our
facility, and we hatched from there
into tanks.
And then from there, we brought him
out to here.
Okay, so these are destined for
St. Croix.
Yep, Upper St. Croix.
Where they come from is where they
go back
Yep, that's what we try to do every
year.
How many eggs do you think
versus how many fries versus what do
you expect at the end?
Yeah, so we, when we collect
eggs, we try to get at least
three liters, maybe
four, and it's roughly 90,000
to 110,000 per liter.
So from there, once they hatch, we
stock each pond with
roughly 80,000
fry at the time.
And then by the end, we're looking
at getting 15,000
total.
So It's not a
very good success rate, but it's
better than what they would do in
the lake.
In the lake it's less than one
percent and we're pushing,
you know, we're doing better than
that here.
So what impacts how the
walleye survives, obviously we're
exposed to the elements here.
So it's, we
check on them every day, and then
we make sure they're being fed,
and we try to keep the predators
away, mainly the birds,
and then it's just,
there's no other fish predators,
like in the lake.
There's no,
yeah, big predators eating the
fish. The only predators fish-wise
is themselves.
Does that come into play by the end
of the season, some of the bigger
ones?
So it actually
starts right away.
While I am very cannibalistic,
they'll eat each other. So that's
why we're adding
the fertilizer also to keep it
turbid, keep the water darker so
it keeps down the cannibalism.
So you've got a couple of
interns here.
Walk me through how they came to be
here and what they're doing.
Yeah, I can do that.
So they're from the Bayfield School.
They applied.
We usually get two
to three interns from middle
school to high school every year.
And usually, so it's just for the
summer since they're in school
still.
They get to help with
all the natural resources.
So I get them just
once in a while.
And we like to put them to work and
do hands-on stuff.
And then, I mean,
they're only around for
about eight weeks, usually,
and we try to keep them busy.
What's it like for you to be able to
say all right? Here's what you gotta
do get in there and just do it,
right?
Yeah, oh yeah.
It's great.
I mean I've put in my time doing it
a lot and it's nice to see
some kids here from Redcliffe
actually interested in it and
actually doing the work.
And they've got a good attitude
about it, right?
Oh yeah, for sure.
I mean, you find out real
quick if you don't like it.
And so what is it that they're
spreading here and what's the
purpose, how does that play into
this?
So what they're spreading is alfalfa
meal.
So the purpose of alfelfa meal is
to get the bugs going
in the water and
also keep it turbid, like I said.
And so the walleye eat the bugs.
It's the easiest way to explain it.
And this is that, so while
I start out eating algae, are they
always going for bugs or what's that
food?
Yeah, so they start out
with algae too.
While I will pretty much eat
anything, they can get their
mouths to fit on.
We do get problems with
toads,
but the walleye aren't quite big
enough yet to be able to eat the
tadpoles, but they'll
eat anything they can get their
mulls on pretty much.
And this does draw in enough bugs
that they can...
Yep, for sure.
It's with the black clay
lined or black plastic
line, we get the water heated up
pretty nice and it gives a nice
bloom of
and just what kind of
bugs, like everything imaginable?
Yeah.
Yeah pretty much anything you
see in a lake it's
getting in here.
We also get the whatever comes from
the lake off the birds legs too.
We'll also get it put in here and
then the wind I mean
hopefully they eat the wood ticks
too I'm hoping.
That would be nice, right?
Yeah.
So as far as the
cycle for
the walleye, are we about halfway
or where are we in there?
Yeah,
so it's easiest to say we start in
the end of April and we're
done in
the second week of October,
so whatever that time frame is.
Not quite six months.
Yeah. Okay, so we're
easily two months
in. Yeah, maybe a third of the way.
I'm about third of the way.
All right,
it looks like they need some.