That's a nice Wiper!
I hit it today and caught the same 17" fish I
caught the last two years. They seem to know not to grow beyond 18".
You have to cull through a lot to get keepers. Yesterday I got 15 with one keeper that was 18 1/4".
^ Yup, it would seem. On Weds the 25th I caught 13 w just 1 at exactly 18". The 17" to 17 3/4" population seems to be prolific and very taunting.
I was on the rip rap at the dam on Sat the 21st. They were hitting the jerk in #s but were markedly smaller in avg length and heft (in aggregate) vs the ones I sometimes get into further west. Nothing even close to a keeper, like 14.5s - 17s.
But yea, this is consistent with the information in the
Survey Summary. "
Average catches of walleye in Pueblo Reservoir yields around 3 to 7 legal fish per 100 fish caught."
What I find interesting though is, per their own data (the chart makes it clear) the >18" population is smaller than it's been in recent years, proportionally by what looks to be a pretty good margin than even last year.
In their own wording they do mention that "
The 18” and over size group was smaller than recent years" but per the gillnet sampling data on the chart it seems like this might be an understatement.
"The total number of walleyes caught in gillnets in 2017 was
again consistent with recent years, particularly the 11-17”
length group (see figure below). Yet another large cohort of
mid-range fish should lead to a better than average group of
legal-sized fish in the near future. The 18” and over size
group was smaller than recent years. Gillnet samples do not
do a good job of assessing the status of larger walleye in the
reservoir. These larger fish are present in the reservoir in
good numbers, but are difficult to catch, especially when
gizzard shad are numerous. Average catches of walleye in
Pueblo Reservoir yields around 3 to 7 legal
fish per 100 fish caught. 2017 was an even
bigger “gang-buster” year for legal walleye,
and 2018 should be very similar with the
high water levels experienced in recent years."
