Fisheries Research Report No.1842, 1976

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Fisheries Research Report No.1842, 1976
Longevity, Survival and Harvest of Tagged Walleyes in Lake Gogebic, Michigan

James C. Schneider, Paul H. Eschmeyer, and Walter R. Crowe

Abstract.-Returns from 4, 400 walleyes tagged in Lake Gogebic, Michigan, in 1947, extended over 18 years. One fish had reached an estimated age of 26 or more years at the time of recovery and two others 23 years. The longevity of walleyes in Lake Gogebic apparently was not due to unusually low natural mortality but to low fishing mortality and statistical chance. The sexes differed significantly in rates of fishing mortality and survival. Anglers recaptured 12. 6% of the females but only 7. 3% of the males; survival was 65.4% for females and 80. 4% for males.