The Wisconsin DNR Oshkosh fisheries staff have started a new sonic tagging study on the movement of walleye on the Winnebago System to evaluate adult walleye movement and habitat use on the system, including spring spawning runs on the upper Fox and Wolf Rivers.
The study included tagging 74 adult walleye during the fall electrofishing surveys with sonic tags throughout the system. The sonic tags are surgically implanted in the abdomen.
In addition to the sonic tagging of walleye, the network of acoustic receivers placed along riverbanks and crossing areas throughout the Winnebago System was expanded on the upper Fox River upstream to Portage to better understand spawning marsh and fishway use. As part of the study, 20 releasable acoustic receivers will also be placed in deep water areas on Lake Winnebago.
Any sonic-tagged fish that swim within a quarter-mile of the receivers will be logged with the date and time at that location. The data will be downloaded annually to help gather movement information.
All sonic-tagged fish also have an orange loop tag that reads, “RESEARCH REWARD,” which is worth $100 to anglers that report them (the reward expires December 31st, 2025). Receiving found tags from harvested fish is very important as they can be reused for future studies.
