05/17/2026
Great work being done by the Solberg crew!
WFT paid for genetic testing on Solberg Lake to verify the hatchery program is making a difference, and the results deliver.
Great work, Solberg crew!
Here are the results from a dna test that was done on Solberg Lake where WFT has been operating a hatchery. WFT pays for these test to verify what we are doing is working. The results are showing that hatchery is making improvements.
The results from the Molecular Conservation Genetics Lab at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point show that between 55 and 70% of the 20 juvenile walleyes that the DNR captured by electrofishing the entire shoreline in fall 2024 originated from the walleye wagon. The lower limit of the range includes only the 11 fingerlings whose both parents were identified as hatchery broodstock (11/20=55%). The upper end of that range includes 3 fingerlings with one-parent assignments that were likely stocked from the portable hatchery (3+11)/20=70%. The range represents the most likely scenario, but we cannot completely rule out the possibility that one or both parents used in the walleye wagon also spawned in the lake and produced offspring before, while, or after they were captured. The six fingerlings with no assignment to broodstock parents are assumed to be wild fish that originated from natural reproduction. In summary, the walleye wagon accounts for a moderate to high proportion of a weak and inconsequential 2024 walleye year class in Solberg Lake. For comparison, fall electrofishing catch rates average about 31.6 fingerlings/mile in walleye populations sustained by natural reproduction.
