DNR specialist Heather Baird held a funnel while a female walleye was milked into a test-tube so eggs can be tested for disease.

Early this spring during the walleye run, Ed Egan, right, visited with Lloyd Anderson, DNR Fisheries technician from Brainerd, who explained the processes used at the temporary station at the mouth of the Pine River. After the run, the station is completely taken down.

It's walleye fishing season! The Whitefish Area Property Owners Association (WAPOA) has one board member whose role is to help natural resources, with a heavy emphasis on improving walleye fishing.

Taking on the Natural Resources board position for the next two years is Ed Egan, who has been coming to this area to enjoy the lakes his whole life.

"A key part of my role is to work with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) Brainerd Fisheries Unit implementing a 10-year plan that we've both agreed on to improve walleye fishing and habitat in the Whitefish Chain," Egan said. "I then keep the WAPOA board and members informed as to the status of the project."

The 10-year project is taking place from 2006 to 2016.

Egan is the retired vice president of operations for Qualcomm, Inc. and now has the time to put his energy and general interest in lifelong learning toward helping the lakes through WAPOA.

Not only is Egan working on the lake association's board, but he is currently enrolled in a University of Minnesota Extension class to become a Master Naturalist, a program similar to becoming a Master Gardener, but focused on a study of nature and eco-systems.

"I've always liked learning, and if I've learned anything it's that I have a lot to learn," Egan said.

Early this spring, Egan's curiosity took him to the mouth of the Pine River to see firsthand what the DNR does during the spring walleye run. When he brings that up in conversation, Egan typically gets asked lots of questions.

Egan said people seem to have a misguided impression that the DNR is taking all the eggs from female walleyes before the fish have a chance to spawn naturally upstream. He is quick to point out, "That's not the case. Truth be told, the hatch rate at the DNR fishery is much more successful than under natural circumstances. They also have a quota of so many quarts of egg and milt (sperm). And when they reach that quota, they stop."

So, Egan explained, there are still walleye heading upstream to spawn naturally.

"It's what the DNR does with the eggs and milt that makes the hatch success rate so high," he said.

Visiting the DNR walleye station this spring was interesting for Egan and he describes it with intensity.

The DNR Fisheries staff sets up a temporary station in the waters of the Pine River, where both female and male walleye are corralled and the female eggs milked. Within a minute or less, milt from the male is added, along with a small amount of clay, which helps to keep the eggs from sticking together.

The fertilized eggs are immediately put into coolers and rushed to the DNR Fisheries station in Brainerd, where they are put in aerated, temperature-controlled tanks.

In two to three weeks, the hatched walleye fry are ready to go back to the lake. Egan explained the fry are very tiny, and still have the egg sac attached.

The DNR will put about five million walleye fry back into the Whitefish Chain each year as determined by the 10-year plan. Some fry will be put into ponds the fisheries manage, and will grow into fingerlings that are put back into the waters of the lakes in the fall.

Once the tiny walleye fry hit the lake, they feed on the lake's surface zooplankton (microscopic animal and plant life) and begin to grow. Therein lies another question Egan is often asked: "Why doesn't the DNR put the fry into shallow waters and weed beds rather than the deeper waters (10-15 feet)?"

"These fry would provide a feeding frenzy for minnows in the shallows and weed beds," Egan said. "They are too small to defend themselves from the minnows. The fry will eat zooplankton until they are large enough to compete with minnows."

Getting back to natural spawning areas, Egan and the DNR are looking at smaller creeks leading to the lakes to see if walleye are using them during the spawn.

Heading out into the night with a flashlight in April, Egan was able to see walleye actually making the natural run through a culvert under a roadway. That lets him and the DNR know certain areas are worth studying.

Walleyes like a certain kind of rocky/gravel bottom that secure the eggs to the bottom for fertilization and hatching, and study will show if the creek bottoms need improvement so the hatch rate will be more successful.

Another project the DNR is involved with is gill netting once every six years to do a count of larger walleye to see if the stocking parts of the program are successful. The walleye are immediately released. Gill netting will next take place in 2011, said Egan.

The DNR's electro-fishing also shows a gradual increase of the young each year.

"There are ups and down in numbers due to winter, predation and other natural effects," Egan said. "But the overall trend is up, and these walleye will be catchable in a few years."

Egan, who lives on the Whitefish Chain with his wife, Sara, (and their two dogs) has been coming to the area since he was 1. His neighbor talked to him about joining WAPOA.

"I'm 62 now. My childhood memories are that this lake was so clean and clear and the fishing was so good," he said. "And I want to help keep it that way."

(Martha Davidge serves on WAPOA's board as publicity director.)