The return of trophy walleyes to the New River appears to be progressing nicely.

"We're getting there," said Mark Scott, Division of Natural Resources fisheries biologist for the state's southeastern counties. "People are getting excited about it."

Scott and his colleagues recently finished nine days' worth of walleye sampling in the river's Sandstone Falls pool, where walleyes congregate during the winter to spawn.

"The numbers were pretty good," Scott said. "We caught 192 fish. Last year, we caught 199, but we spent more days doing it. The catch rates were the same for both years - about 30 walleye an hour."

Scott said the fish, which DNR crews began stocking as fingerlings five years ago, have grown rapidly in the New's fertile waters. "Two-year-old fish average 16 to 17 inches, which is a pretty good growth rate," he explained.

After the second year, however, females dramatically outgrow males. Males three to five years of age average 16 to 20 inches. Three-year-old females average 22 to 23 inches, and five-year-olds average 24 to 25 inches.

An 18-inch minimum size limit is currently in effect for New River walleye, and because females tend to grow larger Scott believes the limit encourages anglers to keep significantly more females than males.

"We'd like to get better survival among females, since they're the ones that lay the eggs," he said.

The return of trophy walleyes to the New River appears to be progressing nicely.

"We're getting there," said Mark Scott, Division of Natural Resources fisheries biologist for the state's southeastern counties. "People are getting excited about it."

Scott and his colleagues recently finished nine days' worth of walleye sampling in the river's Sandstone Falls pool, where walleyes congregate during the winter to spawn.

"The numbers were pretty good," Scott said. "We caught 192 fish. Last year, we caught 199, but we spent more days doing it. The catch rates were the same for both years - about 30 walleye an hour."

Scott said the fish, which DNR crews began stocking as fingerlings five years ago, have grown rapidly in the New's fertile waters. "Two-year-old fish average 16 to 17 inches, which is a pretty good growth rate," he explained.

After the second year, however, females dramatically outgrow males. Males three to five years of age average 16 to 20 inches. Three-year-old females average 22 to 23 inches, and five-year-olds average 24 to 25 inches.

An 18-inch minimum size limit is currently in effect for New River walleye, and because females tend to grow larger Scott believes the limit encourages anglers to keep significantly more females than males.

"We'd like to get better survival among females, since they're the ones that lay the eggs," he said.

DNR officials believe the walleye are growing so well because they're uniquely adapted to the New's water chemistry and habitat. A genetic study done in Virginia showed native New River walleyes to be different from other walleye strains native to the Ohio River watershed. The DNR began growing and stocking the native-strain fish in hopes of reviving the New's once-thriving walleye fishery.

That fishery declined sharply between the early 1960s and the late 1990s, and biologists aren't certain why. Scott believes the problem began when alewives - a small fish species found river's upper reaches - migrated northward from Virginia into West Virginia.

"Alewives prey on walleye eggs," Scott explained. "When alewives were abundant in the river, walleyes had a tough time reproducing. Alewife numbers are way down now because shad have crowded them out. Shad are plankton feeders, so they don't affect walleye reproduction."

To get the walleye population high enough for natural reproduction to sustain, DNR officials have begun rearing New River strain fish at the agency's Apple Grove Hatchery.

"We're definitely still in the expansion phase of this project," Scott said. "So far, we haven't been able to get large numbers of [native walleye fingerlings] to stock. The most we've ever stocked was 9,000. We'd like to stock about 25,000 a year."

Walleyes collected during the DNR's sampling efforts have served as brood stock for the stocking effort. This past winter, Scott and his crews sent 25 males and 20 females to Apple Grove. After being stripped of their milt and eggs, the fish were returned to the river.

"I'm excited," Scott said. "We're hoping to get a lot more fish this year and put them in the river. It's kind of like growing a garden. You wait until every spring to see what pops up. The good news is that the catch rate on [New River] walleyes is still increasing. Outfitters on the river say their clients are catching them right through the summer. Some fishermen say there are spots where they consistently catch them. All this is good news, and it makes us optimistic about the future."

Reach John McCoy at 304-348-1231 or johnmc...@wvgazette.com.