On Saturday's opening of walleye season you might consider fishing the Smith Reservoir.
According to a recent fisheries survey by SUNY Cobleskill's Fisheries & Wildlife Department, the walleye population is thriving in this local water body.
The word is getting out according to Mike Zeh of the Schoharie County Conservation Association
"There are some really nice walleye in the Reservoir," Mr. Zeh said.
With the help of Water Superintendent Jeff Pangman, the college's fisheries program began stocking walleye to improve the Smith Reservoir fishery about 10 years ago.
Since then about 2,000 walleye fingerlings reared in the campus aquaculture ponds have been stocked into the reservoir.
According to John Foster, chair of the Fisheries & Wildlife Department, anglers had been complaining about the large number of stunted sunfish and the lack of game fish in the Smith Reservoir at least as far back as the 1970's.
The overabundance of stunted bluegills depressed the bass fishery by feeding on their eggs and young.
Walleye are very predacious and were stocked to reduce the number of small bluegills.
The reduction of the bluegill populations allowed the largemouth bass populations to rebound and two-four pound fish are now common.
Even the numbers of edible sized bluegill have increased.
Because of the abundant forage fish in the Smith Reservoir, walleye are growing faster than the New York State average according to fisheries student Mike Leworthy, who conducted the survey.
The Smith Reservoir, one of the village's three drinking water reservoirs, is managed primarily as a cool-water fishery for walleye and yellow perch.
The Holding Pond is managed as a cold water fishery and will be stocked again in a few weeks with trout from the SUNY Cobleskill Trout Hatchery, courtesy of Joe Moore and the Cobleskill Fish & Game Club.
The Dow Reservoir is managed as a warm-water fishery with a focus on sunfish, bullheads, small mouth and largemouth bass. According to fisheries professor Mark Cornwell, the college is fortunate to have the opportunity to develop diverse fisheries to train fisheries management students at the Village reservoirs.
Walleye reared by the SUNY Cobleskill Fisheries & Aquaculture students have been instrumental in developing the Walleye fishery in Otsego Lake and are also being used to create a walleye fishery in the New York Power Authority Reservoirs at Blenheim -Gilboa..