PIKE RIVER HATCHERY—If there’s a traditional rite of spring you can count on in our region, it’s the work of the DNR fisheries staff at the Pike River Hatchery. As soon as the ice clears from the mouth of the Pike River, the fisheries crew drops the nets and the work gets underway, depending on the vagaries of the annual walleye spawning run.

This year, the run is underway a bit earlier than usual, thanks to warm and windy weather in early April, which helped clear much of Pike Bay of ice as of early this week. Sunshine and highs in the 60s much of the week only helped to boost water temperatures, which serve as the trigger for the spring walleye run.

Like most years, hatchery staff are hoping to meet or exceed their quota of 760 quarts of walleye eggs, and as of Wednesday, the hatchery crew had collected 347 quarts.

With warm weather predicted through Saturday, the crew was hoping to have its egg-collecting operations wrapped up by early next week.

Gathering the eggs is a decidedly low-tech affair, that’s changed little over the years. The staff checks the “ripeness” of the big female walleye in their traps, and when their eggs are ready, they’re gently squeezed out into a plastic pan of water. Milt from a couple male walleye is added to the pan and the resulting combination is slowly swished around to ensure the eggs are fertilized.

Then the eggs are gently washed with clay, which helps to break down the sticky gel that typically keeps the eggs in clumps. Once that’s complete, the eggs head for the incubating jars within the hatchery.

Within three-to-four weeks, depending on water temperature, the eggs will hatch and most will be released as tiny fry in lakes all across the region, including Lake Vermilion. A few will be sent to DNR rearing ponds in southern Minnesota, where they are allowed to grow to fingerling size before being released.

And next year, they’ll be back to do it all over again.