Group pays for walleye stocking

Game fish added to Paddock Lake recently

By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent

When the four- to eight-inch walleye were released in Paddock Lake, a number of them decided to stay close to each other and the shore and were shooed into deeper water. More than 1,000 walleye were released in Paddock Lake early November 14, the result of vigorous fundraising efforts by the Paddock Lake Fish Stocking Association, a partner group to the Paddock Lake Hooker Lake Association, the Paddock Lake Protection District.

On the morning of Nov. 14, more than 1,000 walleye were stocked in Paddock Lake.

The grassroots effort to stock the fish began at the 2017 Paddock Lake Hooker Lake Association meeting.

“We realized that this project would take money and we needed a separate fundraising group,” Bruce Giles said in a telephone interview.

So the Paddock Lake Fish Stocking Association was born.

The group started with a Go Fund Me page and fundraising was small, so members of the association decided more active fundraising was needed, like using an online fundraiser for communities that need this type of assistance.

The fundraising began in earnest last spring and moved into high gear last summer in June. Drifters Bar and Grill, which also hosts an annual fishing derby, lent a helping hand.

“Shawn Russ, the owner of the Drifters, has been an amazing help with our fundraising,” Giles said. “He let us hold our event and donated some of the food sales toward our cause.”

Numerous businesses donated items for the raffle that brought is a large part of the more $3,000 spent on the walleye.

Those businesses, in addition to Drifters, are Westosha Floral, Paddock Lake Sports, Tenutas, 75th Street Inn, The Marina Restaurant and Cocktails, Cozzi Café and Bakeshop, Painless Tattoo, Antioch Pizza and Gordie Boucher Lincoln of West Allis.

Paddock Lake Hooker Lake Association and the Paddock Lake Protection District also contributed about $1,000 to the walleye stocking effort.

Giles isn’t sure if the restocking will need to be recurring.

“We know that the fish will live and grow and in about five years, folks will catch some nice walleye,” he said. “What we don’t know is if the fish will breed in the lake.”

The Paddock Lake Fish Stocking Association worked with the Department of Natural Resources to choose the sport fish to stock. The DNR also stocks both Paddock and Hooker Lakes with game fish.

In 2001, 2013, 2015 and 2017, the DNR released about 200 northern pike in Paddock Lake each year.

The DNR also stocked Hooker Lake with a total or more than 6,000 fingerling walleye in 2015 and 2017.

In 2014 and 2016, the DNR stocked Hooker Lake with nearly 500 northern pike.

In 1972, The DNR released 40,000 largemouth bass into Hooker Lake.

Giles said that Paddock Lake Fish Stocking Association would continue to act as the fundraising partner to Paddock Lake Hooker Lake Association and welcomes new members. The group can be found on Facebook or interested parties can call Giles at 847-754-8271.


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