Doc Talks Fishing Podcast

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Any day now, an amazing pre-summer peak walleye pattern is going to explode. And it is based on something few anglers understand — the shiner spawn. Dr. Paul Cooley is the fisheries scientist who discovered the phenomenon on massive Lake Winnipeg — but it happens in every lake where walleyes eat shiners — and he tells the boys where you’ll find the fish bunched up big time. Are you ready for this: the best fishing occurs in waist deep water on the same sand beaches where everyone is swimming and sunbathing. Hold onto your hats because you’re not going to believe this one.

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Biologist Danny Swainson says steelhead on the west coast have so many nutrients available to them once they hit the ocean that they can grow to 15 pounds in three or four years. But something is happening to them once they enter salt water and it is frightening. Are steelhead different from the rainbow trout in the rivers? What are the survival bottlenecks they are encountering in the ocean? How many adults are returning these days to spawn? What are tracking studies telling us? And how bleak is the future of the fishery? Hold onto your hats folks as British Columbia Conservation Foundation steelhead specialist, Danny Swainson explains if we'll be fishing for steelhead in the years to come.

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Rebecca Spring jokingly calls herself the "Bug Lady," but as an aquatic taxonomist, she's much more than that. She's a scientist who unravels the complex food web that supports everything alive in the water-from microscopic plankton to the big fish we love to catch.

What makes Rebecca even cooler? She's also an avid angler and hunter. Living in tiny Alberton, Montana (population around 400), just a stone's throw from Missoula - where A River Runs Through It was filmed - she has a deep understanding of the intricate connections between algae, plankton, insects, and the walleye, bass, trout and whitefish at the top of the food chain. Knowing where these critters thrive is a key to catching the biggest fish in the lake.

This episode is packed with incredible science and practical insights — don't miss it!

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Nick Baccante, the Senior Research Biologist in Ontario's renown Walleye Research Unit, recently shared some amazing early season science secrets. This week, Gord and Liam take Nick's walleye words of wisdom and show you how to prepare a foolproof game plan to put more and bigger fish in the boat. Jump in with the boys and learn how to combine state-of-the-art science with cutting edge walleye presentations.

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Dive into the intricate world of British Columbia's salmon with our latest episode featuring Jamieson Atkinson, Program Manager at the Aquatic Research and Restoration Centre, British Columbia Conservation Foundation. Jamieson shares cutting-edge research into the "survival bottlenecks" that are keeping salmon stocks dangerously low. Learn how PIT tags and micro-fishing are helping scientists track juvenile salmon and uncover the critical challenges the fish are facing in the open ocean.

But the story doesn't stop there. Jamieson explains how human interventions, like hatchery-raised salmon, can complicate wild populations and why long-standing log booms in coastal estuaries may be doing more harm than we realize destroying eelgrass, creating anoxic dead zones, and providing easy hunting grounds for seals. Whether you're an angler, a scientist, or just passionate about the ocean, join us for this deep dive into salmon conservation.