Each winter, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) surveys the activities of anglers fishing for walleye in the Bay of Quinte. The survey consists of ice-hut and angler counts, using a small aircraft, and on-ice angler interviews to measure fishing success and collect biological information about the walleye harvest.

Between December 23, 2000 and February 28, 2001, 20 flights were conducted to determine fishing pressure. The highest total fish hut and on-ice angler counts occurred on January 13, 2001 when the flight crew counted 332 huts and 177 anglers between Trenton and Glenora. Creel survey technicians with the Lake Ontario Management Unit, based out of the Glenora Fisheries Station, interviewed a total of 214 anglers.

Management Unit biologists estimated that a total of 77,000 hours of fishing effort occurred this winter—down 45% from last year and down 62% from the previous 5-year average. The low fishing pressure cannot be attributed to poor ice conditions, since ice conditions were better this winter than for the last several winters. Anglers caught an estimated 982 walleye of which 938 were harvested. Fishing success was very poor. It took the average angler over 75 hours to catch a single walleye compared with the previous 5-year average of less than 10 hours.