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Post by wallyguy on Jun 18, 2004 23:12:41 GMT -5
notice on alot of other boards that there is alot of talk about conservation issues , my question is this is why is there all this talk but it doesnt seem that anyone wants to do any thing about this
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Post by wallyguy on Jun 19, 2004 20:06:27 GMT -5
cmon guys im sure you all have ideas on what would help our fishery so put them down and i will even send a letter to our minister with our ideas
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Post by LarryZawislak on Jun 20, 2004 14:55:31 GMT -5
wallyguy - as I have said on other Boards SK is so out of step it is scary - and the real problem is that people don't think there is a problem - either the fisherman or the Ministry who both claim SK has the best fishing in Canada - and this could not be further from the truth - I know this attitude well as I've criticised the SK fisheries to have posters say repeatedly that there ISN"T a problem and the people running things know what they are doing - these statements could not be more false - and the people making these statements have no idea what incredible fishing is offered in provinces like MB or in states like Montana because they never go anywhere or research anything - and this goes for the Ministry personnel too - they have no idea for instance how huge the carrying capacity of a lake like Diefenbaker has although there are all kinds of similar impoundments on the Missouri River just south of here for reference which offer incredible multi-fish fisheries.
The difference is proper management - from stocking to harvest control to carrying capacity - SK is full of fishers who wish to catch and kill and they continue to do so no matter what it does to the fishing - and while MB and other areas will manage progressively protecting what exists and bettering it SK only acts after the proverbial fish have left the barn - once the fisheries have collapsed or in severe decline - lakes like Jan and Last Mountain and numerous others which were once incredible lakes had so many fish harvested from them by sportsfisherman that the fishing went downhill and quickly - you can't just harvest endlessly, either numbers or large spawners.
You want to have truly great fishing in SK for trophies and numbers? - impose really strigent regulations controlling harvest including C&R, very low harvest and slot limits - and don't let the pressure to harvest contol this province anymore which it has to date - AB is a very interesting province to look at for two reasons : 1 - for what not to do and 2 - what can be created even after collapse - AB allowed overfishing to the point that walleye fisheries collapsed everywhere - they obviously waited far too long to act - which is also SK's problem - but once AB did act with some very stringent regulations incredible walleye fisheries like Crawling Valley Reservoir and Pigeon Lake were created - at Pigeon it is possible now to catch trophy after trophy with lots over 10lbs - and this lake is minutes from Edmonton - and the reason - stringent regualtions - want to see what Diefenbaker can do? - and not just in the spring when the fish are vulnerable - impose stringent regulations - I can go to Fort Peck Reservoir, in Montana, which is an impoundment very similar to Diefenbaker, any day in the summer including the doggest dog days and catch lots of walleye - this lake is simply bursting with walleye due to proper management not to mention northern pike, smallmouth bass, lake trout, catfish and chinook salmon, which all co-exist and prosper - and all these species receive respect unlike the great rainbow trout of Diefenbaker.
It takes bold steps to create world-class fisheries - and it takes bold steps to maintain them too - it is my hope SK will one day take both of these steps - Larry
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Post by wallyguy on Jun 20, 2004 16:02:55 GMT -5
i to like to fish all over and you are right that alberta ,once it relized there was a problem they acted very qiuckly. on pigeon they turned a devasted lake into a great fishing experience, you talk about fort peck alot but it took years for them to relize trout were not the only viable sport fish ,but they have done an excellent job , i would like to see what deif and a few more resevoirs could be if they were intensly managed .i would like them to turn blackstrap into catch and release for 5 years then let people see what could be done with all lakes
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Post by LarryZawislak on Jun 21, 2004 11:34:32 GMT -5
wallyguy - I have been fishing Fort Peck Reservoir for many years and it has had great walleye and pike fishing throughout that time - the other fish have also been present throughout this time - there is even great carp fishing here for very aggressive carp - they chase and hit moving jigs - regarding a fixation on trout I'm not sure what you are referring to - Montana generally or Fort Peck lake trout specifically - but there is no doubt that Montana treasures its world famous trout fishing - Larry
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Post by wallyguy on Jun 21, 2004 19:56:10 GMT -5
what im refering to is that in alot of states ,trout fishing seems to be the holy grayell of fishing but that attitude is now changing,now other species are being veiwed as vaible sport fish,from what ive seen, is most people want to bury there head in the sand and say oh fishing is great,when it is far from it i think that if we dont act soon we will be in more trouble than alberta ever was
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Post by LarryZawislak on Jun 22, 2004 11:57:47 GMT -5
wallyguy - it is true that certain western states - for example, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado promote and pedestal trout fishing - but underneath the trout fishing great warm-water fishing has also been developed from walleye to pike to wipers.
In the western provinces except for areas like south-western AB and the Bow River trout are not respected enough I'd say - MB is a leader here too with its strong Parkland lobby and resultant great Parkland trout fishing - in SK it is astounding how little respect the rainbow trout get in Lake Diefenbaker - given Lake Diefenbaker's carrying capacity I couldn't care less how the trout got there - the reality is the Ministry tried for years to establish a viable rainbow trout fishery and couldn't because they are incompetent and then it was done for them - but this fishery will likely only have a short life as the attitude of most SK fishers is to kill every rainbow trout that is caught there and the attitude of the Ministry is to let them all be caught - so what we will likely end up with again at Lake Diefenbaker is largely seasonal walleye and pike fishing with no viable rainbow trout fishery - this potentially incredible lake is just wasted.
And when most people in SK say the SK fishing is "great" and "the best" they have no idea as they have no points of reference because they have never been to other areas or even researched them - before I went to the Red River and caught scores of giant channel cats I knew about this fishery in great detail - before I went to Reed Lake and Clearwater Lake and Bradley Lake and caught lots of beautiful lake trout, monstrous pike and huge smallmouth bass I knew the fishing would be great because of the regulations in place - I haven't fished LOTP yet but know because of the slot limit that fishers are enjoying incredible walleye fishing.
You are absolutely right about the sand - until people in SK remove their heads from deep in it our fisheries are just going to get progressively worse - and whatever minor steps are being taken are cosmetic and nowhere near enough in the circumstances - and there is a huge difference between fishing in SK and acknowledging the quality of the fishing and fishing in SK and saying it is "great" or "the best" - the latter is far more dangerous to deal with when real change is required - Larry
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Post by wallyguy on Jun 23, 2004 15:29:10 GMT -5
you talking about parkland as a great trout fishery but i think they have done as well with mid lake for numbers as well as trophys i think nm can atest to this , have you ever fished it in the fall
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Post by wallyguy on Jun 23, 2004 15:32:15 GMT -5
about lake of the prairies i heard some disturbing news that guys are going there and getting a limit and then coming back later to get another, i hope that this is stopped as it would ruin one of the best walleye fisheries around ,you should go there to try it you will not be dissapointed as it is great
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Post by LarryZawislak on Jun 24, 2004 12:11:56 GMT -5
wallyguy - I menetioned the Parkland as an example - you are right that MB is full of other great trout lakes too - Mid for sure - haven't fished but NM has certainly told me about - Barbe - Chocolate was my favourite before the pike got in - the Turtle Mountains / Duck Mountain - etc, etc - scores of areas - as for LOTP I've heard about the double dipping too - must be stopped - looking forward to trying it - so many fish so little time - lol - Larry
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Post by sandman on Jun 28, 2004 15:21:28 GMT -5
I agree we need tighter regs in some situations but not all. Some lakes get fished heavily and need slot sizes and reduced limits. One place in particular that I get irked everytime is at Shannon Lake in Narrow Hills PP. I was there last week and saw numerous people leaving there with stringers of 3-5lb Brown Trout. I realize these fish do not reproduce but there should be at least a slot limit so some of the big ones can be caught again.
At the same time there are some lakes that are fine the way they are.
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Post by LarryZawislak on Jul 2, 2004 18:28:00 GMT -5
Sandman - one of the big problems that exists in SK is the catch and kill mentality - and people are simply not changing on their own - if the getting is good and the fish are hitting and vulnerable at any time as it was on your brown trout lake people are prepared to catch and kill until there are no fish left at all - and forget making any argument in this province for creating or maintaining trophy trout fisheries which is what you seem to be in effect saying - SK as a rule has had and has generous limits and these limits will eventually hurt any lake no matter how prolific - see : Jan and Besnard - I don't think any lake is safe from overfishing and generous limits eventualy lead to overfishing - I think the limits and specific regs for all of SK need to be tightened - and greatly - but there seems no political will and if possible even less self-policing will - I simply get tired of being told there is no problem when in fact the problem is a huge one and has been for a long time - we don't travel out of SK to fish because we want to spend money outside SK - we'd gladly spend it in SK - we travel out of SK because we want to spend money in a way that gives my wife and my 6 year-old and myself the best experience, the best return, the best fishing - for the money - our money is there for the taking - SK just has to offer us the same level of fishing - but it simply can't - Larry
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