View Full Version : Walleye draw choices a joke. Rant
Kim473
03-23-2019, 09:05 AM
What a joke the choices are this year.
Pinehurst class B only !
Last year 2 of us had class B
It took us 3 days and well over a hundred walleye caught to fill our tags, they were all to big !
The class A fish in Pinehurst have to out number the Class B by at least 10 : 1
No wonder there are so many poachers around.
This system sucks !
I'm sure there are other lakes choices similar.
HuyFishin
03-23-2019, 09:13 AM
I hope u don't join those poachers out of anger haha
Sent from my BBF100-6 using Tapatalk
Habfan
03-23-2019, 09:29 AM
What a joke the choices are this year.
Pinehurst class B only !
Last year 2 of us had class B
It took us 3 days and well over a hundred walleye caught to fill our tags, they were all to big !
The class A fish in Pinehurst have to out number the Class B by at least 10 : 1
No wonder there are so many poachers around.
This system sucks !
I'm sure there are other lakes choices similar.
Most people on here complain that Alberta is backwards for keeping the “spawners ”. The government changes the regulations to not keep the big ones and people complain about that as well. No win situation !!!
The cash grab, fish tax, tag system continues to cause anger and always will.
Pay for a win card
Pay for a licence
Pay to put in for draw
Pay for tags
Pay fine when poorly designed tag falls off
Get your fish taken away.
Better off when you couldn’t keep any.... but not better off than when there were no fish at all.
What do you expect from a Provence on trout welfare? Common sense? Not a chance.
jungleboy
03-23-2019, 10:49 AM
What a joke the choices are this year.
Pinehurst class B only !
Last year 2 of us had class B
It took us 3 days and well over a hundred walleye caught to fill our tags, they were all to big !
The class A fish in Pinehurst have to out number the Class B by at least 10 : 1
No wonder there are so many poachers around.
This system sucks !
I'm sure there are other lakes choices similar.
This might just be the smartest thing they have done in years.This should be the norm for every game fish species, keep some small ones and leave the breeders alone+ you got the excitement of catching over 100 good sized walleye for each small one? sounds like a win to me.
wind drift
03-23-2019, 11:44 AM
It looks like the latest survey shows the proportion of large walleye might be down. Not bad, though. It’s probably good to be proactive and stay on top of the situation.
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/807c8285-84f8-4f50-9695-80e1eac2d892/resource/5d22e6ee-b926-445a-ae63-ae3343485a8e/download/pinehurstlake-fallindexnettingreport-2018.pdf
pikeman06
03-23-2019, 12:05 PM
An hour east of pinehurst is a place called saskatchewan .that's who gets my tourist dollars and licence money. I'm taking my frying pan and a fillet knife and some salt and pepper and flour. Can't wait.
SamSteele
03-23-2019, 01:27 PM
An hour east of pinehurst is a place called saskatchewan .that's who gets my tourist dollars and licence money. I'm taking my frying pan and a fillet knife and some salt and pepper and flour. Can't wait.
The effects of the fishing pressure from Alberta spilling into Sask is showing up already. Meadow Lake PP has had to reduce limits due to the pressure and the entire province saw reduced limits a few years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if the west side of Sask saw more limit reductions soon.
Bigwoodsman
03-23-2019, 02:08 PM
Take pictures of the class A fish!
Personally I’d rather C&R 100 class A fish than catch and keep a class B. Yes I enjoy eating fish. But I enjoy catching fish more!
BW
pikeman06
03-23-2019, 03:11 PM
The effects of the fishing pressure from Alberta spilling into Sask is showing up already. Meadow Lake PP has had to reduce limits due to the pressure and the entire province saw reduced limits a few years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if the west side of Sask saw more limit reductions soon.
That's fine with me, I'm not asking for much...give me a 4 lb jack a couple perch in the pail and maybe a wallie if the stars align and I'm good to go. Sitting at a lake like pinehurst or lac la biche and catching nothing but cookie cutter wallies for a weekend or more doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.
SNAPFisher
03-24-2019, 07:03 AM
Most people on here complain that Alberta is backwards for keeping the “spawners ”. The government changes the regulations to not keep the big ones and people complain about that as well. No win situation !!!
Amen Habfan!
The draw system is a slot limit by any other name that costs you a small amount of $ to participate. If anyone is in favor of keeping the big breeders alive and then complains a lake with no A tags, is misguided. I'm not sure Kim if you like or dislike our keep our bigs ones regs - e.g. 1 over 63, 1 over 50. Feel free to add a comment.
SNAPFisher
03-24-2019, 07:06 AM
The effects of the fishing pressure from Alberta spilling into Sask is showing up already. Meadow Lake PP has had to reduce limits due to the pressure and the entire province saw reduced limits a few years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if the west side of Sask saw more limit reductions soon.
Maybe they'll give it a name, "The feasting Alberta hordes" or something like that. Like locusts fanning out from our borders :)
Seriously though, it will be interested to see if that happens or not.
graybeard
03-24-2019, 07:11 AM
take pictures of the class a fish!
Personally i’d rather c&r 100 class "a" fish, than catch and keep a class "b". Yes i enjoy eating fish. But i enjoy catching fish more!
Bw
x 100... :)
Take pictures of the class A fish!
Personally I’d rather C&R 100 class A fish than catch and keep a class B. Yes I enjoy eating fish. But I enjoy catching fish more!
BW
Good post.
mulecrazy
03-24-2019, 03:48 PM
years ago the wife had class c tags for pigeon. We caught well over 100 walleye the weekend we camped there. 0 of those were small enough. Left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think they gave out like 10000 of those tags that year. Those stupid bastards new the size demographics in the lake and it was nothing short of a money grab. The tag system needs to be abolished in favour of limited numbers in a slot size.
SNAPFisher
03-24-2019, 04:25 PM
years ago the wife had class c tags for pigeon. We caught well over 100 walleye the weekend we camped there. 0 of those were small enough. Left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think they gave out like 10000 of those tags that year. Those stupid bastards new the size demographics in the lake and it was nothing short of a money grab. The tag system needs to be abolished in favour of limited numbers in a slot size.
LOL! Blame F&W for your fishing prowess too? This is hysterical. Other than making tags free, I really do not see a "win" for you. You have to put in time to find them, which is actually awesome! I would rather catch class B and As all day long. There are plenty of under 43 cm walleye in that lake. Did you spend more than a weekend trying? I usually catch them just targeting whites as a by-catch.
Fishing, tags or not, is not a guarantee right?
mooseknuckle
03-24-2019, 07:55 PM
An hour east of pinehurst is a place called saskatchewan .that's who gets my tourist dollars and licence money. I'm taking my frying pan and a fillet knife and some salt and pepper and flour. Can't wait.
Last few years gotta say same here.
huntsfurfish
03-24-2019, 09:28 PM
years ago the wife had class c tags for pigeon. We caught well over 100 walleye the weekend we camped there. 0 of those were small enough. Left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think they gave out like 10000 of those tags that year. Those stupid bastards new the size demographics in the lake and it was nothing short of a money grab. The tag system needs to be abolished in favour of [B]limited numbers in a slot size.
Thats what the tag system is. lol:)
pikeman06
03-24-2019, 10:54 PM
LOL! Blame F&W for your fishing prowess too? This is hysterical. Other than making tags free, I really do not see a "win" for you. You have to put in time to find them, which is actually awesome! I would rather catch class B and As all day long. There are plenty of under 43 cm walleye in that lake. Did you spend more than a weekend trying? I usually catch them just targeting whites as a by-catch.
Fishing, tags or not, is not a guarantee right? remember a few years back when Frenchman lake and a few others had 3 walleye limits plus generous pike and perch and whitefish and burbot limits when all of those lakes were freezing to the bottom or had been dead and void of all fish for years ? Made no sense at all I'm not sure what that was all about but they have done some silly things in the regulation book in the past that I still can't figure out. Selling tags on mass for a fish that hardly exists is par for the course. Giving that many tags would tell the average Joe that there is a surplus that needs harvesting in that year class. Not suprised at all shows they are crooked as a grizzlies tit or haven't a clue.
SNAPFisher
03-25-2019, 12:28 PM
remember a few years back when Frenchman lake and a few others had 3 walleye limits plus generous pike and perch and whitefish and burbot limits when all of those lakes were freezing to the bottom or had been dead and void of all fish for years ? Made no sense at all I'm not sure what that was all about but they have done some silly things in the regulation book in the past that I still can't figure out. Selling tags on mass for a fish that hardly exists is par for the course. Giving that many tags would tell the average Joe that there is a surplus that needs harvesting in that year class. Not suprised at all shows they are crooked as a grizzlies tit or haven't a clue.
This is a really, really simple one for me. I do buy tags, yes. I have never, ever bought tags for a lake that I've never fished or do not have an idea of the size classes that lake has to offer. After all, I am spending additional fees to do this. I'm going to ensure my money is well spent - something I have a chance of filling.
If you or anyone, in-turn, blindly buy tags for a lake you know little about, then do not fill them (surprise, surprise), then blame "the man" for it....cmon! Really? Sorry for your luck but in my books you got what you paid for.
Hypothetically, if tags were free and there were slot limits in place at certain lakes. I would still do what I do if I wanted to actually keep something. I guess that is just how I roll....
kouleerunner
03-25-2019, 06:56 PM
Thats what the tag system is. lol:)
X2 Hahaha
FishHunterPro
03-25-2019, 08:05 PM
Get ready for the pike tag system that’s coming are way next, it’s only a mister of time.
FishHunterPro
03-25-2019, 08:10 PM
I had A class tags for Gregoire lake this year and it was easily the worst walleye fishing in years that I’ve had in that lake. I don’t blame it on the tag system though it was only the first year in 15-20yrs that a guy could keep a walleye and the fishing was slow from the start of the season.
linemanpete
03-25-2019, 08:34 PM
This is a really, really simple one for me. I do buy tags, yes. I have never, ever bought tags for a lake that I've never fished or do not have an idea of the size classes that lake has to offer. After all, I am spending additional fees to do this. I'm going to ensure my money is well spent - something I have a chance of filling.
If you or anyone, in-turn, blindly buy tags for a lake you know little about, then do not fill them (surprise, surprise), then blame "the man" for it....cmon! Really? Sorry for your luck but in my books you got what you paid for.
Hypothetically, if tags were free and there were slot limits in place at certain lakes. I would still do what I do if I wanted to actually keep something. I guess that is just how I roll....
Class A tags at Long lake here. Have had c and b before filled no problem. Cannot for the life of me fill the 2nd. Smaller sizes no problem, can’t get 50+. Fished over 100 hours there between summer and winter.
Kurt505
03-25-2019, 08:46 PM
Why do we keep buying fishing licenses? If we can’t retain any fish, and everything is catch and release we shouldn’t have to buy a license.
Blastoff
03-25-2019, 08:57 PM
Heard Pinehurst is closed to Jack next year so it will only be tags for walleye might as close the lake
pikeman06
03-25-2019, 09:17 PM
This is a really, really simple one for me. I do buy tags, yes. I have never, ever bought tags for a lake that I've never fished or do not have an idea of the size classes that lake has to offer. After all, I am spending additional fees to do this. I'm going to ensure my money is well spent - something I have a chance of filling.
If you or anyone, in-turn, blindly buy tags for a lake you know little about, then do not fill them (surprise, surprise), then blame "the man" for it....cmon! Really? Sorry for your luck but in my books you got what you paid for.
Hypothetically, if tags were free and there were slot limits in place at certain lakes. I would still do what I do if I wanted to actually keep something. I guess that is just how I roll.... come on snap, we've argued before and I respect your opinion. So in your mind it's up to us tax paying license buying fishermen to do our own investigating on the current status of size structure and year classes of the tags we apply for? It's in the government's hands the whole draw system, we trust their word that there is a surplus population which is why tags are alloted in certain numbers for certain lakes. We should not be responsible for picking out scams and large numbers of tags sold on mass for a weak year class that doesn't even exist. We are supposed to trust and have faith in our pathetic fishery managers and biologists that call the shots and all we can do is assume that they have done extensive research to justify the radical changes and allocation of tags. If they haven't done any research at all and it's just a money grab like it is appearing to be... then how as a fisherman can you justify the impact of stocked fish that were paid for with angler dollars in the first place and the impact they have had on gull pigeon sylvan pine Bellevue plus many others? Of course they are selling tags for fish that don't exist but its just another scam and I'm sick of this kind of crap.
SNAPFisher
03-25-2019, 09:52 PM
come on snap, we've argued before and I respect your opinion. So in your mind it's up to us tax paying license buying fishermen to do our own investigating on the current status of size structure and year classes of the tags we apply for?
Yes!! Regardless of tag system or not, it's "Fishing". Not the "Government guarantee walleye catch plan" :lol:
Take away the entire tag system at all. How did you catch fish before? Did F&W tell you where to fish and exactly what to expect? I would hope you have some experience of your own to guide you. .... or so I thought
We should not be responsible for picking out scams and large numbers of tags sold on mass for a weak year class that doesn't even exist. We are supposed to trust and have faith in our pathetic fishery managers and biologists that call the shots and all we can do is assume that they have done extensive research to justify the radical changes and allocation of tags. If they haven't done any research at all and it's just a money grab like it is appearing to be... then how as a fisherman can you justify the impact of stocked fish that were paid for with angler dollars in the first place and the impact they have had on gull pigeon sylvan pine Bellevue plus many others? Of course they are selling tags for fish that don't exist but its just another scam and I'm sick of this kind of crap.
It`s not a scam. The fish are there. Some lake you have to work harder at getting the size you want. There is nothing new here. Tags or not, it takes some effort, knowledge and skill.
I`m saying the fish are there because I`ve only ever left one tag unfilled. And that was last year and I was just lazy about it. Released plenty that I could have kept. I focus on getting tags at the lakes I know and generally where I`ll get them in an evening of fishing.
SNAPFisher
03-25-2019, 09:57 PM
Class A tags at Long lake here. Have had c and b before filled no problem. Cannot for the life of me fill the 2nd. Smaller sizes no problem, can’t get 50+. Fished over 100 hours there between summer and winter.
Bigger fish, harder to catch no?
Over time that should change as some of those B's and C's age.
mulecrazy
03-25-2019, 10:42 PM
LOL! Blame F&W for your fishing prowess too? This is hysterical. Other than making tags free, I really do not see a "win" for you. You have to put in time to find them, which is actually awesome! I would rather catch class B and As all day long. There are plenty of under 43 cm walleye in that lake. Did you spend more than a weekend trying? I usually catch them just targeting whites as a by-catch.
Fishing, tags or not, is not a guarantee right?
Are you on glue? Like I said, we had zero issue catching them, they were ALL too big. This was like 9 or 10 years ago. no doubt the age structure is different now. Anyone we talked to all had the exact same tags as she did and no one could find one small enough. they gave out a **** load of tags for an age structure that wasn't in the lake.
mulecrazy
03-25-2019, 10:45 PM
Thats what the tag system is. lol:)
No it is not. The tag system is a bull**** money grab to achieve the exact same thing that could be done by just allowing a small daily limit without the BS.
SNAPFisher
03-25-2019, 11:04 PM
Are you on glue? Like I said, we had zero issue catching them, they were ALL too big. This was like 9 or 10 years ago. no doubt the age structure is different now. Anyone we talked to all had the exact same tags as she did and no one could find one small enough. they gave out a **** load of tags for an age structure that wasn't in the lake.
10 years ago!! I see you haven't got over your ordeal yet. :lol:
Did you try to return them to the Fishing Hole? "Hey man, these tags are defective! I want my money back. They didn't catch the size they said they would on the tag."
Penner
03-26-2019, 09:20 AM
No it is not. The tag system is a bull**** money grab to achieve the exact same thing that could be done by just allowing a small daily limit without the BS.
For the stupid argument that it’s a “money grab” in 2017 roughly looking at it there were 15k applicants if 40% of people were drawn and assuming everyone who were drawn bought their tags it adds up to a whopping $100k.
You can’t allow a smaller limit than 1. Most lakes in this province not all that long ago had a limit of 1 for Walleye and more recently Pike has also been reduced to 1 in many lakes. The lakes still collapsed. Tags are one way to allow controlled harvest while allowing lakes to recover and stay sustainable.
Penner
03-26-2019, 09:27 AM
years ago the wife had class c tags for pigeon. We caught well over 100 walleye the weekend we camped there. 0 of those were small enough. Left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think they gave out like 10000 of those tags that year. Those stupid bastards new the size demographics in the lake and it was nothing short of a money grab. The tag system needs to be abolished in favour of limited numbers in a slot size.
Buddies and I filled 9 class C tags on Pigeon the past 2 weekends fishing only 2 days. Easily could have filled 9 more. Caught A’s and B’s also. Fish were all very plump, healthy, and tasty. Seems like the population is starting to balance out.
SNAPFisher
03-26-2019, 12:16 PM
Thanks Penner for a voice of reason.
I was doing math on the tags as well. My understanding is that it covers the expenses to run it. I cannot believe how some members on here continually call it a money grab when the evidence is right there that it is not.
Btw, as MuleCrazy posted, that was 10 years ago trying to fill class Cs. Of course you would have had to guess that anyways since there was zero about this in his original post. Still, if someone hates the tags from one experience 10 years ago, good luck fishing at all! At least in AB ;)
Penner
03-26-2019, 04:13 PM
I don't know if the "tag system" is the ultimate solution but I have not heard of any alternatives that make much logical sense.
58thecat
03-26-2019, 04:19 PM
What a joke the choices are this year.
Pinehurst class B only !
Last year 2 of us had class B
It took us 3 days and well over a hundred walleye caught to fill our tags, they were all to big !
The class A fish in Pinehurst have to out number the Class B by at least 10 : 1
No wonder there are so many poachers around.
This system sucks !
I'm sure there are other lakes choices similar.
Head over to besnard lake in saskabush....walleye heaven....awesome shore lunches too!
SNAPFisher
03-26-2019, 07:03 PM
I don't know if the "tag system" is the ultimate solution but I have not heard of any alternatives that make much logical sense.
Yep, I sure would prefer not to have a draw or a tag to put on fish. But it is here to stay.
Where do you find the number of tags given out per lake? BEL
pikeman06
03-26-2019, 09:10 PM
For the stupid argument that it’s a “money grab” in 2017 roughly looking at it there were 15k applicants if 40% of people were drawn and assuming everyone who were drawn bought their tags it adds up to a whopping $100k.
You can’t allow a smaller limit than 1. Most lakes in this province not all that long ago had a limit of 1 for Walleye and more recently Pike has also been reduced to 1 in many lakes. The lakes still collapsed. Tags are one way a to allow controlled harvest while allowing lakes to recover and stay sustainable. a hundred grand to have fish cops hiding in the bushes trying to keep everyone on the straight and narrow never mind implementation of the tag system? How many million did that cost for some tags scribbled with a magic marker that don't stick together plus all the research that justified this system in the first place. ? I would like to see the numbers on the money wasted to protect a fish that does more harm than good and doesn't even belong in many of these lakes in the first place. They need to swallow their pride and call it a total failure instead of continuing to protect a population of fish that aren't reproducing because they don't belong and that's how mother nature rolls, until they die of old age at the expense of the fish that were displaced and by catch victims of the walleye fad.
58thecat
03-27-2019, 05:53 AM
a hundred grand to have fish cops hiding in the bushes trying to keep everyone on the straight and narrow never mind implementation of the tag system? How many million did that cost for some tags scribbled with a magic marker that don't stick together plus all the research that justified this system in the first place. ? I would like to see the numbers on the money wasted to protect a fish that does more harm than good and doesn't even belong in many of these lakes in the first place. They need to swallow their pride and call it a total failure instead of continuing to protect a population of fish that aren't reproducing because they don't belong and that's how mother nature rolls, until they die of old age at the expense of the fish that were displaced and by catch victims of the walleye fad.
What little goes into law enforcement to keep what little we have in our lakes if they turned that funds into replenishing the lakes without no law enforcement well you would have about a year of rape the lakes and then have nothing because of people being disrespectful and can't properly govern thier actions as a general public.....gotta look well past your nose to do what's best in the long run.
SNAPFisher
03-27-2019, 12:28 PM
a hundred grand to have fish cops hiding in the bushes trying to keep everyone on the straight and narrow never mind implementation of the tag system? How many million did that cost for some tags scribbled with a magic marker that don't stick together plus all the research that justified this system in the first place. ? I would like to see the numbers on the money wasted to protect a fish that does more harm than good and doesn't even belong in many of these lakes in the first place. They need to swallow their pride and call it a total failure instead of continuing to protect a population of fish that aren't reproducing because they don't belong and that's how mother nature rolls, until they die of old age at the expense of the fish that were displaced and by catch victims of the walleye fad.
Wow, you are all over the place.
Enforcement is enforcement. Those costs exist regardless of the tag system. If anything the tags would make it a bit more obvious and "easier"...maybe even thus cheaper, for the F&W officer to determine poaching. By the way, I actually had a F&W officer jump out of the bushes at a boat launch and then check us. That was at a non-tag lake so your comments don't even add up there.
Who says walleye are not reproducing? Pigeon Lake? Can you name one to clarify?
That is your opinion it is a total failure. It certainly isn't mine.
At the end of the day as long as there are anglers buying the tags the system will be in place. Only way to change it is to stop supporting it and stop buying them. Want to keep walleye, go fish rivers or SK - that's been the story for me for years now.
pinelakeperch
03-28-2019, 04:02 PM
At the end of the day as long as there are anglers buying the tags the system will be in place. Only way to change it is to stop supporting it and stop buying them. Want to keep walleye, go fish rivers or SK - that's been the story for me for years now.
Stay away from my river! :sHa_sarcasticlol:
Stay away from my river! :sHa_sarcasticlol:
I only fish it on Sundays :sHa_shakeshout:, you can have it rest of the week.
HuyFishin
03-28-2019, 05:02 PM
nah its funny, how some people talk about the sticker not sticking. dont get it wet on the adhesive side before applying it.
i work in the industry with vinys and self adhesive films and many vinyls and stickers dont work at all when its wet. Its not applied wet like window tint.
some customers wonder why there film dont stick and they blame the product.
no common sense. i've used the tags many times and have never had an issue.
biguzze
03-31-2019, 05:24 PM
In my area it is not the tags and sport fishing that is taking down the counts. It is the nets. It is pretty bad that I can't go out catch a fish to feed my family for the night but others can net when ever they want.
Penner
04-01-2019, 03:27 PM
In my area it is not the tags and sport fishing that is taking down the counts. It is the nets. It is pretty bad that I can't go out catch a fish to feed my family for the night but others can net when ever they want.
110% agree. Sustenance fishing (or hunting) because it was/were "traditional" rights for the most part I don't have a problem with in relation to the true sense of the meaning, however what I do have a problem with is when sustenance fisher people utilize "non-traditional" methods as I'm somewhat certain pick-ups, ATV's, snowmobiles, chainsaws, powered augers, modernized gill nets, and the like have nothing to do with the "tradition". Anyone who wants to walk out there wearing some birch branch snow shoes, chisel out a few holes in the ice, drop in a hand crafted gill net, and hoof all of that back home, go fill your boots.
Prejudice = "in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair". When the shoe is on the other foot... just saying :scared0018:
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