A must read artical

[Gbuss]

Now only if alberta would follow suit on how it manages it fisheries we might not have to buy tags and have a daily position limits in years to come. I hope there is a biologist on here or can reach out to me because I would love to talk about this.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7904443/manitoba-proposes-banning-trophy-walleye-possession-introducing-some-year-round-fishing-by-2023/amp/

[Dewey Cox]

Slot size?
That's so crazy it just might work.

[pikeman06]

A biologist on here??? I'm sure this is the last place they would look for a little insight on how the resident anglers feel about the state of our fisheries. This bullheaded, azz backwards mentality is not science based its just someone's personal twist on how they feel a fishery should be managed. Look at sylvan gull buck pigeon, just to name 4 that were crawling with pike and fish in general and nice ones at that. What are they thinking? I'd love to put a face behind this madness as well and just see what makes these people tick. It's like they managed them to be fished out, that "let them spawn once then whack em" didn't work. Do cattlemen kill off all the females in their herd and hope calves magically fall from the sky? Nope they treat those old girls like gold because that's their future.

[OL_JR]

Ya dunno sometimes why they are so stubborn with the 1 over regulations.

Burnstick is a prime example. Tiny lake with questionable recruitment but according to the biologists there was a surplus of large walleyes so with the pressure form the public to start opening up some retention, for whatever ill conceived, maybe even spiteful reason it got opened up with a 1 over 50cm. No cap on the upper limit. Put a big hurt on all the prime breeders and now it's closed again and a huge chunk of the big girls are gone. Still fish it and I don't mind having to work for them a bit but why at the very least was there no protection of the big fish. If they absolutely had to open it up they could have easily capped it at let's say 60cm and left a lot of big breeding fish in that lake.

I'm all for opening up some lakes but common sense would say that lake was never a good candidate. It's almost like they set some lakes up to fail as a "told you so" proposition.

[Gbuss]

What I am getting at here is pike and walleye can co exist in the same water. It is all on how you manage them. Walleye mature for spawning at 40cm(16"). Let take slave lake as an example. Let's say in it's current stat you can keep 2 fish under 40cm. In 5 years the population of healthy walleye would explode. There would be lots of 40+ cm walleye for breeding and lots of eaters. I belive pike mature at the same rate but they grow bigger in that time frame. With the end results being more sustainable harvest for every one on that body of water.


Now look at pigeon lake. The population is declining on a tag system. Lots in the 43cm to 47cm range. So why not shut down anything over 43cm for 5 years and put in place one under the 40cm to let fish mature and be able to restock the population. A 50cm walleye will have ruffly 250 000 eggs and only 1% of them will survive that is in the wild. In a hatchery situation it can be up to 80% survivability. If this is done for 2 years their would be lots of eater sized fish in 6 years time. Also for those 2 years they would only have to milk 150 walleye Male and female each spring to bring the numbers up. In the first year of a hatchery fish the fry grow to about 8" in length. If they were to combine that with bait fish stocking I think it would be a successful programme to jump start a sustainable harvest in the future with the average size going up meaning you can still catch a trophy get your picture and release them to harvest in the future. But these are my thoughts and I understand some may not view it that way.

Gbuss

[Curtsyneil]

Yeah let’s drive 3 hrs to catch a 14-16 inch fish. Great idea !!!

[Gbuss]

Yeah let’s drive 3 hrs to catch a 14-16 inch fish. Great idea !!!


You really must not get it do you. You can still catch larger fish but not keep them. Those larger fish are the prime breeders. But with the mentality of most people it is I need to keep everything now. Then down the road they bitch and complain they can't catch ****. You sir is what is wrong with the fisheries here in Alberta.

Gbuss

[pikeman06]

What's wrong with a retention of one pike under 60 and a walleye under 43 when the population gets strong and have a couple good spawns? What good is it doing the fishery to let a first time spawner spawn once then remove it. They think every egg they lay survives or what? I see it in their fall index testing that some year classes are totally absent...don't they catch that themselves? When you protect fish at the demise of others it's a question of someone's personal "favorite" fish in my eyes, not the overall health and sustainability of a fishery. If they were stocking ALL species I wouldn't be so crusty.

[KegRiver]

Once again the majority fail to comprehend the system.

Experts don't make the decisions, they make recommendations.

The regulations are set by politicians. Politicians who listen to lobbyists more then experts.

Biologists can't afford to buy politicians expensive dinners, lobbyists can.

And then there is industry. Politicians spend tax money, it's how they gain votes. Industry pays a lot of tax, so they get listened to more then biologists and stakeholders.

If industry wants to poison a river, they get to poison that river. If industry wants to run a guiding operation for trophy fish they get to run that operation and we get size limits.

Experts don't get to write newspapers or hold press conferences.
The people who do choose the expert who will say what they want said.

Many talks, loudly. And money silences opposition.

So long as we the voters vote for the best lair we will get more of the same.

Nothing will change until we the people start thinking for ourselves and stop listening to politicians and the media.

[Curtsyneil]

Actually gbuss I do understand. The problem is wannabe you tubers like yourself that actually think there somebody. I’ve purchased more Alberta fishing licences than years you have lived here, so talking about lakes you only have fished a handful of times doesn’t give you the right to preach about what you think you know about those lake. That’s just my opinion tho.

[Dewey Cox]

Actually gbuss I do understand. The problem is wannabe you tubers like yourself that actually think there somebody. I’ve purchased more Alberta fishing licences than years you have lived here, so talking about lakes you only have fished a handful of times doesn’t give you the right to preach about what you think you know about those lake. That’s just my opinion tho.

I am interested to hear your solution to our fishery troubles.

[KegRiver]

Actually gbuss I do understand. The problem is wannabe you tubers like yourself that actually think there somebody. I’ve purchased more Alberta fishing licences than years you have lived here, so talking about lakes you only have fished a handful of times doesn’t give you the right to preach about what you think you know about those lake. That’s just my opinion tho.

That was uncalled for.

I'm sure you could make your point without the insults and putdowns.

Besides, what does it matter what he thinks? He is one vote among millions.

[Penner]

You really must not get it do you. You can still catch larger fish but not keep them. Those larger fish are the prime breeders. But with the mentality of most people it is I need to keep everything now. Then down the road they bitch and complain they can't catch ****. You sir is what is wrong with the fisheries here in Alberta.

Gbuss

Bingo. Well put.

All you hear is its the “government” or the “walleye” that has damaged or unbalanced the fishery is so short sighted. Folks need to look into the mirror. There is no bigger impact to a fishery than an angler. And regulations are a mess right now.

[CptnBlues63]

Slot size?
That's so crazy it just might work.

I believe slot's work.

I can think of one prime example in Alberta where I'm sure having a slot has improved the walleye fishing greatly. The walleye on this particular lake have been biting like crazy the last 5+ years. I'm talking an average of 10 fish an hour per angler.....easy!

5 years ago the majority of fish caught were under the slot size and I'd say I averaged 1 or 2 in the slot. As time went by this changed. The last two years we're talking 5-7 in the slot and the rest mostly over the slot limit. Last year I took many pic's of 60+ cm fish and our biggest last June was right around 77cm.

I expect it'll be crazy again this year (at least, I sure hope so!).

In my opinion, the best eating size walleye are in the 40-55 cm range. Say around 2-4 lb's. Although I prefer 2-3 lb's. Anything over 4 the meat can (and frequently does) start getting soft. Anything over 5-6 and the meat starts getting fatty (think salmon/trout). Personally, I've never understood why anyone would want to take an 8 lb walleye home to eat!?!?

Why would you want to kill the best breeders and eat it when one half that size (or less) will taste better? Take your camera. Take your scale. Take pictures! I'd love to catch some trophy size wallleye. But you can bet I'd put it back in the water alive. Even I was able to take it home.
.

[Gbuss]

Actually gbuss I do understand. The problem is wannabe you tubers like yourself that actually think there somebody. I’ve purchased more Alberta fishing licences than years you have lived here, so talking about lakes you only have fished a handful of times doesn’t give you the right to preach about what you think you know about those lake. That’s just my opinion tho.

I see I ruffled your feathers a bit here. But do understand it sounds like you think I have only been here for a couple years. But that isn't the case. You also sound like you have never fished out of this province and have seen how slot sizes work and the effect they can have to a sustainable harvest. But then again you like most old schooled angler that have lived here fished here their entire life are the ones complaining why they can't keep a fish or 6 out of bodies of water no matter the size. You dont have to agree with me but what alberta is doing right now to are fisheries is just a short term pocket book gain to a long time demise of the fisheries here.

[Smoky buck]

Bingo. Well put.

All you hear is its the “government” or the “walleye” that has damaged or unbalanced the fishery is so short sighted. Folks need to look into the mirror. There is no bigger impact to a fishery than an angler. And regulations are a mess right now.

Both are a factor fisheries like Wab are one an example that retention from anglers is not the factor

Regulations are not the only problem in Alberta and its going to take more than regulation changes to improve things

[Penner]

Both are a factor fisheries like Wab are one an example that retention from anglers is not the factor

Regulations are not the only problem in Alberta and its going to take more than regulation changes to improve things

Correct. The Oil spill and C&R with no bait ban have been the demise of the Wab fishery.

[Smoky buck]

Correct. The Oil spill and C&R with no bait ban have been the demise of the Wab fishery.

The fishery was bounced back pretty well after the spill. I do believe a bait bans should be in place when a fishery is C&R only.

The issues you mentioned definitely did not help and most problems with any fishery often comes down to multiple factors

The problem lies with the fact most fisherman and even bio’s will often pick and choose what factors they want to acknowledge.

[Curtsyneil]

As of last year Alberta has opened a few central and northern lakes to a slot size 45-50cm. Gull, buck , island , calling just to name a few. Think calling actually has bin on a slot for years now but I believe it is a diffrent slot size. So you are able to keep a eye 45-50cm on these lake and throwing back over 50cm fish (prime breeders)!! For the special walleye draw it’s everybody’s choice whether they choose to apply or not. Love fishing Saskatchewan and the limits and slots they have on there lakes is awesome and obviously working well and stocking programs also implemented. Difference is numbers of bodies of water compared to Alberta. No ruffled feathers buss tight lines 🎣

[Penner]

The fishery was bounced back pretty well after the spill. I do believe a bait bans should be in place when a fishery is C&R only.

The issues you mentioned definitely did not help and most problems with any fishery often comes down to multiple factors

The problem lies with the fact most fisherman and even bio’s will often pick and choose what factors they want to acknowledge.

Shoreline habitat had long been in jeopardy many years prior to the oil spill. The Whitefish population was in significant trouble years prior to the oil spill. Pike had little to no recruitment after the oil spill and they shut down the power plant. There weren't any Walleye in that lake prior to all of these events occuring. Ray Charles can likely forsee that is a lot of impact all in a relatively short period of time.

As far as I'm concerned the bio's and Walleye introduction (to the magnitude they were introduced) likely haven't helped the situation but they didn't create the problems to be 100% clear.

It is a popular water body with 1-hour drive of 1.5 million people, stuff is going to happen. It needs to managed accordingly if any quality of a fishery is desired.

Folks are just looking at a finger to point. The "bio's" and the "walleye" are easy to point to.

[Smoky buck]

Shoreline habitat had long been in jeopardy many years prior to the oil spill. The Whitefish population was in significant trouble years prior to the oil spill. Pike had little to no recruitment after the oil spill and they shut down the power plant. There weren't any Walleye in that lake prior to all of these events occuring. Ray Charles can likely forsee that is a lot of impact all in a relatively short period of time.

As far as I'm concerned the bio's and Walleye introduction (to the magnitude they were introduced) likely haven't helped the situation but they didn't create the problems to be 100% clear.

It is a popular water body with 1-hour drive of 1.5 million people, stuff is going to happen. It needs to managed accordingly if any quality of a fishery is desired.

Folks are just looking at a finger to point. The "bio's" and the "walleye" are easy to point to.

Wab is 20min from me I see the pressure waters in the area get and Wab is a lake often recommended to people increasing its pressure. I have experienced many different fisheries that experienced high pressure in and out of Alberta as well.

You are correct many are looking at just one or two things to blame when in many cases it is like the example you are giving regarding Wab multiple factors. The truth of the matter is we both have our theories on what factors played the biggest factors but we can both agree it was not just one smoking gun.