Walleye Derby Pinehurst
 

Would just like to here everybody else's opinion on why they continue to allow a walleye derby on pinehurst lake that has zero population for the general public. If they allow derbies their why do we have to apply for a draw. I'm a firm believer in the draw system as I went to another lake in the area and caught nothing but beautiful walleye that I never caught their 5 years ago. I think the government really blew it on allowing them to keep this derby going

Pinehurst is a 100% catch and release tournament. It is a part of the Northern alberta walleye trail and is run on a very professional level. The tournament does not kill fish therefore there is no harm done to the lake or fish population. There are patrol boats on the water checking fisherman throughout the day, and wardens have been at the weigh-in to monitor fish being weighed and released. A tournament does not effect the decision by srd to open up a daily limit for walleye. Tags are a money grab and they will remain in effect for years to come. I don't agree with it but we all are going to have to accept that as the tag system seems to be spreading to more and more lakes each year.

Did you fill out the SRD on line questionnaire, just last year, that was specifically asking those questions?

Personally I would like to see it moved because the venue has space, launch, and staging area issues and basically screws the rest of the public from being able to use the lake for that week.

As far as the walleye go it should have been opened up more than it is already in my opinion and since the tournaments have a very small affect on the walleye population in early June it's not a big concern of mine. I do however, totally understand your point of view and it certainly sounds hypocritical that the fishery should be basically closed for the general public but opened for tournaments with special rules and regs put in place.

On the flip side, how has the fishing been at pinehurst ? We are headed there Wednesday.

We are allowed to have a tournament cause we are strictly regulated we fish barbless do you fish barbless? We don't eat the fish we catch we realese them. Anyone caught breaking the rules are disqualified and some tournaments now will be charged for fraud. For example vanity cup. We can't weight dead fish or fish or fish that are upside down floating. We put weights on te fish fins so they balance out in livewell so the can be realesed without any harm. 10 people with tags for fish does more harm then a hundred boats fishing a tournament. We are regulated what depth we can fish at aswell. We can't get licenses to fish tournaments in middle of the summer cause of the depth fish are at and are harder to keep alive. I see people all summer winching fish out of 25 or 30 feet those fish don't have much of a chance.

Best its been in years. Fish are healthy seen and caught some monsters.if you didn't weight a 5 pound average for 8 fish at the derby you didn't even get a cheque. Goes to show over the years how much affect derbies have. Feed shortage as been a big concern but the creeks are higher then that have been in years

The guys who fish this tourney don't get to keep any walleye, so how is that hypocritical? You can go catch walleye there just like the tourney guys, you just have to put them back, or buy tags. Whether they hold the tourney or not, it isn't going to change the decision to not open it up to allow people to keep walleye there. Give your head a shake guys...:rolleye2:

Good to hear, its actually always been good, I have no complaints for pinehurst fishing. Other than the last 30km of suspense driving in wondering if your going to find a camp spot or not !

Fishing was great 2 weeks ago, heard a rumour that they are putting in a 120 stall campsite and opening it to one walleye for next year.

Hope that is a false rumor or say goodbye to another good lake!! Question for the torunament guys...How many fish caught during the tournament and the week prior and what is the mortality rate of all the fish released??

I sure hope that rumor is wrong, the number of campsites there now is perfect. Its busy enough already.

First off just because its catch and release don't mean fish ain't gonna die. You can patrol the waters as much as you can that ain't gonna prevent death of fish. You say the average fisherman kills more fish than tournament guys is joke. How many guys are out pre fishing before the derby? Don't tell me that ain't doing no harm. I am not against tournament fishing, just frustrated its at a lake that's supposedly critical population

I never said that bud. Give your head a shake before you read maybe. I never said since theirs a tournament there to open it to the public. All I was saying is I don't understand why it's closed to the public but open for walleye tournaments .

I think the main question should be why the srd still classifies this lake as critical. As mentioned a 5lb average might not of got top ten. Not too many lakes in alberta that you can go and catch 4- 5lb walleye in eight hrs, 2 days in a row.

The stat that really jumps out is the winning weight is the second highest its ever been in the tourney's 15 yr history. I would say that's a healthy fishery...

i did not realize Pinehurst was closed to the public since when?

They announced at the tourney that they were making the campground bigger, adding power sites, and making a bigger dock. Never heard anything about allowing 1 walleye/day though. I highly doubt that will happen, they will maybe issue more tags is all. No way they'll let go of that cash grab...:rolleye2:

Tourney's are held to a higher standard than regular anglers, and tourney guys make damn sure they take care of the fish they are catching. Not doing so could mean loss of weight at the weigh in, and in the case of dead fish it could mean a DQ, and then you would be out the $600 entry fee. As far as the prefishing goes, guys will bounce around catch 1 or 2 fish in a spot, then leave it alone and hope no one else sees them do it. Most times those fish won't even be taken out of the water, especially if there are other boats around. They unhook them and casually say "just another pike", and move on. Hook too many fish in one spot before tourney day, you might not get any out when it really counts. How is that doing any harm???

The reason its still classified as critical cause they don't want every city slicker coming out their and fishing it out like they did 5 years ago. But obviously they haven't learnt since their putting more camp sites and power

I used to have a similar opinion on tournaments as the op. Especially on lakes with so called vulnerable populations.... After finally fishing one this spring my opinion has changed. Tournament anglers do take rather good care of the fish compared to the general public. Not many fished getting smashed on the side of the boat or booted off the boat back into the water. Even outside of the tournaments I try to handle fish as best as possible but too often you see them taking a ride off the bow of the boat or getting a swallowed hook torn out of their throat....

To me SRD should really use these tournaments as a bit of a study. When else are you going to have over 150 - 300 anglers coming into a specific spot with live fish and be willing to give you information???? Seems like an easy way for SRD to do some fin clippings and even try a mark and re-capture program? They would have quick and ready access to lenght and weight measurements as well and can determine general health of fish too. All at the cost of the anglers.... The tournaments will generally pull in a few of the bigger fish that you may not get with normal fishing or keeping fish based on tags so they could potentially see some of the bigger ones and determine age class etc. I don't think the tournaments are a bad thing, just make sure they are not in warm water temperatures and watch fishing depths.

There putting in more spots and power so that us tournament anglers have more room to park our 100000 dollar rigs and having power will be nice cause won't have to lift those big generators anymore. Just need hot water hookups and a car wash bay.

dont blame city people, you fish too,

And the ugly truth rears its ugly head.....yes sir that lake should be just for you and your buddys... Sigh....just say it.

hahaha i can't believe the guy waits 9 months to post and this is the best he could do....:(

Not ounce did I mention it for my self or buddies,bud. If you actually would read I used the term general public.

could you please explain just what your issue is. what you have posted so far i can't see a problem

Yeah I may have joined 9 months ago but I don't have too shoot my mouth off like you seem to do on every thread. I just wanted to ask for people's opinion about this. A guy doesn't post cause I always seem to find one clown like yourself always makes an idiot of himself

Not everyone sits on the outdoorsman forum and make 9 posts a day like yourself, some have lives and use this forum for a tool. But the only tool it seems to be is a way for grow men to beak off behind a computer. :argue2:

Thanks for the knowledge able reply. It's info a guy doesn't here.

Thanks for the info. It was very helpful in understanding. All you here is negative things so you get onesided

Lmfao.