Fisheries meeting in Brooks, FEB 13th
 

Evening, our local fish and game club in Brooks will be hosting the southern AB fisheries biologists for an open house format meeting Feb 13, from 430 to 730 at the JBS Center.
This would be a good opportunity for those in the Brooks area that don't want to go to a larger center and still be informed on the state of our fisheries and any possible upcoming changes. Open to the public, the fish and game club was approached to host in an attempt to reach more people.

Sounds like a lot of lakes will be opened up to Walleye retention, abandoning the tag system.

WC

very curious about the upcoming changes. I filled out the recent survey that was going around online from AB Fish and Wildlife. The gist of what I said was "do whatever you need to do to create a TROPHY walleye fishery, and not just a 'put and keep'...like currently exists..."

Was a the one in Calgary and focus is going to be on stocking, slot sizes, take smaller sizes and larger sizes and leave prime spawn sizes, open sizes on winterkill prone lakes to name a few. Tag system not a favorite and looks to be out or close to it. My gut says all these have really been decided anyways and they are just getting feedback ahead of the planned changes but who knows.

WOW, this sounds like actual intelligent fishery management. It seems to me that up to now Alberta fishery management was either 1) Let's kill all the big fish or 2) Let's go completely catch and release. Slot limits with some limited harvest ability is what Fish and Wildlife has been consistently saying doesn't work in Alberta, I still can't believe they are moving towards it. I wonder what gappened to change some minds, if this actually true.

happened

One more bump, set your clock boys!(and girls)


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I'd greatly appreciate any updates from the meeting tomorrow. My dad wanted to attend but is unable to due to training his new puppy at home.

The thing I don't like is they listed Newell as a potential lake for stocking. Considering its one of the only lakes in southern Alberta that can consistently produce trophy sized fish, I fear that dumping a **** ton of walleye into it will destroy the forage base of the lake and turn it into another lake full of 14È skinny walleyes.

Discussed this with one of the bios Calgary meeting. One of the with Newell is there are many big fish but recruitment is not doing as well for some reason. He said that iif they open it up as is and many of the bigger ones are taken out there is not a bunch of the younger spawning groups coming up and eventually there will be no old fish and only a few spawners. They are also considering moving forage around as well. Twin Valley is classic there. Tons of pike but they are just eating themselves so they are going to put perch and whites in to help as well as walleyes.

I would rather see them just keep it the way it is then. Unless they are only going to put a couple thousand fish into it every year, that lake will be just like all the others in no time if they start dumping hundreds of thousands of fish in.

Interesting to see the reasoning recruitment is not all that great considering the larger fish there.


QUOTE=Wes_G;4110703]I would rather see them just keep it the way it is then. Unless they are only going to put a couple thousand fish into it every year, that lake will be just like all the others in no time if they start dumping hundreds of thousands of fish in.[/QUOTE]

The reason they are considering stocking is because people want to keep fish. My understanding is that every stocked lake will be put and take.

Or could it be that just the vocal minority that can't catch without keeping are the ones doing all the complaining? I would rather keep a fishery that can produce big fish the way it is then have all the lakes producing 14-16" keepers and that's all they are capable of, But that's just me.

People want what Saskatchewan has. This is what they do, put and take. Lakes that produce big fish will still produce big fish as long as you don’t close lakes to retention after you stock them. This was the mistake that Alberta made.

A new Premier that actually fishes. Opening up a new hatchery as well as repairing 2 others. Putting the money from licences back into fisheries like it should be.

When is this supposed to take place? And they're going to stock all 3 species?

Did anyone actually attend this meeting, lol?

I know places they can get perch.

One year we live trapped about 40,000 perch in 3 days. Midnapore has tons of perch. Chaparral will soon enough have tons.

I would be curious as to how many perch our Fyke nets could catch with our reduced perch population.

Outside of that I would be curious as to where F&W would capture perch. Does twin have a minnow community?

I talked to Frank on the lake Sunday apparently only 23 people showed up

Any word on potential changes to local lakes?

Its too bad, but i think most people are tired of going to Govt meetings and receiving lip service, and nothing goes any further. I for one. I have also done my own due diligence on some local southern alberta fishing holes, only to find out that prev. inquires never went anywhere, and the new guy in charge never was told, or so i am told, about the prev inquires............. so why go ???

I was at the Medicine Hat one.

Its is what government does.. they make a decision or an ultimatum then do a dog and pony show and call it consultation ...same with all the education and medical ultimatums, I mean consultations - lol

Just my opinion but I would rather catch the same fish over and over again than catch it once and eat it. I have gotten use to catch and release vs eating everything I catch. Why not fish for the sport vs the next meal. I do respect everyone’s opinion and this is just mine. Thanks

Well said Agree with you..

I rarely keep fish myself and usually when I do it’s one that had a poor chance of survival. But I completely support well managed catch and keep because it is beneficial to a fishery. This can be valuable tool in managing the balance so the forage is not depleted. In turn this provides a healthy system with feed to promote recruitment and maximum potential for fish quality. Providing c&k opportunity also promotes fishing and in turn gives anglers a larger voice. This also increases available funding. Another thing I have noticed is if anglers are happy with their fishery there is a higher % of anglers willing to get involved to give back

The key to this is achieving a well managed and balanced fishery.

Agree but the key words are “well managed”. And we all have thoughts on those two words.

No argument from me there

Can you tell us what was said? Thanks