Originally Posted by grinr
And for some reason,you just can't accept that maybe I do in fact know a thing or three about bass,and how they are an invasive predator that will have irreversable,detrimental effects on trout populations once the bucket brigades begin their inevitable,illegal spreading of them throughout Alberta.
Is it really so hard for you to accept the FACTS about smb as an invasive species,or to possibly learn from the mistakes of other provinces that are currently plagued by this spiny scourge and are now in an all out war against further proliferation of bass and the destruction of historical cold water specie's habitat?
FACT-Nova Scotia's Inland Fisheries in the 1940's stocked SMB into FIVE NS lakes.As of 2010,there are now at least 174 identified lakes within 43 distinct watersheds where SMB have been ILLEGALLY introduced.
sorry,I don't have the exact figures for NB but I can assure you it is a very similair scenario,and can name a half dozen watersheds within a 1/2 hour of my home that were good to excellent trout/salmon fisheries when I was a kid and are now completely overun with parr and fry eating SMB....that's just in my relatively short lifetime,which incidentally is 43 years,not 120yrs for the benefit of the comedians.
FACT-in 2008 SMB were discovered in Miramichi Lk,a 220ha lake at the headwaters of the world famous Miramichi river,renowned as the most productive Atlantic salmon river in the world.There is no possible way these bass got their by any other means than ILLEGAL introduction.DFO in co-operation with NBDNR are in the process of spending MILLIONS of dollars in attempt to eradicate SMB from the lake and protect the native trout and salmon of this world class watershed from what everybody uninamously agrees is a very serious threat.Barriers have been erected to attempt to block bass from exiting the lake and getting into the Main SW Miramichi,adult bass are being intensely fished out with gill and fyke nets,and electrofishing is being used to stun,capture and kill the small bass.Most people,including no less than 3 dozen fisheries experts from across North America and in fact the world,unanimously agree that these efforts are futile and it's only a matter of time before bass escape to infest the entire watershed unless action is taken NOW to kill the ntire 220 ha lake with Rotenone,a chemical piscicide that has been used successfully in many other jurisdictions to rid lakes of uninvited guests.Unfortunately,the use of Rotenone has been held up by bureacratic red tape and will likely be a last resort,after the netting/electrofishing efforts fail, as they inevitably will on a lake of this size.The best that salmon anglers in NB and from around the world can hope for is that Rotenone will in fact be used before it's too late and the SMB escape the lake where they will become unstoppable.
SMB in M Lake is no joke and something that myself and tens of thousands of other salmon anglers take very seriously.Not only was this ILLEGAL introduction a crime against nature,but it's a crime against the people of NB,the people of Canada,and IMHO the entire world to selfishly threaten the very survival of Atlantic salmon in a Canadian Heritage river of such prestige and notoriety,especially when Atlantic salmon already face such epic battles to survive on all fronts and so many people work so hard to help ensure their health and survival.Not to mention the devastating effect this will have on the dozens of communities along the banks of the mighty Miramichi where salmon angling is estimated to contribute 20 Million dollars annually to the local economy.
So before the next person votes on this retarded poll,ask yourself is THIS the future you want for Alberta's world class trout fisheries,namely the Bow River and it's many tribs as the most obvious example?Don't just think"hell yeah,it might be fun to catch a bass in AB"....think about how it WILL effect the other fish and natural ecosysytems when un-educated,selfish idiots take it upon themself to spread bass from one watershed to another.
If it weren't so sad it would almost be funny when I read a few posts back how "largemouth bass don't eat 4lb. trout" and bla,bla,bla.....,no MORON,1st of all,we're talking about Smallmouth bass which are quite comfortable in river environments,and secondly,NO MORON,they don't eat 4lb trout,they eat 4 inch trout and prefer the same pools,eddies,and slackwater habitats as do trout fry and salmon parr which become thier main prey,which is how SMB completely take over and wipe out native salmonids,from the bottom up.
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