Quote:
Originally Posted by huntsfurfish
DO you even know why you want a slot limit?
Slot limits were originally used to allow the removal of eating size fish. Which are usually far from spawning age. Is that what you want? If so that would be a mistake.
In lakes such as pigeon, wabamun, and Lac ste anne, why would that be a mistake? The walleye population is way above where it should be in these lakes, just to name a few. The more lakes that get opened up, the less angling pressure an individual lake will have to endure. Opening up just one or two lakes would be a mistake.
Slot limits above the spawning age is just the lower limit where it currently is with a maximum size to protect a larger size. This would be an appropriate selection for quality fisheries. However, the comment by Rav about stunting is unlikely to be the case because of keeping of fish and more likely the result of few fish making it much over that limit before being removed. If you are looking to keep fish than the slot will restrict you catch even more.
What about south buck? How many walleye grow to 50cm+ in that lake? Thinning out the herd will leave more food and room for fish to grow.
More testing is needed to make better judgement/decisions. How do you determine limits? Slots to be safe without much monitoring If you dont get it(monitoring) than what we have is best and should not stray to far.
Knowing what you want and why is important.
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I would like to see a 1 fish limit on a large scale across Alberta to 1) Help bring the walleye/pike/perch ratios back to a more natural level, 2) Spread the angling pressure across several lakes instead of just a chosen few.