Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowtrail
I agree on the slot size but as for the size I am unsure. I want to agree with what you posted but.... Every person that goes out there and catches a laker, is likely going to catch one in that slot and how long until it's fished out?
I don't keep many fish myself, I kept 3 all last year, 1 laker, 1 walleye and 1 burbot but know there are guys going out there to catch to keep.
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It can't get fished out as long as the minimum size is large enough that the fish can spawn a time or two before they reach minimum size. I would think 65 cm would allow that but could be wrong and maybe it needs to be say 70 cm. The bios would be able to determine that length quite easily(they should already know it).
You would probably notice fewer fish in the 65-75 cm range but you would also catch more 20-30+ lbers which is a trade I would make any day of the week. I also wonder if the 65-75 cm sizes would actually get fished out though, I think it might be like Calling or Slave were the lake is productive enough to support retention. It sees decent pressure but really not that much considering the size of it and I would imagine most locals would rather find a walleye or pike to eat since the meat is far superior.
One other thing to think about is the guys that go out to try and catch a keeper currently C&R probably 30-40 smaller fish on average before they catch a keeper and with noticeable C&R mortality. If those guys only had to go catch 5-10 fish to catch their one keeper they could end up killing fewer fish then what they currently do.