Quote:
Originally Posted by wind drift
I think we have a warped perspective on natural abundance of fish and species interactions. We have no idea what our lakes were like pre-settlement. Everything we think we know about our fish comes from a time of exploitation, in many cases spectacular overharvest, and forced recovery. In theory, why would species that have coexisted since the glaciers receded not coexist now? We fully protect walleye in many lakes for 20-plus years while still allowing harvest of pike, then wonder why there are more walleye than pike...and then proceed to blame the walleye for the situation, or cormorants, or dry years, or comets, or demonic intrusion, etc. I think we have to be objective and consider that most of what our fisheries are today is due to us, and most of what we know is based on untestable observations, stories and stories about stories.
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But it's the "Governments" fault for allowing anglers to take those pike. They really should get their crap together.
I'm curious as well what OL is asking. For me, I like seeing the variety and fanning the potential that is there. There are still good "mollies" in Sylvan. The pike seem to find the forage. I certainly feel it is not a bad thing not to have another walleye stocked lake and have zero issues with a fishery that maintains large pike plus the other species that can thrive.