Quote:
Originally Posted by Sloughsharkjigger
Great article... the big difference between now and then...
Then: limited ways to communicate to the local folk on what was happening. No access to the waters we did not even know about. Differences in opinions as to what was a good day of fishing was confined to the cleaning station or pool table.
Now: minute by minute reports (with pictures & GPS points) available to all 5 billion people (if you can afford the time to read & understand). Drive the rig, float the quad, jump the snowmobile, fly the drone, hover the helicopter, hire the guide or just refer to google maps to find the spot...
Either way it's still a whole lot of fun...
|
Yes. Good points. And factors for sure. I would add one more.
I know there are some on here that don’t believe in the current limits and think a one fish limit, even slot, would work. But the more I think about it I think they are looking at it at the wrong time to think such a change is possible. Certainly by region, it might be the case in some regions but not province-wide. Water levels are cyclical and we are unquestionably in a time of lower water levels. That die was cast over the past couple of decades.
From my own experience, take the NB1 region. Here are lakes I used to fish and no longer do:
- FloatingStone
- Lower Mann
- Upper Mann
- Vincent
- Chickenhill
- Frenchman
- Cache
- Bonnie
- Muriel
- Lottie
Why? Because of water levels. Either they are not even fishable any longer or are pretty much not worth the effort. Water quality is for sure diminished but destroyed would describe it better.
I just picked 10 off the top of my head and I ‘m sure there are others that could be added. Also, maybe some people still fish some of these lakes but I can assure you that they have changed drastically. Especially over the past 10 years. Some of them completely dead and devoid of fish – glorified sloughs.
So of you take that old stat of 312 anglers per lake. I think it was calculated as:
250,000 anglers, 800 lakes = 312.5 anglers per lake
Now subtract the 10 I mentioned and assume the same number of anglers
250,000 anglers, 790 lakes = 316.5 anglers per lake.
I wonder what the province-wide number of fishable lakes is now? It is certainly less than 800. It really is the bigger factor/impact than anglers . If there are less lakes to fish, more pressure on the bigger and deeper lakes will occur. Raising limits on these particular lakes, at a time of low water levels and less fishable lakes, is a poor decision in my books.