Should fish & game close whitefish for gull lake?

[pikekid]

Since the beginning of the season i've only seen 7 whites and caught one on the second trip. After that, haven't seen anything during our trips. NOTHING!!! I always catch perch wherever i go...deep water and shallow all over the lake. I think that the Alberta Fish & Wildlife should put the limit of whites to 0 for now and let the population regrow so everything can be back to normal like the past.

hope the whitefish population wont decrease for the next few years.

[yoteblaster]

Are you serious?

[kinwahkly]

I've been out there fishing all year, probably close to 20 times this winter, seen lots of whites, did I catch as many as previous years? No but there are still a great number around .

[wind drift]

The only thing Fish and Game can close is their range memberships.

[Winch101]

Do you mean ESRD - SRD. If so. Don't worry ,they will get

Around to it .......I think they plan on closing everything ..


Is this one of those Netted out lakes to save the pike and

Walleyes

[coors04]

They already reduced the numbers to 3 a day. There's lots of whites in gull just hard to get kinda like buck lake. This has been a weird year on gull with the water being cloudy most if the year and the whites spawning late. There's no commercial fishing on gull and gull still produces whites 2-3 times bigger then sylvan. I think the lake is doing fine and if the numbers get to high we could see a spring kill like Sylvan did years ago. If there are concerns fisheries should do the proper tests not just shut it down. Maybe all the big walleye are eating the young whites

[pikekid]

Like i've been all over the lake form the north side down to the south side seen nothing but perch. Went to sylvan today seen at least 10 whites in 5 minutes. But gull been really slow for me. Did many techniques from spoons to wireworms, just ends up attracting perch. Went from 2-8 fow and seen only perch. Water clarity going to the point north of brownlows was clear but close to the entrance and boat launch been really cloudy. Might have to wait when weather gets warmer and hopefully the whitefish spawning start to pick up.

[Geezle]

Yep. Safety D can't catch pike at Wab either, so we'd better shut 'er down too!

[Skoaltender]

Originally Posted by Geezle

Yep. Safety D can't catch pike at Wab either, so we'd better shut 'er down too!

I was out at lake x this weekend and only caught 8 perch. The weekend prior I had 12. SHUT IT DOWN!

[Red Bullets]

It is obvious that retailer's are selling tainted baits and sub standard hooks.

[Adwittoutdoors]

I knew it !!! Thanks Red for confirming my suspicions.

[Who Da Fisherman]

Originally Posted by pikekid

Like i've been all over the lake form the north side down to the south side seen nothing but perch. Went to sylvan today seen at least 10 whites in 5 minutes. But gull been really slow for me. Did many techniques from spoons to wireworms, just ends up attracting perch. Went from 2-8 fow and seen only perch. Water clarity going to the point north of brownlows was clear but close to the entrance and boat launch been really cloudy. Might have to wait when weather gets warmer and hopefully the whitefish spawning start to pick up.

FYI whitefish spawn in fall early winter at first ice.......

[Nikanit]

We've been going to Gull and have no issues catching fish. Caught two big pike as well as two lovely whites today as well as the hubbie. My freezer is stuffed...Caught fish almost every time we've went for the last two years. We just move around the lake and read the depth charts. Also, whitefish spawn from September to January with about 18,000 eggs per kilo of fish. And I believe females will carry immature eggs.

[molsoncanadian]

Originally Posted by Nikanit

We've been going to Gull and have no issues catching fish. Caught two big pike as well as two lovely whites today as well as the hubbie. My freezer is stuffed...Caught fish almost every time we've went for the last two years. We just move around the lake and read the depth charts. Also, whitefish spawn from September to January with about 18,000 eggs per kilo of fish. And I believe females will carry immature eggs.

If your freezer is stuffed you should be aware of the possession limits.

[Mitchthefisher]

i see a good number of whites everytime i go to gull some days are better than others. 4-6fow.

[Kim473]

Seen more whites this year than last year. Catch rate though is a differant story. LOL. We only brought home two yesterday but saw 10 or so. Would look at the hook but not take it. Still looking for that perfect hook.

IMO, I think the limit should drop to two or shorten the season for whites there. Maybe the season opens on Jan 1st or something. Or close March 1st. JMO.
Shorten the season but raise the limit. Only 2 months open but a limit of 5

I noticed yesterday that the weeds had a lot of gunk on them and when a hook touched them this stuff would come off. That could be the reason for the dirty water.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by molsoncanadian

If your freezer is stuffed you should be aware of the possession limits.

X2.....pretty tough to stuff a freezer on Alberta lake possession limits, even with 2 people fishing in the home.

LC

[EZM]

Originally Posted by molsoncanadian

If your freezer is stuffed you should be aware of the possession limits.

True, only if the contributor's freezer is full of games fish and he/she is not a sustenance fisher/hunter.

[TROLLER]

Originally Posted by molsoncanadian

If your freezer is stuffed you should be aware of the possession limits.

X2 Sad that some continue to fish as if it was 20 years ago and you had to keep everything

[SNAPFisher]

Classic! Another post AO style. Degraded into a blame fest in no time that had nothing to do with the original post.

On the good, some great sense of humours out there. Geez and Coors , funny stuff!

To the Op, tougher year all around due to the clarity issue. I do not share your thoughts though. 2 to 8 FOW is not everywhere on that lake. You are going to have to work harder and smarter. Good luck with that....

[CK Angler]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

X2.....pretty tough to stuff a freezer on Alberta lake possession limits, even with 2 people fishing in the home.

LC

But... But? What if it's a fridge freezer? Not a deep freezer, or maybe like a mini fridge freezer? and what if they have teenagers to? Or young adults ? Or a young adult AND a teenager ? Then it is possible to have a stuffed freezer, right?

[FreshAirGetter]

Haha sometimes comments are funny. I think it should be safe to say that if a fisherman is abiding by the law, then he is a good fisherman indeed and should not be criticized. That being said it makes me laugh sometimes when they are, so I do appreciate the humour! I however do only catch and release.
As for the original question, yes I feel whitefish should be closed, as well as every other fish in every other lake. I need all the help I can get to catch a fish!

[fish99]

Originally Posted by pikekid

Like i've been all over the lake form the north side down to the south side seen nothing but perch. Went to sylvan today seen at least 10 whites in 5 minutes. But gull been really slow for me. Did many techniques from spoons to wireworms, just ends up attracting perch. Went from 2-8 fow and seen only perch. Water clarity going to the point north of brownlows was clear but close to the entrance and boat launch been really cloudy. Might have to wait when weather gets warmer and hopefully the whitefish spawning start to pick up.

you are not fishing deep enough , we fish over 10 feet and real well.

[Hunter Trav]

Originally Posted by pikekid

Went from 2-8 fow and seen only perch.

Expand that to include 8-20 FOW and you should be able to find some...