Sylvan changes

[slough shark]

Has anyone else noticed any changes since they brought in walleye retention in the last couple seasons? I was out by norglenwold in February and saw and caught some smaller perch, I hadn’t seen many perch in years. Then yesterday by sun breaker cove there was hundreds of 2-4 inch minnows (small whitefish?) swimming around my hold all day long. Sure there were fewer walleye but I haven’t seen lots of smaller fish for years, things might be looking up in future years.

[SNAPFisher]

Could be. Makes one wonder for sure.

I did mark some amazing bait clouds this year which was a first for me. And the fishing was fantastic when they were around. I also think the pressure and thinning out of the whitefish helps with the small bait. Those whites are fish eaters and used to bash them in the shallows in October. With many of those whites taken out I'm sure it helps out the "little" guys.

[Mark]

I agree.
I'm seeing more smaller whitefish and perch this year.
My personal opinion is that the walleye were eating themselves out of house and home and all the other fish suffered.

Down south, any lake where the walleye have been introduced, the pike and whitefish population have been devastated.
Fishing pressure is a fraction of what it was when I was growing up. Dam roads at Murray, Yellow Lake, Cowoki, Tilley, and Rattlesnake were lined up with people fishing. Catch rates were good, the limits were 10 pike, any size, and we didn’t have spring closures. This went on for 20+ years. The discharge canal were choked with whitefish when they closed the gates in October.
Now, since they stocked walleye, its rare to see more than one or two vehicles parked on the dam roads. Don't see any boats. Catch rates are very low. The canals have hardly any whitefish around when they close the gates.

I'm not a biologist, but I can reason. The only change has been the introduction of another 'protected' species, walleye.

Just my opinion and what I have observed over my 50+ years of fishing around Medicine Hat.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Mark

I agree.
I'm seeing more smaller whitefish and perch this year.
My personal opinion is that the walleye were eating themselves out of house and home and all the other fish suffered.

Down south, any lake where the walleye have been introduced, the pike and whitefish population have been devastated.
Fishing pressure is a fraction of what it was when I was growing up. Dam roads at Murray, Yellow Lake, Cowoki, Tilley, and Rattlesnake were lined up with people fishing. Catch rates were good, the limits were 10 pike, any size, and we didn’t have spring closures. This went on for 20+ years. The discharge canal were choked with whitefish when they closed the gates in October.
Now, since they stocked walleye, its rare to see more than one or two vehicles parked on the dam roads. Don't see any boats. Catch rates are very low. The canals have hardly any whitefish around when they close the gates.

I'm not a biologist, but I can reason. The only change has been the introduction of another 'protected' species, walleye.

Just my opinion and what I have observed over my 50+ years of fishing around Medicine Hat.

I think you are probably 100% right, they have protected one predator species at the expense of all other species in the lake. Based on the fact that they stocked literal millions of them into many lakes then established 0 retention policies it threw the whole system out of whack. Not sure why the bios haven’t figured that out yet, sure they’re nice to have around and it’s fun to catch a pile of fish every day but one of the best things about walleye is eating them at least occasionally. If they aren’t spawning then continue to stock them and allow retention if we want the walleye so bad. I’m looking forward to perhaps more whitefish and pike around sylvan going forward. I’m sure hoping they establish similar regs in a few other lakes, it would be nice to see balanced fisheries and perhaps be allowed to eat some fish occasionally. Mcgregor, travers and cvr could really benefit from a similar change imho.

[Poppa]

I know this is an unpopular opinion in AB, but..............

whatever changes they make/have made, if it creates trophy Walleye fisheries, I'm all in. Just a personal thing, but could not care less about pike (lure stealers, at best...) and whitefish (purely a food fish, IMO) and just want more quality Walleye fishing. Whatever it takes...

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Poppa

I know this is an unpopular opinion in AB, but..............

whatever changes they make/have made, if it creates trophy Walleye fisheries, I'm all in. Just a personal thing, but could not care less about pike (lure stealers, at best...) and whitefish (purely a food fish, IMO) and just want more quality Walleye fishing. Whatever it takes...

And I could care less about walleye and would rather see trophy pike but I respect that fisherman have different wants so believe there should be waters managed with the different goals in mind

The fact of the matter both species need a solid forage base to create trophy waters and over stocking depleting forage is a negative for both species

[pikeman06]

Originally Posted by Poppa

I know this is an unpopular opinion in AB, but..............

whatever changes they make/have made, if it creates trophy Walleye fisheries, I'm all in. Just a personal thing, but could not care less about pike (lure stealers, at best...) and whitefish (purely a food fish, IMO) and just want more quality Walleye fishing. Whatever it takes...

And you go to B.C and they treat walleye as an invasive species and in the bush they go if trout is your thing. I have no use for walleyes either. Grew up in a time where big fat perch were what everyone wanted and kids could fish them off the docks and bridges and the adults fished for jackfish and caught the odd walleye. As said its all a matter of opinion.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Poppa

I know this is an unpopular opinion in AB, but..............

whatever changes they make/have made, if it creates trophy Walleye fisheries, I'm all in. Just a personal thing, but could not care less about pike (lure stealers, at best...) and whitefish (purely a food fish, IMO) and just want more quality Walleye fishing. Whatever it takes...

For what it’s worth almost all the 30+ inch walleye I have ever seen were from waters that allowed at least some retention. This stock millions of walleye, don’t allow retention meanwhile those walleye eat everything in the lake process f&w has tried it seems leads to stunted walleye. Too many walleye destroys the forage base (perch and whitefish) and along with it their chances of growing big. Along the way they really hurt pike numbers as I believe walleye hatch a bit before pike and one of walleye fry’s more important food sources are pike fry. Too many walleye means not enough pike and the cycle worsens. It’s always all about balance and throwing the system off by overstocking then not allowing retention for decades destroys any semblance of balance

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Poppa

I know this is an unpopular opinion in AB, but..............

whatever changes they make/have made, if it creates trophy Walleye fisheries, I'm all in. Just a personal thing, but could not care less about pike (lure stealers, at best...) and whitefish (purely a food fish, IMO) and just want more quality Walleye fishing. Whatever it takes...

Tie on a rubber boot and reel it up and drop it back down over and over. Better fight than a pickerel.

[kouleerunner]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

Tie on a rubber boot and reel it up and drop it back down over and over. Better fight than a pickerel.

Why do we have to hate on what kind of fishing others like to do? I see this way to many times on this forum.
I've caught all different Kinds of fish, suckers to sturgeon, I love catching fish of all kinds. I love to fish.
Period. What kind of fish depends on the waters I have access to! We are all part of the angling family. Let's stop bashing what kind of fish others want to catch, for any reason. Let's focus on the real problem....... Access and opportunity! We keep losing both!

That's the battle!!

[Smoky buck]

Regardless of what species one prefers seeing an increase in forage species is a good thing

[kouleerunner]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Regardless of what species one prefers seeing an increase in forage species is a good thing

I agree 100%. Stock forage! All species will thrive!

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by kouleerunner

I agree 100%. Stock forage! All species will thrive!

Definitely agree in sticking forage but you will always have dominant species unless it’s a large body of water with varied habitat

Over stocking predator species with full protection and only allowing harvest of game fish species that are also important forage is clearly a fail though

Hopefully the minnow species are rebounding because in my opinion this is more important than an increase in whitefish and perch fry

[501s]

I've been fishing Sylvan solid for almost 20 years. When I first moved here and started fishing it we used to catch Large pike on the regular. Snapped off to many to count. It used to be a pretty even spread of Walleye, Pike, Whites and Burbot.


Over the years it seemed like more and more all you would catch is Walleye. We caught thousands over the years and released every single one of them. Some nights it was like cheating. I caught many over the years that were infested with tiny little worms too. Kinda gross.

Then a few years ago they closed Pike and opened up Walleye and we have seen the Lake start to make a big change again. We hardly catch Walleye like we used too, but this winter we were catching tons of little perch, and the Pike are recovering and growing.

Nothing stays the same. I liked catching tons of Walleye with the kids but I also loved targeting giant Pike. Finding the balance is the tough part.

[I’d rather be outdoors]

Originally Posted by kouleerunner

I agree 100%. Stock forage! All species will thrive!

I’ve been saying this for years!!

[Jaylive]

I used to be upset about the walleye slaughter on Sylvan, but after this ice season my opinion has also changed.

Tons of perch! Kid loves fishing now, wants to go everyday
. The walleye are still there, just not everywhere like before, usually around those active schools of perch. They are fat! And healthy, great to see compared to the big heads and small body's like before.

Whitefish well...I barley thumped this year as I avoid the crowds. Discovered a incredible bite, and notice while cleaning some for the table that they are full of minnows!

I also noticed incredible bait clouds at times, felt like I was looking at my graph on Cold Lake!

Excited for the future, what a great season!

Cheers fellas!

[Mark]

Yes the lake is achieving a working sort of balance!!
Predators and prey are in check and it seems like everything is thriving.
I wish F&W would take the same approach on other lakes as the have on Sylvan. A lot lakes are over populated protected walleye and the other species have really suffered!