BROOKS April 19 , Fishing Meeting

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Newellknik

The reason ,the Alberta Govt version of put and take
Does not work according to them ; is that as usual
They do a half azzed job. 5 states south of us , Idaho
Montana , N & S Dakota , Minnesota have been putting
And taking Walleyes for years . Today they have a fantastic
Fishery . But they do it right .
The statement that you don't want an Alberta Govt to
waste your money makes you certifiable . It's what they
do best . There are just to many dippers on here now
to have a rational discussion . The reason , they believe
their own BS , and quote it like its biblical.

Hmmm, are you a dipper? lol.
Appears to be hard for some to be rational. You might be angry but Im not. Not angry

How much do those States spend? How much of a budget do they have? How much water do they have? How many fishermen? What are they stocking? What are the effects of their stocking programs? Are they effective.

Plus you do realize that Just one large water body from each of those States has more water than all of southern Alberta combined. Kinda answered the water question for you.

Anyway, no point in discussing with you when you are angry and Im so irrational.

[calgarygringo]

So a little work on the internet and I came up with a few things our 2 neighbours to the east and the one to the south are doing in their stocking programs to make a better fishing experience. I know we can't do Manitoba numbers or we will choke the lakes but it shows how much money and effort these places are putting into their fishery. So much for our rich province and maybe taking some tips from others. They also stock trout as well so they need to be added to the walleye for a total amount stocked.

An older publication (Good Read) shows stocking and good reasoning from around North America. https://www.mffp.gouv.qc.ca/faune/pe.../Pdf/dores.pdf

Montana-
Management
Because many reservoirs have relatively little natural walleye spawning habitat, FWP rears and stocks about 40 million walleyes each year. Roughly 90 percent of these are mosquito-sized fry. Biologists take care to not overstock reservoirs, which can cause stunted growth. The new hatchery at Fort Peck Lake will boost FWP’s ability to rear and stock walleyes.
“Managing walleyes in reservoirs is extremely difficult,” says Dave Yerk, FWP fisheries biologist in Choteau. “Water levels are constantly in flux, and it’s nearly impossible to keep the right balance between prey and predator species. We do our best, but we hope anglers understand that a lot of major factors affecting the size of walleye populations, such as drought, are simply beyond our control.” http://fwp.mt.gov/fip/plan/plan_input.action


Manitoba- I stopped counting around 20 million walleye fry but feel free to count them all. https://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardsh.../stock2015.pdf


Saskatchewan- Around 11 million for them last year.
http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/adx....pdf&l=English

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by wind drift

Info from Fisheries:
Average walleye catch rates at Lac Ste. Anne:
1984 - 13 walleye per 100 hours fishing
1995 - 14 walleye per 100 hours
2001 - 8 walleye per 100 hours

Moose Lk. 1986 - 12 walleye per 100 hours
Cold Lake 1986 - 2 walleye per 100 hours
Baptiste Lake 1984 - 5 walleye per 100 hours
Wolf Lake 1988 - 5 walleye per 100 hours...

I may have exaggerated for some lakes, but on average, it used to suck. Bad. It's waaay better now.

Stocking didn't recover those walleye populations. Keeping fish from leaving the lake did. Ask the bios why put-and-take walleye stocking isn't done in Alberta. They'll tell you it used to be, for many years, but was evaluated and abandoned for being costly with poor results. Stocked fish had poor survival and spawning success. Putting stocked fish on top of existing populations didn't produce desired results, so the walleye stocking program was redirected to restoring lost or nearly lost populations, like Pigeon, Lac la Biche and Wabamun, with the approach being to stock them intensively for multiple years in a row and then monitor for spawning success. Alberta does have a walleye stocking program, I think it's just become more focused and effective. Like any specialty tool, it's not used all the time, but it's the right one for the specific job. I'm happy to not see walleye stocking waste my money.

Just curious if you fished any of the lakes you listed. I fished St. Anne quite a bit through all the years you have listed and I would say those numbers would be fish/hour not per 100 hours. Stocking did not recover those populations I agree, but is closing a lake to retention for more than 10 years a good management plan........not IMO.

Also wondering why you think Sk. has quite an extensive stocking program and has for years, if it is a waste. Have a look at their keep limits on many lakes, 3-5 walleye per day, and many of those lakes have had those limits for years. They have many more lakes than us and a much lower population but continue to stock walleye..........would you not conclude that they believe and have actually proven it is money well spent?

Google walleye rearing ponds in Sk. a program started and funded by their Fish and Game clubs but monitored by their F/W for raising walleye to fingerling size in aerated ponds. Stocking success was If I recall in the 50% range compared to the 3-5% for fry. This program was introduced to F/W at a Fisheries roundtable meeting I was at, and was dismissed by F/W at the meeting as they stated they did have the staff to monitor such a program????????

[bowness]

I believe that managing a fishery is not simple. Many variables fluctuate and some can have more impact on a fishery than even the educated biologists can interpret. Remember that a biologist takes what scant data he can compile with limited resources and extrapolates from that. Then there is an attempt to formulate a management plan.

I often question their choices and I have the same feelings around the last minute regulation changes from a retention of 3 pike to none in a very short time span (on Newell it was over 2-3 years).

As for the tag system being another "tax", so be it. By the time I add up my boat, truck, trailer, gas, repairs, maintenance etc. is another 20$ such a big deal? Look to BC and the cost of buying an out of province license to fish and retain. We don't have the quality fisheries here but its nowhere near the cost.

I would welcome a larger tag system for pike and walleye in southern Alberta lakes if it meant I could eat the odd fish. If you don't want to eat one don't apply for a tag.