Newel Pike limit

[Couleestalker]

Originally Posted by cube

Why don't they make Newell trap net only and reduce the bi-catch rates? eg. Cold Lake Whitefish 50,000 Kg , only 25 Kg for bi-catch species.

They may have used some trap nets this past fall. Traditionally whites are the target species, however i was told by a reliable source that this past fall one of the commercial fisherman brought a friend from Slave Lake area that had a good market for both Walleye and Pike. Incidently this caught fish & wildlife by suprise as both those species got hammered this past fall.

[huntsfurfish]

There appears to be few if any reliable sources.

Trap net was listed with the quotas. Not sure if all or some.

[Winch101]

I am following this thread with some interest.

Does anyone know what one of these netting licences cost .

I know someone who is or was a great proponent of sport fishing

And conservation is now in the fish netting bussiness in northern alberta.

So the govt got someone-biologist to come up with the idea that too

Many white fish w as a bad idea.....so net them out and we wil have more walleyes and pike....game fish .....but in doing so allowed the killing
Of thousands of pounds of walleye and pike the fish they were trying to save.
Sounds like govt to me .....certainly bad management....well we are in alberta
And that's the govt specialty....

As I have indicated on the hunting forum ....we have 40 K members
Just standing around playing switch....while this govt bends you over the old barrel again..

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Originally Posted by davvoe

So why not do like other provinces and keep fish under a certain slot size, why keep the bigger fish that are the spawners , I know Ontario you can catch 3 pike under slot size and allowed 1 over slot size, cant remember the slot sizes off hand, but have talked to many people out there and they cant understand why we keep the fish that are the spawners and release the small ones. They seem to have no problem with fish numbers, and I think it should be tried here as well.

In Alberta we get all sorts of people asking this question . Alberta ha only 800 natural fish bearing lakes: Saskatchewan 94,000. Manitoba 110,000. Ontario 250,000. We also have way greater fishing pressure than any other province .

Here's some numbers from the past few years of licenses sold not including anyone under 16 or over 65 .
253,336 as of March 31, 2012
2010 247,674
2009 265,486
2008 243,856

The problem isn't commercial netting , I once used to think this but with a little reading and information I've learned a few thing . Commercial netting brings stability to a fishery , preventing things like stunting , to many game fish vs feed etc . The angers can't keep that many fish in a year . They have to allow small margin of pike / walleye in those nets as how do you prevent other species from getting in to them they don't . And I'll leave it at that but defenetly have more to say .

So there's some food for thought .

[calgarygringo]

Lots of commercial fishing info here http://srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/F...ngAlberta.aspx

[Dale S]

Originally Posted by calgarygringo

Lots of commercial fishing info here http://srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/F...ngAlberta.aspx

For someone that keeps every keeper you can out of that lake. How many do you catch in a year.Your there almost every weekend with your buddies.

[calgarygringo]

We didnt hang out there every weekend and most of the time only a few or so went home. Wish I could get out every week. Saying that the times I saw lots of people around the island I didnt hear about a lot of fish. I saw and heard just as many at some other spots we went to this winter.

[ken1989]

Tell me about this net that catches whitefish and not pike - never heard of that kind of net. Nets catch all the big fish, any fish that can not swim through the net.

[cube]

Originally Posted by ken1989

Tell me about this net that catches whitefish and not pike - never heard of that kind of net. Nets catch all the big fish, any fish that can not swim through the net.

It's called a "Trap Net". It is not a Gill net. ie the trap net does not ensnare the fish but rather holds them in a large fine mesh box from which you can live release the non targeted species.

"Trap nets sit on the bottom of the lake. They have
long leads or sections of net made up of thick
14-inch mesh that can be as long as 1,250 feet.
These leads are visible to schooling whitefish and
divert the fish into an enclosure called the heart.
The heart has wings or net sections that form a
v-shape and are supported by floats and anchors.
Once inside the heart, fish swim through a tunnel
and become trapped in a box-shaped pot.
Submerged pots range in size from 15 to 40 feet.
Fish trapped in the pot remain alive. To harvest
fish, commercial fishers raise only the pot. White-
fish are dipped out with a long-hand net. Under-
sized whitefish and non target species are returned
to the water unharmed.

Bottom net placement and fish behavior of many
species enables the trap net to be very selective
for whitefish. These nets seldom trap sportfish"

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...to84j96g06ZgyQ

[terriblebear]

Studies have shown that by taking 1 pound of pike/acre you can reduce the average size of pike to a 2 pound average. I think commercial netting plus the sport catch are limiting the size potential of Newell. Of course some fish slip threw the cracks and get bigger. Also, let the whitefish overpopulate and stunt. It would make them better forage for pike. Seibert Lakes whitefish are stunted and it keeps them "bite size" for the pike in that lake.