Sad state of affairs

[Elk Chaser]

This province is in dire need of a walleye hatchery program. I think that the tag system is a tax. What do we get from these taxes? Not much. There seems to be the mind set that fishing doesn't bring much benefit to our province, someone is wrong. I do know that people will go other provinces to fish. i am lucky, Sask. is just next door and I now go there for my walleye fishing, that means that I am spending my fishing dollars somewhere else.

Hey Alberta get your s*** together and start a better walleye stocking program.

[35 whelen]

Just came from MANITOBA fishing trip will be spending my fishing money there .

[Sledin]

Originally Posted by 35 whelen

Just came from MANITOBA fishing trip will be spending my fishing money there .

I’m in Manitoba, my favourite lake is Lake of the Woods in Ontario.

Grass is always greener on the other side



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[58thecat]

And stop being slobs out there....just because you can keep it doesn't mean you have to....we as outdoors people need to govern our actions too....it's a joint effort not just point fingers and lay blame as we slaughter our own back yard....accountability is all of our responsibility not just one side....but today's society likes to point fingers, lay blame and carry on with cell phone in hand while sipping on a timmies.....

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

And stop being slobs out there....just because you can keep it doesn't mean you have to....we as outdoors people need to govern our actions too....it's a joint effort not just point fingers and lay blame as we slaughter our own back yard....accountability is all of our responsibility not just one side....but today's society likes to point fingers, lay blame and carry on with cell phone in hand while sipping on a timmies.....

We aren’t given the chance to be slobs here in Alberta, unless you think keeping one walleye in a fishing trip is being a slob. You live at the lake so it’s easy to say people are slobs, but for those who spend $300 on a day out fishing, and they do it maybe 6 times a year, wanting to keep 2 or three fish every trip isn’t being a slob.


I agree, alberta has the most pathetic fish management team in the country, possibly in all North America.

So far in the past 2 years my family’s total walleye retention count is 9 from Alberta, 8 from Saskatchewan, I’d like to see that number triple or quadruple. At quadruple that would be about 17 walleye per person, say round it up to 20, that works out to less than 1 meal a month, far from what would be considered slobs.

I refuse to take part in the scam our fish management team has come up with selling tags..... what a pathetic solution. What these idiots are doing is destroying the lakes that still allow retention by putting extreme pressure on them. It won’t be long before they succeed in destroying all our lakes so they can sell tags on all walleye lakes, what a great way to build bonus funds for a job well done in creating revenue.

Rumor has it that the plan is to have all retention limited to indigenous harvest which will then in turn be sold to Canadians. They’ll still offer limited tags to keep the revenue flowing though, they need the carrot on the string to keep the cash horse running. Somehow there isn’t enough walleye in our lakes for anglers to retain their catch but there’s enough that aboriginal harvesters can net the lakes and sell us some, as much as we want to buy, no limit$.

[highwood]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

We aren’t given the chance to be slobs here in Alberta, unless you think keeping one walleye in a fishing trip is being a slob. You live at the lake so it’s easy to say people are slobs, but for those who spend $300 on a day out fishing, and they do it maybe 6 times a year, wanting to keep 2 or three fish every trip isn’t being a slob.


I agree, alberta has the most pathetic fish management team in the country, possibly in all North America.

So far in the past 2 years my family’s total walleye retention count is 9 from Alberta, 8 from Saskatchewan, I’d like to see that number triple or quadruple. At quadruple that would be about 17 walleye per person, say round it up to 20, that works out to less than 1 meal a month, far from what would be considered slobs.

I refuse to take part in the scam our fish management team has come up with selling tags..... what a pathetic solution. What these idiots are doing is destroying the lakes that still allow retention by putting extreme pressure on them. It won’t be long before they succeed in destroying all our lakes so they can sell tags on all walleye lakes, what a great way to build bonus funds for a job well done in creating revenue.

Rumor has it that the plan is to have all retention limited to indigenous harvest which will then in turn be sold to Canadians. They’ll still offer limited tags to keep the revenue flowing though, they need the carrot on the string to keep the cash horse running. Somehow there isn’t enough walleye in our lakes for anglers to retain their catch but there’s enough that aboriginal harvesters can net the lakes and sell us some, as much as we want to buy, no limit$.

Care to show some proof of this "Rumor"?

[Jamie Black R/T]

Originally Posted by highwood

Care to show some proof of this "Rumor"?

If there is proof, is it still a rumor?

I heard this recently too...example given was the exact same thing happening in northern Saskatchewan. You can buy walleye, pike and lake trout fillets at most co-op grocery stores now.

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by Jamie Black R/T

If there is proof, is it still a rumor?

I heard this recently too...example given was the exact same thing happening in northern Saskatchewan. You can buy walleye, pike and lake trout fillets at most co-op grocery stores now.

You beat me to it.

[ssyd]

Originally Posted by Jamie Black R/T

If there is proof, is it still a rumor?

I heard this recently too...example given was the exact same thing happening in northern Saskatchewan. You can buy walleye, pike and lake trout fillets at most co-op grocery stores now.

At $30 for a fillet I'll pass.

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by highwood

Care to show some proof of this "Rumor"?

What would you consider proof? How does one “prove” a rumor? By definition a rumor is an uncertain truth.

I’ll give you an example of why the rumors seem to make sense. With retention being near zero for licensed anglers, here’s a great way to enjoy wild Canadian walleye.

https://www.saskmade.ca/collections/...ishery/walleye

[highwood]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

What would you consider proof? How does one “prove” a rumor? By definition a rumor is an uncertain truth.

I’ll give you an example of why the rumors seem to make sense. With retention being near zero for licensed anglers, here’s a great way to enjoy wild Canadian walleye.

https://www.saskmade.ca/collections/...ishery/walleye

Excellent, thanks

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

What would you consider proof?

(I am sorry... Couldn't resist...)

[Jamie Black R/T]

further proof would only be a short drive away to any of the northern lakes recently closed to retention to licensed anglers. I hear that test netting showed poor recruitment. But this is from a government that needs 5 years to build a bridge that would be done in 8 months in the states. How efficient is the test netting program? how much money is actually put into research on our lakes?

Every single one of those lakes was netted through the winter...some of which are still out there full of dead rotting fish, one even had a dead river otter in it.

But yeah...sport fishing is too hard on fish stocks

I agree with the OP....fisheries is very low the Alberta priority totem pole...it is in fact....Sad.

[dustinjoels]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

We aren’t given the chance to be slobs here in Alberta, unless you think keeping one walleye in a fishing trip is being a slob. You live at the lake so it’s easy to say people are slobs, but for those who spend $300 on a day out fishing, and they do it maybe 6 times a year, wanting to keep 2 or three fish every trip isn’t being a slob.


I agree, alberta has the most pathetic fish management team in the country, possibly in all North America.

So far in the past 2 years my family’s total walleye retention count is 9 from Alberta, 8 from Saskatchewan, I’d like to see that number triple or quadruple. At quadruple that would be about 17 walleye per person, say round it up to 20, that works out to less than 1 meal a month, far from what would be considered slobs.

I refuse to take part in the scam our fish management team has come up with selling tags..... what a pathetic solution. What these idiots are doing is destroying the lakes that still allow retention by putting extreme pressure on them. It won’t be long before they succeed in destroying all our lakes so they can sell tags on all walleye lakes, what a great way to build bonus funds for a job well done in creating revenue.

Rumor has it that the plan is to have all retention limited to indigenous harvest which will then in turn be sold to Canadians. They’ll still offer limited tags to keep the revenue flowing though, they need the carrot on the string to keep the cash horse running. Somehow there isn’t enough walleye in our lakes for anglers to retain their catch but there’s enough that aboriginal harvesters can net the lakes and sell us some, as much as we want to buy, no limit$.

20 walleye per angler is not sustainable in Alberta. That’s 6 million walleye per year harvested if every licensed angler took 20. And 90% would be concentrated on under 50 lakes throughout the province. That’s 120,000 walleye per lake to keep up with your demand. And this doesn’t take into account FN harvest.

Personally I think 80 walleye for a family of 4 is a bit glutinous whether it be a license owning family or FN.

Set the limits at what the lakes can handle and apply to all races. This will never happen so in my opinion, there’s no point spending money to stock walleye for FN to have exclusive rights to net.

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by dustinjoels

20 walleye per angler is not sustainable in Alberta. That’s 6 million walleye per year harvested if every licensed angler took 20. And 90% would be concentrated on under 50 lakes throughout the province. That’s 120,000 walleye per lake to keep up with your demand. And this doesn’t take into account FN harvest.

Personally I think 80 walleye for a family of 4 is a bit glutinous whether it be a license owning family or FN.

Set the limits at what the lakes can handle and apply to all races. This will never happen so in my opinion, there’s no point spending money to stock walleye for FN to have exclusive rights to net.

Go back and re-read my post, the number I posted was over a two year period. The way our fisheries are set up, all the Alberta licensed anglers only have a small handful of lakes to retain walleye, how long do you think those lakes will last? A slot size on 90% of the walleye lakes would help all the lakes.

And you consider 80 fish over a 2 year period glutinous??? Lol! Two fish per meal, 40 meals of fish out of a possible 730 meals (lunch or supper)......

Do you work for the esrd?

[Mr. Twister]

I was just at touchwood and the fishing was junk, its ridiculous how you can have a larger lake with good structure not produce solid fish with good numbers. A guy has to wonder how the fishing may improve if the netting stopped at that lake.

Why isn't lac la Biche opened up to keep ? that lake is over run with walleye

[dustinjoels]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

Go back and re-read my post, the number I posted was over a two year period. The way our fisheries are set up, all the Alberta licensed anglers only have a small handful of lakes to retain walleye, how long do you think those lakes will last? A slot size on 90% of the walleye lakes would help all the lakes.

And you consider 80 fish over a 2 year period glutinous??? Lol! Two fish per meal, 40 meals of fish out of a possible 730 meals (lunch or supper)......

Do you work for the esrd?

My mistake. I read it as 20 walleye each per year. Which if the fishery could support like in sask, by all means, fill your boots. Unfortunately our fisheries can’t support that amount.

I still stand behind my stance that stocking walleye is a waste of money unless they close FN netting. Which won’t happen. So why spend tax dollars on stocking programs for FN retention. We are on the same side (closing FN netting and “subsistence” fishing). But throwing money at the problem so that guys can keep a few walleye is a waste of resources in my opinion.

I’d rather see dollars go to trout programs. At least they won’t just end up in FN nets. And I rarely fish for trout.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

We aren’t given the chance to be slobs here in Alberta, unless you think keeping one walleye in a fishing trip is being a slob. You live at the lake so it’s easy to say people are slobs, but for those who spend $300 on a day out fishing, and they do it maybe 6 times a year, wanting to keep 2 or three fish every trip isn’t being a slob.


I agree, alberta has the most pathetic fish management team in the country, possibly in all North America.

So far in the past 2 years my family’s total walleye retention count is 9 from Alberta, 8 from Saskatchewan, I’d like to see that number triple or quadruple. At quadruple that would be about 17 walleye per person, say round it up to 20, that works out to less than 1 meal a month, far from what would be considered slobs.

I refuse to take part in the scam our fish management team has come up with selling tags..... what a pathetic solution. What these idiots are doing is destroying the lakes that still allow retention by putting extreme pressure on them. It won’t be long before they succeed in destroying all our lakes so they can sell tags on all walleye lakes, what a great way to build bonus funds for a job well done in creating revenue.

Rumor has it that the plan is to have all retention limited to indigenous harvest which will then in turn be sold to Canadians. They’ll still offer limited tags to keep the revenue flowing though, they need the carrot on the string to keep the cash horse running. Somehow there isn’t enough walleye in our lakes for anglers to retain their catch but there’s enough that aboriginal harvesters can net the lakes and sell us some, as much as we want to buy, no limit$.

I see it "slobs" just taking.....really like it when a call goes I. And the fish cops hang out around the launches....problem is people text real quick and the fish cops gotta keep moving from one area to another....I do agree our guberment has it wrong but like I mentioned we gotta govern ourselves, you and your family having a few legally for a shore lunch does not Impact the numbers it's the ones that take a lot....boat to dock....transfer of fish to a vehicle that just shows up and out they go again...those are the slobs I am talking about....

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

I see it "slobs" just taking.....really like it when a call goes I. And the fish cops hang out around the launches....problem is people text real quick and the fish cops gotta keep moving from one area to another....I do agree our guberment has it wrong but like I mentioned we gotta govern ourselves, you and your family having a few legally for a shore lunch does not Impact the numbers it's the ones that take a lot....boat to dock....transfer of fish to a vehicle that just shows up and out they go again...those are the slobs I am talking about....

I see that with the locals at cold lake who have their shacks on the ice. Catch a fish, shuttle home, 20min later they’re back in the shack.

It’s like any other facet of society, no matter what the law is, there are criminals who break laws.

I was talking with my neighbor just today, his son is high up the ranks of Alberta Fish and Wildlife. He said even his son figures the walleye numbers in most lakes across Alberta are too high and they are eating all the bait fish and in turn killing off the pike populations. Even high ranking officers in the fish and wildlife office see it’s a problem, yet some here don’t get it or refuse to beleive it.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

I was talking with my neighbor just today, his son is high up the ranks of Alberta Fish and Wildlife.

What's his name?

Originally Posted by Kurt505

Even high ranking officers in the fish and wildlife office see it’s a problem, yet some here don’t get it or refuse to beleive it.

If you mean by "some here" as in this forum, meaning other forum members, wouldn't it make more sense for you to talk someone at F&W "high up the ranks"?

[tallieho]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

and stop being slobs out there....just because you can keep it doesn't mean you have to....we as outdoors people need to govern our actions too....it's a joint effort not just point fingers and lay blame as we slaughter our own back yard....accountability is all of our responsibility not just one side....but today's society likes to point fingers, lay blame and carry on with cell phone in hand while sipping on a timmies.....

here here x2

[Bear Ballz]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

and stop being slobs out there....just because you can keep it doesn't mean you have to....we as outdoors people need to govern our actions too....it's a joint effort not just point fingers and lay blame as we slaughter our own back yard....accountability is all of our responsibility not just one side....but today's society likes to point fingers, lay blame and carry on with cell phone in hand while sipping on a timmies.....

^^^^ 👍🏻

[Savage Bacon]

Like someone else stated before, if I'm spending a lot of money to drive for 10-15 hours out of town one way to rent a boat or pay fuel to tow mine and pay for lodging and miss my wages from work while I'm gone, I'm probably going to keep all the fish I can.

I'm probably contradicting myself but now if I fly to a remote lake or river that's catch and release only, I'm fine with that. That's more for the experience of a lifetime I guess you could say.

Now I don't mean going to sk or mb every weekend to net in as many fish as I possibly can. But if I go once every 2 or 3 years, I'm probably going to keep what I can.

I hope I'm not contributing to a problem

[huntsfurfish]

We all have to get our moneys worth.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

We all have to get our moneys worth.

Licence by the pound.

A base of 20 bucks to buy the fishing licence and 3 to 5 bucks a pound for the fish you want to keep, to a maximum of 50 lbs.(live weight) per licence year. Buy poundage allotments for each lake. Poundage draws for some lakes.

A straight 30 buck licence for catch and release anglers, but have a 5 dollar charge for each outing to accommodate hooking mortality. Prepay for so many outings per year or buy as you go.

Senior and kids under 16 licences should not be free in Alberta either. It is not reasonably sustainable and is a loss of revenue to contribute to improving and maintaining the fisheries.

[CMichaud]

Alberta is home to 1,100 fish-bearing bodies of water...the province's potential for fish is small fry compared to Saskatchewan, which has 94,000 fish-bearing water bodies

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...rticle4133924/

Alberta pop: 4.3 Million (2018)

Saskatchewan pop: 1.16 Million (2018)

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by CMichaud

Alberta is home to 1,100 fish-bearing bodies of water...the province's potential for fish is small fry compared to Saskatchewan, which has 94,000 fish-bearing water bodies

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...rticle4133924/

Alberta pop: 4.3 Million (2018)

Saskatchewan pop: 1.16 Million (2018)

Any guess as to the number of lakes each province has that are drivable too? Float planes aside, I’d bet sask may still be more but not as skewed as these numbers present.
I think these numbers presented are moot.
Many lakes in sask get hit hard as well.
Only difference is these lakes seem to weather the onslaught. Superior management?

[Jamie Black R/T]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Any guess as to the number of lakes each province has that are drivable too? Float planes aside, I’d bet sask may still be more but not as skewed as these numbers present.

I think these numbers presented are moot.

Many lakes in sask get hit hard as well.

Only difference is these lakes seem to weather the onslaught. Superior management?

Agreed.

They like to use the fishermen per lake analogy when argueing slot sizes wont work here...but the vast majority of Saskatchewans fishable lakes are not accessible to anyone...those numbers dont work. Like saying 95% of school shootings involve an AR15.....doesnt mention the 99.9% of AR15s that dont shoot up schools.

Im not confident our fisheries money spent is used wisely....i dont think it ever has been. I think that entire department needs an overhaul...maybe with outside help from a similar jurisdiction that has similar pressure on there lakes and still manages sustainable stocks. Using....you guessed it....slot sizes and split seasons.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[huntsfurfish]

I think you will find much of Albertas water in the North as well. And if you didnt count the Southern Reservoirs it would be much worse.

Most water South of Red Deer are Reservoirs excluding rivers and a few lakes, with some lakes in the mountain areas of that same area.

[cube]

Originally Posted by Elk Chaser

This province is in dire need of a walleye hatchery program. I think that the tag system is a tax. What do we get from these taxes? Not much. There seems to be the mind set that fishing doesn't bring much benefit to our province, someone is wrong. I do know that people will go other provinces to fish. i am lucky, Sask. is just next door and I now go there for my walleye fishing, that means that I am spending my fishing dollars somewhere else.

Hey Alberta get your s*** together and start a better walleye stocking program.

I know a lot of people think that stocking walleye would be easy but it is really not. Stocking trout into land locked lakes is very easy in comparison.

Just a couple of factors

Walleye do not do well in hatcheries and other methods have to be used which are much more labor intensive/expensive.

Because I imagine your not suggesting stocking walleye into land locked pot hole lakes, like the trout we now stock out, as walleye would not survive in these high temperature shallow water cess pools, one would have to carefully manage the genetics of the fish involved. If not one could end up with bad cases of Outbreeding Depression. This has already been suggested as one of the possible causes as to the poor out come on Lac La Biche.

Another problem that comes from stocking is disease spread. This is an area that Alberta is pretty much famous for. There probably is nothing better at spreading disease than moving large numbers of animals around. Whirling disease may turn out to be just the latest case of this as the jury is still out as to where it originated in Alberta.

So Stocking programs can be successful but one needs to be very careful when stocking into natural water bodies.