Improving Alberta's fisheries?

[SNAPFisher]

I hope the actual people in charge do not argue like I've seen on this forum on these kind of topics. Nothing would ever get done. It seems a bit of irony to me that members complain about the state of AB fishing but can't agree on one idea or another to improve it. And then question why...

By the way, I'm not throwing my hat in as a some kind of expert. I'm just a guy who likes fishing.

If the tag system really costs more to implement than the tags themselves, that would be a great reason to scrap it. However, there are no facts here to support this. Probably worth finding out from those in the know what really is happening with costs.

Setting aside other species and talking about walleye for this,
I know others like Ravyak are not in favor of the tag system. I can understand many of the reasons. Even though I don't often agree with him very often, I do see some points being made. I do agree that a sustainable harvest is possible properly managed and in certain areas. That is already the case in NB1 though. There are some lakes with a 1 walleye limit and some with tags already. This might just be fine as is... or maybe other lakes can support a limit of 1 again for a limited time and size class, depending on the lake. After all it is about limiting the amount taken with or without tags - so are we not really just talking about the same thing anyways? No? Just differing on the logistics of putting a stupid metal thing on a fish and trying to put some dumb sticker overtop, or, setting a 1 fish limit on a certain size class for very specific dates - differing by lake. Seems like the same thing to me in terms of management and nothing to bicker over. In my opinion.

The other thing is members jumping on this meeting that happened that it was some kind of meeting of an anti-fishing cult or something. I wasn't there but I don't hear anyone else on here was either. So judging a discussion based on that or by some friend of a friend who went seems pretty pointless. Having owned a cabin in that area for 15 years and fished it all my life, talking with many anglers in the area, I would imagine the frustration is highest around those lakes that are in danger of a complete die off. And there are many that has happened to and no doubt many to come. The frustration I hear from anglers in that area is that there was zero harvest and the fish died anyways...all of them. Like Vincent for example. They tried the 3 week, 1 walleye any size, pilot the one year. The next year major winter kill and all species including walleye were floating. Similar thing at Upper Mann, Lower Mann, Chicken Hill, Floatingstone, etc, etc etc. So, I'll bet the frustration started with lack of harvest on lakes like these and the fish died off, or greatly reduced depending on which lake. Seems like a waste to me too and it would have been nice to see more harvested by people. Again, I wasn't there but I don't think there is leap in what I'm thinking.

I'm good with the tag system if the costs are sustainable but I would certainly not ignore other ideas like C&R to a certain point and then a limited harvest. I certainly wouldn't miss the actual tags themselves...water and stickers sometimes do not mix that well

I've definitely droned on enough here but hopefully got some points in. The weather is about to turn for the better. Cold temps, wet, that suddenly turn warm like it is about too usually means the best bug hatches fall has to offer. F-it! I'm going fishing

[Penner]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Those fwin parameters are a joke. If you can't catch a bunch of walleye at Winefred you don't have a clue how to fish plain and simple. It is one of the easiest walleye lakes I have fished, not amazing numbers like say Pigeon can be but still tons of fish and you can easily catch them almost everywhere on the lake not even just at the prime locations.

Just because a person catches a whole bunch of "Walleye" in a water body does not necessarily mean the population is stable. A healthy population consists of a diverse spread of the population across all age classes for any one specific species. When is the last time you caught a 1lb Walleye out of Winefred?

Only 3 options in my opinion....

#1 - 100% C&R all non-stocked species for said water body with a Draw/Tag for non-stocked species system to allow regulated/controlled harvest on those water bodies with stable or vulnerable populations. 100% C&R for collapsed populations.

#2 - Strict possession limits Alberta wide to allow C&K for said water bodies with stable or vulnerable populations. Funding increased allow a re-establishment of a real stocking program for all spices not just salmonids (walleye, pike, perch, lake trout). Funding increased to allow sufficient policing of regulations. 100% C&R all species for said water body with collapsed populations.

#3 - Make lots of big holes, pump full of water, stock fish.

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Penner

When is the last time you caught a 1lb Walleye out of Winefred?

I caught a couple small walleye at Winefred and I have only been there once. They were in deep water while kayaking between spots and I caught them on big lures. I bet if a guy had dropped down something to target them once you found them you would catch a number of them as the small ones school. They probably stick to the deeper water in Winefred because of the few bigger pike that would feed on them in shallower water.

You are probably right that there is a lack of small walleye in comparison to nice size ones though. Hard for small ones to compete with the large population of bigger fish and predators.

The thing with implementing any sort of changes on any lake is that they need to be done wisely and on a lake by lake basis. Winefred would require a slot size, say 1 fish between 50-55 cm. That would allow many people to keep a walleye, leave a healthy population of breeders and allow the young stock to get a better foothold in the lake as it is currently dominated by those 20-24 inch size fish right now.

Slot sizes have been talked about for ages(based on what others have told me) but have barely been tried. Slot seems to make the most sense because you want the small fish to grow up and the big fish to keep breeding. Unfortunately a lot of our lakes lost the good breeding stock and it will take long time to get the good genetics back.

It is all about balance, look at Pigeon lake. Last few years the primary size was class A(50+ cm) and it was hard to catch the smaller fish. They increased tags for the larger fish and that population has now decreased and this year I caught a bunch more class C fish(far more in one trip alone then in multiple trips in past years). Lakes can only hold so many fish before they have to start competing against each other, AEP's FWIN parameters are far too high and once any lake actually meets their stable/trophy status they are usually doing damage to the lake(often by wiping out the pike populations as they did in Pigeon, St Anne and now Wabamun).

[huntsfurfish]

Deleted.

[Penner]

Originally Posted by RavYak

It is all about balance

Agree with that.