Netting on pigeon lake?

ROAD HAMMER · #1 12-29-2009, 07:47 PM

I was just wondering if people still run their gill nets on pigeon lake anymore?

curt7mm · #2 12-30-2009, 12:06 AM

They shut it down several years ago, however there was talk last year of reopeninng the netting season, but when, I don't know. Somebody here may have more info on this topic

Penner · #3 12-30-2009, 08:12 AM

Contrary to wide spread propaganda and popular believe, the Whitefish population has actually increased in Pigeon over the past several years. The Walleye have not eaten everything in the lake and thanks primarily to the closing of the commercial fishery several years ago.

My understanding is that SRD will open up a small test commercial netting this January to see how things go. The netting is to target Whitefish only but there is always a incidental catch of Pike and Walleye. This is where the concern lies. The Pike cannot sustain any incidental catch in Pigeon and the Walleye a very small percentage so if the incidental catch of Pike and Walleye comes in at higher percentage than what SRD would like, SRD will most likely shut commercial netting back down.

Personally I do NOT want to see any commercial fishing in Alberta let alone Pigeon lake. Commercial fishing harvests too many fish it a very short period of time which in turn diminishes the quality of the fishery and hence our recreational angling experience. Commercial fishing brings in little revenue and no tourism and can’t hold a candle to the spin-offs recreational angling generates. We should be beyond commercial fishing days in this province.

It’s a very bad idea and commercial fishing should be outlawed in our province as we have very few fish bearing waters as it is. Perhaps maintain a commercial fishery in lakes that a very prone to winterkills like Utikama and such.

Rockymtnx · #4 01-06-2010, 12:19 PM

Just confrimed this last night, there will be NO NETTING ON PIGEON this winter!

Bear Ballz · #5 01-06-2010, 07:29 PM

Good news, thanks for the update Rocky

mooseknuckle · #6 01-06-2010, 07:56 PM

I heard netting in buck lake? I initially thought BS however it's close to pigeon and it's happened before could there possibly netting in buck? I really don't see it but ...?

Wulfespirit · #7 01-06-2010, 07:58 PM

I'm about 99% sure there is commercial netting going on in Buck. It's one of the few lakes in the area that commercial permits are issued.

In past years, it had a habit of throwing off the fishing for awhile.

Rainbow · #8 01-06-2010, 08:03 PM

Yes they are commercial netting Buck Lake.They just set their nets today.
I don't know yet how many kilos they are allowed to pull.

fishunter77 · #9 01-06-2010, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainbow

Yes they are commercial netting Buck Lake.They just set their nets today.
I don't know yet how many kilos they are allowed to pull.

Thats too bad. I think they are killing the fisheries we have left.

The average fisherman puts a ton of money and time just to get out and have some fun. Most are great sportsman and release quite a few for our kids to catch and release.

I fished Goodfish last winter and caught a few perch. We tried for 3 days and did not see any schools of perch or Walleye. However we saw about 7 nets in the water.

Just my 2 cents.

nicemustang · #10 01-07-2010, 09:24 AM

Does this apply to the native indians (or native americans) as well? Last year we saw a whole crew of them netting in a prime walleye spot. Makes me a little upset that it's ok for them to do that.

Wulfespirit · #11 01-07-2010, 09:29 AM

It doesn't apply to natives - they don't require permits for netting.

You're not the only one upset about it.

nicemustang · #12 01-07-2010, 09:45 AM

Sigh. All that work to "protect the fishery" isn't going to work unless everyone is on the same page.

Wulfespirit · #13 01-07-2010, 09:49 AM

I think that's well understood by SRD. But due to various political motivations, I doubt we'll see anything done to change the current rules in our lifetime.

When coming up with regulations, I think SRD tries to account for native netting as best as they can. It can throw a lake for a loop though when it goes from being sparsely netted to heavily netted without warning.

BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES · #14 01-07-2010, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicemustang

Does this apply to the native indians (or native americans) as well? Last year we saw a whole crew of them netting in a prime walleye spot. Makes me a little upset that it's ok for them to do that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wulfespirit

It doesn't apply to natives - they don't require permits for netting.

You're not the only one upset about it.

I say let them net , get rid of some of them undersized walleye , Take some numbers out , and maybe increase the chances of hooking into a lunker that use and still lurk those waters but not nearly as common as say 10 or 15 years ago .I strictly fish Catch and release , the tagging system is a joke , but I will keep the odd pike and perch .

Wulfespirit · #15 01-07-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIGBADJOHN

I say let them net , get rid of some of them undersized walleye , Take some numbers out , and maybe increase the chances of hooking into a lunker that use and still lurk those waters but not nearly as common as say 10 or 15 years ago .I strictly fish Catch and release , the tagging system is a joke , but I will keep the odd pike and perch .

The problem is its uncontrolled - completely. The numbers, species, and sizes of fish coming out could be almost anything. And if a lake keeps getting netted hard, alot more fish could come out than would be healthy.

Also I'm no gill netting specialist and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but larger fish are alot more likely to get caught than smaller ones that can get through the net.

cujo1969 · #16 01-07-2010, 01:46 PM

Buck lake they are allowed
20000kg whitefish
250kg pike perch and walleye.
I have the regs.

Piker · #17 01-07-2010, 07:55 PM

When I was with the local f&g assoc. I had many run ins with Fish and wildlife as it was called then. The only good or bad argument they had that whitefish were a renewable resource and had to be netted or they would overload the lakes. All in all it takes time to fish them out by netting but can be done. They dont net Chin,Stafford and some of the smaller reservoirs. The only one close to here is Sherburne and the amt and size have been decreasing. Piker

fishunter77 · #18 01-07-2010, 09:25 PM

I think they are doing more harm than good.

I see a ton of nets on collapsed lakes. This has to stop. A few nets at Hanmore have been floating in the spring time with rotting fish. What a waste.

fishunter77 · #19 01-07-2010, 09:30 PM

Just another quick question. I have never seen them pull out the nets. How many fish per pull are we talking about? Species, size, etc.

Has anyone stood around to watch the nets being taken out?

dryflyguy · #20 01-11-2010, 04:55 PM

My grandfather had a commercial license for one net on Pigeon Lake. He got it from his uncle years ago and netted every year he had the license until it was stopped a few years back. I had the privelage of going with him a couple times as a teenager and saw first hand how it was all done. We would access the lake from the provincial park and walk out onto the ice until we were in ~25' of water. We would drill 4 holes in a square and chop it out with axes to have a large access to the water. This was repeated at the other end, to equal the length of the net. We had a rig attached to the net that would grab the ice from underneath and "crawl" across to the other hole where it was anchored. After setting the nets, we would go home and return the next day to pull first thing in the morning, re-set the nets and pull again after lunch. I dont recall any exact numbers of fish but the whitefish were easily in the hundreds with jacks, walleye and suckers making up a fraction of the take. It was definitely an interesting experience. One year we got a walleye that was 11 lbs/34" so my grandfather had it mounted. It was a beautiful fish. Haven't been back to Pigeon since the perch fishing collapsed, any news on how it's come back?

ROAD HAMMER · #21 01-31-2010, 10:38 PM

Was out on peigon earlyer today and seen some natives netting they were netting whitefish they had quite a few with some huge ones and a few small walleye and ling but they caught over 20 suckers they think the suckers are spawning and all the whites stomach were full of eggs they were eating.

lifesaflyin · #22 01-31-2010, 10:49 PM

i'll blame the crappy fishing today on them then.lol

duffy4 · #23 02-01-2010, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wulfespirit

The problem is its uncontrolled - completely. The numbers, species, and sizes of fish coming out could be almost anything. And if a lake keeps getting netted hard, alot more fish could come out than would be healthy.

Also I'm no gill netting specialist and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but larger fish are alot more likely to get caught than smaller ones that can get through the net.

Natives are supposed to get a "domestic net licence". They acquire this from a Fish & Wildlife office in the region where the lake is and so there is some control and monitoring of this.

ddddd05 · #24 02-01-2010, 12:48 AM

I would like to start a petition to stop comercial fishing in Alberta. Like many on this thread has said it steals fish from the recreational angler and profits from them. Our fish populations are under enough stress as it is. The natives should still be allowed to net, but people profiting from a comunal resource should not be allowed.

I do not know how to start a petition but I am going to look into it.

big · #25 02-01-2010, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddddd05

I would like to start a petition to stop comercial fishing in Alberta. Like many on this thread has said it steals fish from the recreational angler and profits from them. Our fish populations are under enough stress as it is. The natives should still be allowed to net, but people profiting from a comunal resource should not be allowed.

I do not know how to start a petition but I am going to look into it.

i disagree, natives should not be allowed to net. i don't have a problem with profit. i have a problem with our fisheries going down the drain.

on the birhgt side most of em are on the bottle which keeps em off the lakes

Dale S · #26 02-01-2010, 09:38 AM

it is a know fact,just ask any f&g officer there are more walleye and pike pouch out these lakes by so called sport fishing anglers than the quota of walleye or pike on any lake if the f&g officer would watch anglers as much as they watch commercial fishing there would be more fish these whitefish in theselakes were stocked by the railroad many years ago to feed the workers building the railroad they have been commercial fishing in alberta for 100 years the only other change we have had is more sport fishing think about it

sdimedru · #27 02-01-2010, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dago

it is a know fact,just ask any f&g officer there are more walleye and pike pouch out these lakes by so called sport fishing anglers than the quota of walleye or pike on any lake if the f&g officer would watch anglers as much as they watch commercial fishing there would be more fish these whitefish in theselakes were stocked by the railroad many years ago to feed the workers building the railroad they have been commercial fishing in alberta for 100 years the only other change we have had is more sport fishing think about it

you should edit your post one more time

reason? so I don't get a headache trying to understand your super sentence!

In my opinion, no netting should be allowed by natives or commercial outfits unless the lake is strong, fish are plentiful and the system can support it. If there is even the tiniest bit of doubt, all netting should be stopped... it's not worth the risk

Dale S · #28 02-01-2010, 10:38 AM

Commercail fishing is a big role determining if the lake in good shap. There are biologists on the with the comm. fishermen at all times.They count every fish that comes out of the lake.And by there special fish formulas they figure out how many fish are in the lake. When the fish count is out one way or another they do close it down. T hats what hapend at Piegoin lake,thay caught to many walleye.This also helps them in there determining if its a stable lake for sport fishing.

shorthair ptr. · #29 02-01-2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockymtnx

Just confrimed this last night, there will be NO NETTING ON PIGEON this winter!

I was there all day yesterday near the PP and there was one net just to the north of the ramp. Later a group came out and pulled/reset it. Looks like they headed further north on the lake, maybe setting another? The fishing sucked by the way.

Rockymtnx · #30 02-01-2010, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shorthair ptr.

I was there all day yesterday near the PP and there was one net just to the north of the ramp. Later a group came out and pulled/reset it. Looks like they headed further north on the lake, maybe setting another? The fishing sucked by the way.

This would not have been regular folk. This would have been people with special hunting and fishing rights.