Alberta VS Sask

[fisher69]

well you know why they say its so windy in alberta?

because saskatchewan sucks and bc blows!

lol just kidding, bc is cool

[deschambault]

I fish mainly the Southern reservoirs in Alberta but eventually get tired of eating Costco fish so I always make a trip to Tobin in Sask and Kootenay in BC so I can eat a fish. I don't want six a day but the shore lunch is part of the appeal to fishing and if you fish around Calgary you release them all.

[Sea Hawk]

i recently had a talk with a conservation officer in the meadow lake area and the subject of how many more lakes saskatchewan has compared to alberta. He stated that numbers are misleading because the vast majority of saskatchewan lakes see little or no fishing due to the fact they are not easily accessable.I think to be fair you have to count the number of lakes in each province that are accessable the the average fisherman.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Sea Hawk

i recently had a talk with a conservation officer in the meadow lake area and the subject of how many more lakes saskatchewan has compared to alberta. He stated that numbers are misleading because the vast majority of saskatchewan lakes see little or no fishing due to the fact they are not easily accessable.I think to be fair you have to count the number of lakes in each province that are accessable the the average fisherman.

Even if you go by accessible lakes Alberta is still lacking compared to other provinces. But I would bet there are states that would have comparable angler pressure if not higher angler pressure then Alberta

Alberta can take ideas from other areas but the province still needs adjust its own management

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Even if you go by accessible lakes Alberta is still lacking compared to other provinces. But I would bet there are states that would have comparable angler pressure if not higher angler pressure then Alberta

Alberta can take ideas from other areas but the province still needs adjust its own management

And states shouldn’t be used as a comparison either. They are able to grow fish faster because of climate, as we move north, the growth rates start to slow down, a pike in the Midwest might take considerabley less time to mature than a pike in Edmonton area. Therefore they can take considerable more angling pressure.

[deschambault]

I agree with that but a pike or walleye growing in a Southeast Alberta reservoir has warmer water than a northern Alberta fish. I just cannot understand how they can open Northern lakes for some harvest yet continue to force total C&R on southern reservoirs. Why not a tag system and a slot?

[Walleyedude]

Originally Posted by deschambault

I agree with that but a pike or walleye growing in a Southeast Alberta reservoir has warmer water than a northern Alberta fish. I just cannot understand how they can open Northern lakes for some harvest yet continue to force total C&R on southern reservoirs. Why not a tag system and a slot?

Water temps in the southern irrigation reservoirs are actually quite low, especially as you get closer to the mountains. It’s one of the big reasons their productivity is so low.

I think they could handle a tag system and limited harvest, but from what I’ve read and seen, they just aren’t capable of sustaining any significant amount of harvest.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

And states shouldn’t be used as a comparison either. They are able to grow fish faster because of climate, as we move north, the growth rates start to slow down, a pike in the Midwest might take considerabley less time to mature than a pike in Edmonton area. Therefore they can take considerable more angling pressure.

I can’t speak for pike but I do know the growth of rainbow trout in some of the northern states is very similar to Alberta. During hot weather in the summer fish also slow their growth as well

The biggest difference in many states that makes it hard to compare Alberta to the states is the stocking programs and funding is far beyond what we have in Alberta

Regardless no Alberta should not copy the states either but looking at how they manage angler pressure to see if there is tools that may be transferable

[Topshot]

Hi, Alberta has some strange rules. You cannot use a crossbow bow for hunting. You cannot use live bait for fishing. Then it you had to pinch the barbs off hook and then you don,t. Then plug in or out for boat. I mean really an tinner you can see no water. Also boat inspections. I want to go fishing not sit in line for 1/2 hour to go to the lake 1/2 hour from house. I thought we were rednecks. Also they killed off spruce coulee my best fishing hole for rainbow for speckle.

[Topshot]

But it has the best fishing I have seen.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Scenery and settings are important to myself for fishing. If I could only pick one province to fish for the rest of my life, it would be Alberta. Until Saskatchewan develops mountains that is....

Now that is a great statement looking at it from a different perspective. It is the same for me. No wonder I spend so many fishing days in Jasper and eastern slopes.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Bighandswalker

I was not bitching I was curious to see what anyone else’s experiences were. You are the reason I hate asking questions on the internet. Since you seem to be such a nice person can you explain why a province with 300,000 anglers doesn’t have a noticeable stocking program to help assist with the fisheries and a province with 15000 can find a way to do it. Another honest question, why does Alberta seem to be the only province who only allow you to keep large fish. Are we not decimating the spawning population of walleye by keeping three large fish? Again I’m just asking. I’m trying to educate myself on this stuff not start fights.

Question back to you, did you attend the recent webinars for 2021? Did you take the survey and voice your opinion? If you have not, then here are the recordings and a link to the survey. You still have time today to complete the survey:

https://www.alberta.ca/2021-22-sport...ngagement.aspx


Go do that, hopefully learn something that way, and come back to discuss.

Not saying these webinars were awesome or the best thing but I'm sure you will learn something. Stocking was a hot topic for sure. Slots also discussed a lot including how many changes were made this year.

Otherwise, your original post and this follow-up post seem to be based off old information.

[Bighandswalker]

Originally Posted by Walleyedude

Water temps in the southern irrigation reservoirs are actually quite low, especially as you get closer to the mountains. It’s one of the big reasons their productivity is so low.

I think they could handle a tag system and limited harvest, but from what I’ve read and seen, they just aren’t capable of sustaining any significant amount of harvest.

I’m not opposed to limiting harvest sizes either if it helps with the populations, I’m more of a catch an release guy. I do keep the odd fish but it’s not my main goal. I just feel like current harvest levels can’t be sustainable unless we artificially help the populations out.

[Bighandswalker]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Question back to you, did you attend the recent webinars for 2021? Did you take the survey and voice your opinion? If you have not, then here are the recordings and a link to the survey. You still have time today to complete the survey:

https://www.alberta.ca/2021-22-sport...ngagement.aspx


Go do that, hopefully learn something that way, and come back to discuss.

Not saying these webinars were awesome or the best thing but I'm sure you will learn something. Stocking was a hot topic for sure. Slots also discussed a lot including how many changes were made this year.

Otherwise, your original post and this follow-up post seem to be based off old information.

I definitely attended the seminars I believe I missed one due to work. I did take the survey and they are all positive changes being discussed and I’m super positive about the engagement progress that’s been made over the last couple years. I guess I get a little worked up because I feel like Alberta has so much uncapitalized potential it feels like 😂 like someone said on this page we already have the views imagine if we could improve the fisheries

[Poppa]

EastMan/NWOnt above everything, for me...... AB fishing does suck for the most part, but we've found a way to make the best of it. I could sit and complain about it all the time, but we've found a way to bring at least a little bit of MB -type fishing to AB....

Still, I'll take the scenery of the Canadian Shield over the Rockies any day...

[mooseknuckle]

Funny this thread popped up. Had plans to ice fish blackstrap lake bear dundurn, well weekend came i thought geez its getting really cold. Decided to tough it out. -46 saturday morn. But friend had a shack with wood stove. Very comfortable. And i shpwed the sask boys how its done with a couple of big pike!! the sask regs are so good. We each kept one, cpuld have kept 9. but not greedy, i have a wife and 4 hungry kids so i bonked an 8lber. 2 beauty fillets going on the bbq tonight. Land of 100,000 lakes. Everytime i go to sask the fishing has alwayz been excellent. Its worth the drive everytime, if you can afford it..... take a float plane into the northern lakes some litterally untouched by humans. Just awesome. Well, thats my take. Time to throw some butter in a pan....

[pikeman06]

I think if you don't protect your spawning size fish and don't do supplemental stocking then I guess we just wait for the alberta fish fairy to magically show up and keep a fishery going...otherwise forget it guys. Its simple math.

[Penner]

As much as many dislike tags, it’s they only way to go in my mind if the desire is to have some harvest and quality fisheries (wide range of age classes with trophy opportunities) in this province. That or extensive stocking programs for Walleye and Pike.

I think they could make some improvements on how the tags are drawn however.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Bighandswalker

I definitely attended the seminars I believe I missed one due to work. I did take the survey and they are all positive changes being discussed and I’m super positive about the engagement progress that’s been made over the last couple years. I guess I get a little worked up because I feel like Alberta has so much uncapitalized potential it feels like 😂 like someone said on this page we already have the views imagine if we could improve the fisheries

It is a move in the right direction for sure. Would be great to see a full and live two way dialect happen for the next engagement. I'm sure there were many listening to their typed questions misinterpreted or wanting to ask a follow-up question right on the spot. At least they added some options to continue the discussion so that is something for sure.

One that that stood out on the stocking that I took away is that they will proceed with lakes that can benefit from supplemental stocking. It was made very clear that the preference is for populations to recover on their own natural abilities without stocking. Or at least I heard that loud and clear and I'm wondering if others came away with the same impression. So only certain lakes will be stocked to help recover. And I don't think there will be a return to "stock em all" that seemed to happen quite a while back.

Touchwood was another good example where it was also brought up to possibly stock lake trout again. I'm pretty sure that was a resounding "no" without saying no that was heard. The reasons seemed sound due to it being a low productivity lake, slow growing, and that predator competition by introducing another predator would likely make it even worse.

I think there is a way to go yet and plenty of stocking discussions to continue.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Penner

As much as many dislike tags, it’s they only way to go in my mind if the desire is to have some harvest and quality fisheries (wide range of age classes with trophy opportunities) in this province. That or extensive stocking programs for Walleye and Pike.

I think they could make some improvements on how the tags are drawn however.

I would rather have a short one month season combined with a slot then tags. There is many ways to restrict harvest beyond tags

But I personally hate the tag system and will never contribute to it. We all have different opinions and that doesn’t mean either is wrong

[Penner]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

I would rather have a short one month season combined with a slot then tags. There is many ways to restrict harvest beyond tags

But I personally hate the tag system and will never contribute to it. We all have different opinions and that doesn’t mean either is wrong

Current slot size is too liberal and not there are enough water bodies open to spread out the angling pressure. If they tighten slots 46-48cm 51cm-53cm maybe it will work better.

Tag system where you get the opportunity for a draw with purchase of standard license. Opportunity to buy additional tags for undersubscribed. Pike and Walleye.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Penner

Current slot size is too liberal and not there are enough water bodies open to spread out the angling pressure. If they tighten slots 46-48cm 51cm-53cm maybe it will work better.

Tag system where you get the opportunity for a draw with purchase of standard license. Opportunity to buy additional tags for undersubscribed. Pike and Walleye.

Good idea.
I don’t think the one month season would be fair to a lot of people unless they got to pick the month. If it fell on people’s busy season(farmers harvest for example) they don’t get a chance.

[Topshot]

H, I was fishing Pine lake about 20 years ago and the fish were jumping in the boat. Then 2 years ago I went back and the fishing was bad. The one thing I noticed was there was a heck of a lot boats on the lake. If you were 50 feet from shore some poopy doopy head with a speed boat would try go between you and shore. Also big waves. Back then I remember the lake was like glass at night. Now better get a bigger boat. So I think tubing and water sports are more important than us fishermen who pay to support Alberta lakes. What does poopy doopy head pay.

[Topshot]

Oh, and that was down in the weed beds. Maybe they should close off parts of the lake for fishing like weed beds. Elkwater has part of lake closed off so people can canoe with out being swamped.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Penner

Current slot size is too liberal and not there are enough water bodies open to spread out the angling pressure. If they tighten slots 46-48cm 51cm-53cm maybe it will work better.

Tag system where you get the opportunity for a draw with purchase of standard license. Opportunity to buy additional tags for undersubscribed. Pike and Walleye.

Slot combined with the present long season may be to much. Now shorten the season you will limit the number of fish harvested. Another tool that can be used is an annual harvest limit

Tags just limit numbers harvested and there is many ways to achieve this. Really worried you could have a one day season with a slot with a 2cm gap and you would see minimal harvest

My point is there is options beyond tags. Tags just milk extra money out of fisherman with very little return. Now if they had it so the draw system helped fund programs to enhance Alberta fisheries in hopes to improve the present situation I would be more supportive

Good thing I am 90% C&R. But even this is botched in Alberta do to its regulations. Most areas eliminate bait and many go barbless to limit mortality if they feel stocks are too limited to allow harvest. Maybe we should put some focus onto this issue to protect stocks if limited harvest is a concern

Just how I see things personally

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Good idea.
I don’t think the one month season would be fair to a lot of people unless they got to pick the month. If it fell on people’s busy season(farmers harvest for example) they don’t get a chance.

Tags are just another restriction instead of limiting people to a season you limit them to only years they draw a tag

Same thing different system

[Topshot]

Another way to make money.

[Penner]

Originally Posted by Topshot

Another way to make money.

Approximately 27,000 people put in for a Walleye draw to which 12,000 were drawn. $3 for the draw $10 for the tag. A whopping ~$200k total. Still think it’s a money grab?

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Penner

Approximately 27,000 people put in for a Walleye draw to which 12,000 were drawn. $3 for the draw $10 for the tag. A whopping ~$200k total. Still think it’s a money grab?

It’s likely costing money

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Scenery and settings are important to myself for fishing. If I could only pick one province to fish for the rest of my life, it would be Alberta. Until Saskatchewan develops mountains that is....

Meh you can keep the mountains I'll take unpressured lakes and plenty of trophy fish with liberal limits any day.
A walleye draw I read like wtf? I do wish we had sheep though.