over 64cm

[moose 2]

just wanted to here everybody else in what they think of our alberta regs for instance the pike regulation of keeping pike over 64cm ,when there are lots of fish under 64 that usually swallow the hook or sometimes there gill gets damaged we try as best we can to be carefull taking the barbless hook out there is always the unlucky one sometime that bleed and those are usually the little grass runners. So my question is why couldn't Alberta change the regs to 2 pike limit to any size except one of those two pike can be over a certain length so we can protect the breeder fish, just a thought .I know there is going to be people come on and say that they just catch and release ,well I do catch and release myself but there is the odd time I like to eat a pike so why not take a non breeder little guy if he is hurt compared to a big that is a breeder . Any thoughts out there myself I would like them to change the regs is that a wrong idea !!

[huntsfurfish]

Lots of discussions on size limits, do a search.

Sides limit is over 63

[Lefty-Canuck]

Keep it the way it is....if the fish is foul hooked or swallows the hook cut the line and release it before you kill it trying to take the hook out.

If the regs were changed the way you describe people would purposely damage a fish in order to keep it....bad idea.

LC

[moose 2]

maybe it sounded wrong as far as the grass runners swallowing the hooks but to say people would damage a fish on purpose just to keep it is just wrong ,what I was saying those are usual the ones that do that hit hard so why not change the regs to any size with one over a certain length so we have breeders left in the lakes

[mikebossy]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

Keep it the way it is....if the fish is foul hooked or swallows the hook cut the line and release it before you kill it trying to take the hook out.

If the regs were changed the way you describe people would purposely damage a fish in order to keep it....bad idea.

LC

^x1000

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by moose 2

maybe it sounded wrong as far as the grass runners swallowing the hooks but to say people would damage a fish on purpose just to keep it is just wrong ,what I was saying those are usual the ones that do that hit hard so why not change the regs to any size with one over a certain length so we have breeders left in the lakes

I know you didn't say that but I did....you are being naive to think it wouldn't happen.

Call me cynical or negative but if the regs were to get changed this will occur....it is almost human nature to find a loop hole to exploit, this is no different.

It pains me to release a fish I know has little chance of survival....but it is just the way it is....

LC

[moose 2]

read the question it says any thoughts out there about changing the regs , not pointing a finger or talk about my thought on it

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by moose 2

read the question it says any thoughts out there about changing the regs , not pointing a finger or talk about my thought on it

You misunderstood my intent, I am just offering my opinion. Not mad at you or anything.

I understand what your point is but just offering that some may take advantage of it.

LC

[pointer]

Look at how good the fishing is in sask and look at their regs they are allowed to keep one fish over 63cm everything else has to be under with a limit of 5 on most lakes

[Mike_W]

Originally Posted by pointer

Look at how good the fishing is in sask and look at their regs they are allowed to keep one fish over 63cm everything else has to be under with a limit of 5 on most lakes

Saskatchewan has 10 times the lakes and half the population of Alberta to always assume what works in one place will work in another isn't always correct.

That said and to LC I don't think the OP was saying to change the regulations to allow fatally hooked fish to be kept but to change the size limit to something similar to Sask where your basically allowed to keep any fish you catch (no size limit) or a under and over slot size limit/restriction.

I would like to see a few pilot projects on true slot sizes. Calling lake would have been a great opportunity but they made the mistake and opened it to one of any size which allowed people to take home 5-12 lb fish pretty consistently and wiped out the breeders. Would have been nice to see a two under 55cm size restriction put on IMO.

Now they are trying this on a collapsed (from what is was) fishery and allowing 1 fish between 45-55 cm. ....... A day late and a dollar short.

[dmcbride]

Ever since they changed it to 63cm. and bigger i don't keep them anymore. They just don't taste good when they get that big. I would personally like to see a limit of 1 per day under 63cm.or less and maybe 1 draw tag a year for ones over 63 cm. for throphy purposes.

[pointer]

I agree 100% mike if lower limits and regulate sizes and they will have great fishing but when they allow taking out the breeding fish there goes the good fighing guys who know the difference release all/most of the big fish they catch because they know better

[cube]

Originally Posted by Mike_W

I would like to see a few pilot projects on true slot sizes. .

I'm pretty sure they did that once for walleye on one lake. Of course it was only one lake and only for walleye, and a one off might not be valid. They did find that no fish made it through the slot so eventually the older bigger fish just die off and the lake is left with ZERO breaders. Like you said perhaps a few more pilot projects could be done to validate the earlier trial but as it looks now having a slot on pre-breaders would be folly.

Of course that was also at a time when most lakes had collapsed and any lake with walleye was getting very heavy pressure. With so many lakes close to recovery now the pressure on anyone lake should be less and a smaller slot might work. I do feel this is probably a couple of years away yet though.

[skidderman]

I think AB is too proud to admit SK has it right. AB says keep the big fish, let the little ones go. Take Cold Lake. One over 70cm or whatever. I would much rather take a 5 pounder home & leave that big one to lay eggs. Most people won't agree with me. AB fisheries is stupid. But that is my opinion.

[J D]

Personally like regs that spread pressure through the age classes and take some pressure off of breeders. In my opinion taking all young age class fish is not a good thing either especially with predatory species. If there is no harvest of large fish they will be consuming a large part of the forage leaving less feed for young to grow. With predatory fish they will consume a lot of there young as well if there is too high of a number of large fish. Just need to find the right balance for the body of water

Myself I like the idea of 1 over and 1or2 under depending on what the system can sustain

[DiabeticKripple]

You can't compare AB to any other province. It is unique.

And I personally think that our fisheries are getting better, but with the limited amount of biologists and funding it is hard on them.

AB's regs are in place so that the fish will spawn once or twice and then be harvested. So it is replacing itself a couple times before it is taken out.

I think the size limits are fine, it's the amount. 3 pike is a lot of meat per person. 1 or 2 would be a better option IMO.

[Fisher_man#1]

As Kind of already mentioned, if you keep all the smaller size classes none will grow up to breeding size.
By allowing the fish to get to 63cm they can spawn once or twice before being harvested.

That being said, the majority of the fish in a population are in the smaller size classes, if a select harvest was placed on them say 1 under 63cm and angler harvest wasnt as heavy as it is, it could work like it does in SK.

It’s a challenge to manage our fisheries sustainably in Alberta. We have the fewest number of fishable waters of any jurisdiction in Canada, and the third highest number of licensed anglers.

AB regs cannot be compared to SK regs for the simple reason they have 1/3 the population and thousands of more lakes.

[aulrich]

The Sask regs are tightening up too, not too long ago it was 8 fish now it's 5 and only one over 75.

It's the eternal question, manage for numbers or size you can't have both.

[walleye guy]

You are probably correct to assume that a bleeding pike has a low chance of survival when released, but it definitely has a 0 % chance once it is in your frying pan!

[Graffy91]

Originally Posted by skidderman

I think AB is too proud to admit SK has it right. AB says keep the big fish, let the little ones go. Take Cold Lake. One over 70cm or whatever. I would much rather take a 5 pounder home & leave that big one to lay eggs. Most people won't agree with me. AB fisheries is stupid. But that is my opinion.

X100000000000000000000000000!


Tobin lakes slot limits is what builds a trophy fishery.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Mike_W

That said and to LC I don't think the OP was saying to change the regulations to allow fatally hooked fish to be kept but to change the size limit to something similar to Sask where your basically allowed to keep any fish you catch (no size limit) or a under and over slot size limit/restriction.

Ooops I misunderstood

LC

[EDMfishing]

My understanding of the OP was that he was trying to say


1 under 63cm 1 over 63cm


leaving the limit at 2, but leaving 1 more bigger gurl in the waters to pro create

Personally for pike i dont often keep them, unless it is from a very cold body of water (again just opinion) or if my grandma has made a special request / dinner plan

But if you want to keep smaller pike - there is a very easy solution - go to an overrun pond with 3-5 no size limit

[Kim473]

I say close all lakes for a year or two, then no problem. Make them catch and relase during this time. Open for one year with a limit of one, then close again.Eliminate all netting all lakes! In ten years the lakes will be over populated. Fix our stocking program and up the spending in it. They stock far too many trout and not enough of the other species.

[Jack&7]

I would like to see a slot from 63 cm to 79 cm.

They can breed up to the 63 mark and then become trophies over the 79 mark and beyond. And keeping one fish inside that slot is a decent eater size fish.

[C Taylor]

I say, no catch an release. Just catch your fish an quit instead of playing with your food.
Lol on a more serious thought, why if Saskatchewan has so many more lakes and half the population, how come they stalk way more fish? Alberta used to many years ago but since we got all oil boomish, government just keeps cutting back on environment.

[EZM]

I'd suggest most of us are poorly qualified to suggest effective fisheries management strategies. I'm pretty certain our provincial biologists are doing a adequate job given our challenging environment (angler pressure compared to other jurisdictions).

Many fisheries have improved, and admittedly, some have been damaged. Consider the workload and resources we have - it's going to be tough to make the right call for each and every lake or watershed.

Each watershed requires study, a strategy and careful monitoring and adjustment - which just isn't able to happen with so few biologists.

I'd suggest, overall, most of the lakes and watersheds are doing better ...... but again, this is just my opinion.

Comparison to Saskatchewan, is so far from congruent, that I can't imagine drawing too many reasonable parallels between our provinces.

As far as we, anglers are concerned, we can make choices ........ each choice has it's merits (and opinions on how effective these strategies might be) but these may include things like not using bait, using barbless hooks, exchanging your trebles for single hooks, using larger lures, etc.... etc.... We can also pay more for a licence to add law enforcement and/or biologists.

[DiscoTime]

I'm originally from MB and when I moved here and started fishing I thought all of the regulations were ***** backwards. MB is comparable to SK in regards to population and lakes and probably cant be closely compared to AB, but still I dont think all the regulations should be so different.

Every time I show an Albertan friend a picture of a big fish I've caught they always make a comment about eating it or ask if I kept it. I wouldn't ever even consider keeping a trophy sized fish of any species, but thats just what I grew up like, and the regulations usually didn't allow it.

Could spend hours duscussing this subject, who knows what works best, just hope Alberta can keep or improve its fisheries. In the meantime I'm going to save all my walleye fishing for when I'm back in MB. Had a great week over christmas, even with the -39° temps.

Happy fishing!