Walleye tag system is working on pigeon

[fluxcore]

I remember when the tag system was introduced on pigeon lake and the Bulk of the feed back was it's not enough and open it up to one or two fish per angler to thin the skinny / starving herds of walleye and allow more food for the ones left, also leave some room for the pike numbers to improve. I can say the walleye are looking great! Nothing like they did a few years ago! Sylvan should introduce the same system, hopfully gull lake too will be able to in a few years but that's a tough one.

[huntsfurfish]

Good to here!

[PerchBuster]

Ok yes but how are the rest of the species doing in there? Pike or Perch make a comeback yet? Any trophy class Walleye or are they all still 2 to 3 lbs on average? Haven't seen any 8 or 9 pounders caught there in a number of years. 10 or 12 years ago they were fairly common and easy to catch one like that, not now. The Walleye may look nice and healthy again, debatable if the lake as whole is or not I think.

[Bemoredog]

Average is around 4 lbs. I caught one just over 5lbs. This was about 3 weeks ago over 2 days/5 hours of fishing.

[lromanchuk]

Walleye are improving, but the other species are getting hammered. The tag system works for that species but throws off the balance for the rest of the lake.

[fluxcore]

Originally Posted by lromanchuk

Walleye are improving, but the other species are getting hammered. The tag system works for that species but throws off the balance for the rest of the lake.

Doesn't the tag system take some of the pressure off other species?

[Penner]

Originally Posted by lromanchuk

Walleye are improving, but the other species are getting hammered. The tag system works for that species but throws off the balance for the rest of the lake.

The last week I ice fished Pigeon I was catching Walleye/Pike about 50%/50% and I was easily into double digits. Lots of hammer handles but did mange a few upwards of 6-7lbs. Best thing was that there was easily 3-4 age classes which is important. Balance is finally starting to come back. Too bad about water temps which is decimating the Whitefish pop.

The issues with the other species at Pigeon are related (directly or indirectly) to land development in and around the watershed whether it be farms or recreational properties. It is not because of the Walleye. All of the species co-existed in the lake long before us anglers or commercial fisherman screwed it up.

The tag system is a innovative way to manage the fishery while still allowing for some harvest. Although some people hate it, I'm a big C&R guy so I'm for anything that helps me catch larger fish more regularly so tag system gets my support.

[PlayDoh]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

Average is around 4 lbs. I caught one just over 5lbs. This was about 3 weeks ago over 2 days/5 hours of fishing.

I would say the real average is half that. I caught a couple hundred while there just before Canada day. Best was 3.5 but I stayed at the PP.
I did get a couple big pike, one was 28" and 4.5 lbs. haven't seen any that size there for awhile.
I think pigeons walleye numbers are due to the lake itself. Now that commercial fishing is done I don't see angling as a major influence on the diversity of the lake. Yet the impact of other influences such as commercial and native fishing may impact the populations forever.
My uncle told me a story about how natives used to drive down farm roads with their trunks full of whites for sale. One time in the spring and full of roe. That's sad.
I think walleye are simply the most resilient to the past effects and best and quickest to flourish and recover. I'm not a biologist with all the data to educated myself with but I don't believe the walleye numbers are majorly effecting whites, pike and others yet perhaps perch more so.
I think the angling is actually helping walleye. 99% of them get released and eat minnows all day. I caught the same fish almost a dozen times one day while there this year. Their very easy to catch which probably skews ones perception that the lake is just boiling with walleye alone. I'm not saying there's not lots, or their not the dominate species, but not the the extent you get the impression from by just fishing.
I'm happy to see how healthy the walleye are doing and I don't think we should be playing god too much. I think pigeon could go sideways easy and we could be reminiscing about the days pigeon had fish. There's so many dead or near dead lakes in AB that used to be great.
The best thing we can do is let Mother Nature do her work, IMO.


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[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by PlayDoh

I would say the real average is half that. I caught a couple hundred while there just before Canada day. Best was 3.5 but I stayed at the PP.
I did get a couple big pike, one was 28" and 4.5 lbs. haven't seen any that size there for awhile.
I think pigeons walleye numbers are due to the lake itself. Now that commercial fishing is done I don't see angling as a major influence on the diversity of the lake. Yet the impact of other influences such as commercial and native fishing may impact the populations forever.
My uncle told me a story about how natives used to drive down farm roads with their trunks full of whites for sale. One time in the spring and full of roe. That's sad.
I think walleye are simply the most resilient to the past effects and best and quickest to flourish and recover. I'm not a biologist with all the data to educated myself with but I don't believe the walleye numbers are majorly effecting whites, pike and others yet perhaps perch more so.
I think the angling is actually helping walleye. 99% of them get released and eat minnows all day. I caught the same fish almost a dozen times one day while there this year. Their very easy to catch which probably skews ones perception that the lake is just boiling with walleye alone. I'm not saying there's not lots, or their not the dominate species, but not the the extent you get the impression from by just fishing.
I'm happy to see how healthy the walleye are doing and I don't think we should be playing god too much. I think pigeon could go sideways easy and we could be reminiscing about the days pigeon had fish. There's so many dead or near dead lakes in AB that used to be great.
The best thing we can do is let Mother Nature do her work, IMO.


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You're bang on. Leave it what it is: a crazy good walleye fishery. It's the best place in Alberta to teach people how to catch a walleye by simple trial and error. I fish across the lake from the PP and have probably caught 1000-2000 walleye in the last 5 years there. The average is definitely around 19-21" (1.5-2lbs~) with 5.5 being the biggest we've pulled out of there. The pike we do manage to hook have been healthy and not bad sizes. I'm all for leaving it alone and enjoying what it is.

[mongo]

Originally Posted by PerchBuster

Ok yes but how are the rest of the species doing in there? Pike or Perch make a comeback yet? Any trophy class Walleye or are they all still 2 to 3 lbs on average? Haven't seen any 8 or 9 pounders caught there in a number of years. 10 or 12 years ago they were fairly common and easy to catch one like that, not now. The Walleye may look nice and healthy again, debatable if the lake as whole is or not I think.

.....those 10 lbs ers showed up only after the c
Comercial fishing removed a lot more fish then they were allowed and helped the lake immensely. ..this and many lakes are over still way over populated.

[aulrich]

All species of fish should have tags,say a yearly limit of 3x daily so as an example take 9 pike out of any lake and you are done killing pike for the year. Stocked trout tags should cost 1$ a piece to help recoup costs.


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[Bemoredog]

Not a terrible idea to go all tags, although I do hate having to lug around tags and remember to tag the fish. Big ticket if you forget. I'd like it if they made the acquisition of tags easier and also the process itself (tags should have needles, just spear it through the fish's tail or fin; much easier to deal with when the bite is hot or you're on a canoe/kayak).

Still. I'd be OK with that system.

Regarding stocked trout: not sure $1 a trout would really make sense in terms of the hassle (but it would definitely reduce fishing pressure because of it). Might as well just up license fees. I'd like to simply see take limits on trout decreased to 2 or 3. Nobody needs 5. And I feel like this just encourages people to take any fish they catch, not just the decent eating size trout.

At the end of the day I'd like to see more education given by the province on angling and I think a license should require taking a course. A course could outline best angling practices and considerations around size when taking fish for eating (i.e., leave the 30 lb laker; it won't taste good and is better suited to breeding; if you want a trophy, then take pictures and measurements and go to a taxidermist for a replica, but put the fish back).

I'm sure a good deal of the damage to our fisheries is caused by individual ignorance. There will always be damage due to disrespectful idiots, and this is why we have enforcement, but if the problem of ignorance can be partially solved with a few program and policy tweaks I don't see any reason not to do that.

[RavYak]

I don't see how they could make an all tag system financially feasible and also how they could possibly enforce it.

[aulrich]

I don’t think it would be any less enforceable than the walleye tags.

But there are a couple of ways around it. When I go hunt game birds in Saskatchewan I get a full set of tags and a log sheet, my license is linked to the numbered tag set/log sheet. shoot a bird tag it and mark the log sheet

A smart phone app a picture of the tagged fish and it’s logged, the upside is the tech can be leveraged for big game reporting as well. Should also be usable as my fishing license.

Or just embed the cost of printing the tags in the license

[Talking moose]

I thought pike in pigeon is 0 limit now? No pressure there. It will take awhile yet before the balance is found and each lake will have special circumstances to achieve balance. Patience. Some friends got back from pigeon 2 weeks ago and each hooked up with some pike.