Pine Coulee Walleye/Pike Question/Future

calgarygringo · #1 07-22-2009, 04:00 PM

OK guys and gals, here we go. I am sure this should get a few good responses.
While at Pine Coulee on vacation this past week I floated in my boat along side the F&W officer yesterday and we had a great chat regarding the fishing at Pine Coulee. They were also doing test netting yesterday and saw them out there this a.m. as well today.
By the way the officer told me he frequents the board so if you read this please feel free to add as I am going from my poor memory or our conversation. (I was in the blue boat.)
He was telling me that most of the fish food in Pine Coulee is basically of the insect varieties. Given this they don't expect much growth out of these fish, basically leaving this lake as a fun, go catch as many fish as you as we have been doing and no changes. Looks to where it is staying.
Plan b to make it into a take home big fish fishery would need to stock some prey fish. Whitefish or perch were mentioned. Perch are scary to stock as they tend to take over the lakes. Whitefish he said are very stressfull and the
survival rate for stocking is not great.
Pike- he tells me must be doing very well. Says a friend is a taxidermist and that he just got one in weighing 22lbs. Claims a fish in a 10 yr old res like this should probably be in the area of only around 10lb. Does that mean that the Pike are going to be growing double as fast and into monsters.
This maybe has the potential to make it into a trophy type Pike lake. ( I think of Badger 10 yrs or so back)
Being we had many discussions at our AO gathering and many seem to come up on the board with this and other lakes which routes do we go.
Stock many lakes for fun catch and release. Then what happens when it is over populated maybe?
Do we try to stock some preyfish and take our chances.
Do we also let the pike eat the walleye and turn into sea monsters.

Let's see where this goes....Your thoughts

Ken

nicemustang · #2 07-22-2009, 04:12 PM

Stock with whitefish and/or chub. Millions of them.

jesse34567 · #3 07-22-2009, 05:03 PM

yeah stock with whitefish and let the walleye grow

75ft Arborist · #4 07-22-2009, 06:04 PM

x2 let the walleye grow, we need a good walleye lake close to Cgy. Feed them whatever they want to eat till they get big and fat. Then make slot limits.

WayneChristie · #5 07-22-2009, 06:25 PM

IN my opinion, after watching so many kids catch their first fish, or first 20 fish at PCR, why not leave it as a fun fishing lake, with lots of dumb easy to catch fish (my favorite kind) and with the potential, as happened to me, of hooking into a huge pike as a bonus. Watching them come out from under the dock and eat our walleyes off the hook was great fun, if they start feeding the walleyes they are going to get harder to catch as in every other lake they frequent, and this will put them out of reach of all of us who dont fish from a boat, or the new crop of angling addicts I watched have the time of their lives last week! We have lots of other places to catch bigger walleyes, PCR is a special place, lets leave it that way! And Hi Ken it was nice meeting you and your family too last week. Im heading back to PCR Thursday morning for another 4 days of crazy fishing, anyone from the board feel free to stop and say hello

, you just might spot me on the dock

calgarygringo · #6 07-22-2009, 06:52 PM

I am sure your name is on the end of the dock for reserved fishing spot. For camping it will be a zoo. They were coming in yesterday and today for the weekend. Our spot was gone yesterday and the guy paid and asked us to put the tag on when we were leaving for him this a.m. Will be real tight for spots so go early.

baitfisher83 · #7 07-22-2009, 07:00 PM

i'd come push you into the lake if i could get down there Wayne :P

WayneChristie · #8 07-22-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baitfisher83

i'd come push you into the lake if i could get down there Wayne :P

if its as hot as it was here today I wouldnt struggle too hard!

WayneChristie · #9 07-22-2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

IN my opinion, after watching so many kids catch their first fish, or first 20 fish at PCR, why not leave it as a fun fishing lake, with lots of dumb easy to catch fish (my favorite kind) and with the potential, as happened to me, of hooking into a huge pike as a bonus. Watching them come out from under the dock and eat our walleyes off the hook was great fun, if they start feeding the walleyes they are going to get harder to catch as in every other lake they frequent, and this will put them out of reach of all of us who dont fish from a boat, or the new crop of angling addicts I watched have the time of their lives last week! We have lots of other places to catch bigger walleyes, PCR is a special place, lets leave it that way! And Hi Ken it was nice meeting you and your family too last week. Im heading back to PCR Thursday morning for another 4 days of crazy fishing, anyone from the board feel free to stop and say hello

, you just might spot me on the dock

One thing I would like to see, and soon, if not yesterday, is a couple of wake zone buoys off the boat launch, seems a lot of people with way too big boats for that reservoir have no clue what 100 meters is, or think its feet, after almost starting a chumline a few times and watching a lot of little people nearly get thrown off the dock by tsunamis, I think its the least the MD could do for everyones enjoyment and safety!

Kingfisher · #10 07-23-2009, 02:04 AM

I think having it an easy catch and release lots of walleye is such a fantastic fishery to have. Just think of all the kids out there that are bored silly of fishing after not catching anything. Or maybe just catching one or two fish in a day. We all know PCR is a lake that you can take a kid to and have a memmorable day at.

My wife and I look after a special needs guy named Billy. I took him to PCR on Sunday of last weekend. He caught 27 fish in just a few hours. Now you talk about a happy camper. I'd post a few pictures if I ever get his camera away from him. He's been taking his camera everywhere to show all his friends and family his fish he caught and of course he tells them how many as well.

My wife is a life coach for brain injured people. One of her clients is mostly blind and has very bad short term memmory. He used to fish a lot. But hasn't since his accident. My wife asked him if he'd like to come out fishing with us. I guess he just lit up with the biggest smile ever. So it looks like were going to take him out there soon. This should be a fun trip down there.

PCR is a gem of a fishery just the way it is. If the walleye stay the same size forever it's still going to be a fantastic place to take a kid to. The chance of catching a trophy pike later on as the years go on will be a bonus to everyone.

I also agree totally about having a bouy'd off area so the skiers don't come flying in. The dock is modular so maybe expansion of the dock would be nice in the future.

If your friendly fisheries officer is reading this then maybe they can answer me something. Why not make a dozen lakes exactally like PCR in southern Alberta? It would spread the people out. What would be the harm in having a dozen great lakes to choose from with great walleye fishing?

Rob

Fishfinder · #11 07-23-2009, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

IN my opinion, after watching so many kids catch their first fish, or first 20 fish at PCR, why not leave it as a fun fishing lake, with lots of dumb easy to catch fish (my favorite kind) and with the potential, as happened to me, of hooking into a huge pike as a bonus. Watching them come out from under the dock and eat our walleyes off the hook was great fun, if they start feeding the walleyes they are going to get harder to catch as in every other lake they frequent, and this will put them out of reach of all of us who dont fish from a boat, or the new crop of angling addicts I watched have the time of their lives last week! We have lots of other places to catch bigger walleyes, PCR is a special place, lets leave it that way! And Hi Ken it was nice meeting you and your family too last week. Im heading back to PCR Thursday morning for another 4 days of crazy fishing, anyone from the board feel free to stop and say hello

, you just might spot me on the dock

x2 on that Wayne. Sounds like a fun family lake, and if that's the case, why change it? Agreed though, after living in cowtown for 6 yrs, kinda gotta travel for the eyes I noticed, however, small price to pay to have the mountains and great trout fishing next door

jesse34567 · #12 07-23-2009, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingfisher

I think having it an easy catch and release lots of walleye is such a fantastic fishery to have. Just think of all the kids out there that are bored silly of fishing after not catching anything. Or maybe just catching one or two fish in a day. We all know PCR is a lake that you can take a kid to and have a memmorable day at.

My wife and I look after a special needs guy named Billy. I took him to PCR on Sunday of last weekend. He caught 27 fish in just a few hours. Now you talk about a happy camper. I'd post a few pictures if I ever get his camera away from him. He's been taking his camera everywhere to show all his friends and family his fish he caught and of course he tells them how many as well.

My wife is a life coach for brain injured people. One of her clients is mostly blind and has very bad short term memmory. He used to fish a lot. But hasn't since his accident. My wife asked him if he'd like to come out fishing with us. I guess he just lit up with the biggest smile ever. So it looks like were going to take him out there soon. This should be a fun trip down there.

PCR is a gem of a fishery just the way it is. If the walleye stay the same size forever it's still going to be a fantastic place to take a kid to. The chance of catching a trophy pike later on as the years go on will be a bonus to everyone.

I also agree totally about having a bouy'd off area so the skiers don't come flying in. The dock is modular so maybe expansion of the dock would be nice in the future.

If your friendly fisheries officer is reading this then maybe they can answer me something. Why not make a dozen lakes exactally like PCR in southern Alberta? It would spread the people out. What would be the harm in having a dozen great lakes to choose from with great walleye fishing?

Rob

everything you said is right, and it is a bonus to have such a great walleye fishery close to Calgary. Big pike in the future will be even more better
so i think i have had second thoughts let the fishery be, it's not common that you get 100 plus days of walleye anywhere else in Alberta.

nicemustang · #13 07-23-2009, 08:31 AM

On the flip side guys, they are spawning way to fast and the lake will get over run, plus a no size limit on pike is probably not good.

Jack&7 · #14 07-26-2009, 02:29 AM

Just my two cents...

Since we were kinda on the topic of limits, etc...

Why doesn't AB have slot limits? It kills me to see some guys take home monsters (i'm referring to pike here) that IMHO should be left for breeding stock and yet you can't keep the "eating size" ones that are a shade under 63 cm. I could be wrong on this, and I'm sure others will chime in, but slots seem to me to be the way to go.

The little guys are left to grow and the big boys are left to spawn. The middle guys are fair game. Back in MB, tons of lakes use that and it seems to work very well.

Can someone enlighten me on why we don't do the same here?

calgarygringo · #15 07-26-2009, 08:32 AM

Dean you are correct.
I will use Badger for example. I am not sure if you have fished there but I remember 10 years or more back a 10-20 lb pike and sometimes near 30 lbs were an every day occurance. Today you get the occasional monster and even less of the 10lb or less. If they would have put a slot size so the big hens could keep spawning instead of going to everyones home I am sure by today it would be even a more amazing fishery. I am sure there are many more lakes like this one. The other issue we have around here is most of the reservoirs are not that big so the pressure per square km is more than some of the big lakes we grew up fishing in MB.

madatter · #16 07-26-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgarygringo

OK guys and gals, here we go. I am sure this should get a few good responses.
While at Pine Coulee on vacation this past week I floated in my boat along side the F&W officer yesterday and we had a great chat regarding the fishing at Pine Coulee. They were also doing test netting yesterday and saw them out there this a.m. as well today.
By the way the officer told me he frequents the board so if you read this please feel free to add as I am going from my poor memory or our conversation. (I was in the blue boat.)
He was telling me that most of the fish food in Pine Coulee is basically of the insect varieties. Given this they don't expect much growth out of these fish, basically leaving this lake as a fun, go catch as many fish as you as we have been doing and no changes. Looks to where it is staying.
Plan b to make it into a take home big fish fishery would need to stock some prey fish. Whitefish or perch were mentioned. Perch are scary to stock as they tend to take over the lakes. Whitefish he said are very stressfull and the
survival rate for stocking is not great.
Pike- he tells me must be doing very well. Says a friend is a taxidermist and that he just got one in weighing 22lbs. Claims a fish in a 10 yr old res like this should probably be in the area of only around 10lb. Does that mean that the Pike are going to be growing double as fast and into monsters.
This maybe has the potential to make it into a trophy type Pike lake. ( I think of Badger 10 yrs or so back)
Being we had many discussions at our AO gathering and many seem to come up on the board with this and other lakes which routes do we go.
Stock many lakes for fun catch and release. Then what happens when it is over populated maybe?
Do we try to stock some preyfish and take our chances.
Do we also let the pike eat the walleye and turn into sea monsters.

Let's see where this goes....Your thoughts

Ken

I had that exact same conversation with the CO at PCR on Tuesday,musta been the same day as they were out in there boats doing some testin.
I was fishing off the dock in the AM.
Tough call on what to do with the lake but it sure would be nice to get some size on the walleye....

ToCatch · #17 07-26-2009, 10:08 AM

Slot limit would be great...I grew up fishing in MB and my favorite lake would be the lake of the prairies, which is very well known for huge pike, carp, perch and walleye. the reason I believe I've caught so many big walleye, is that the lake regulation(if I remember correctly,since it's been a few years) I that all walleye between 18-28" inches must be released. this is the reason I believe that I've caught so many, 26-27" walleye there, and a few in the 30's, which I still return. would something like this work in pcr? And if they are going to introduce a prey fish....what about sunfish? I remember being young, living in Ontario( I was a military brat...been to lots of places a child) and catching sunfish all the time, in the same lakes my dad was catching trophy walleye and pike. would the climate kill sunfish here?

calgarygringo · #18 07-26-2009, 10:40 AM

At this point a walleye slot limit would be a tough one considering most are all from 2 stockings and almost all are the same size. If the fish guy is correct and they won't grow fast on mostly insect diet it could take forever to get to a slot size. My fear would be overpopulated first if the ones in there start breeding well. I could see a pike slot working good if they leave the walleyes the way they are. That would provide an amazing food source creating some huge females. Again as I posted earlier without a slot it probably would turn into a Badger lake where there was lots of 25-30+ lb fish and now they are getting harder to find. Many would just take home the big ones for the table or the wall. It would be nice to go out and just hook up with a 25 lb pike take his picture then discuss the fight and go looking for another or next time out as well...

LongDraw · #19 07-26-2009, 12:49 PM

Pretty tough to consider a lake "trophy" for pike when it is real close to a city of over 1 million and every legal pike ends up in the cooler. The pike regulations in Southern Alberta are backwards IMO.

A lower limit and a slot size introduced to ensure some of the big hens are protected. If this was introduced on a lake like Clear or Badger after a few years it would then be a "trophy" lake.

jesse34567 · #20 07-26-2009, 02:00 PM

all you guys have valid points,

the one I most certainly agree with is slot size on the pike in PCR just because the bigger pike are the spawners, and something else was mentioned earlier about how the walleye pop might explode if some of the bigger pike are taken.

huntsfurfish · #21 07-26-2009, 02:16 PM

anyone want to see a short discussion on slot limits might want to check out the gowalleye message board. All about walleye.

WayneChristie · #22 07-26-2009, 08:23 PM

I would have to agree with a slot for Pike, leave the big ones alone, maybe keep the smaller ones for a few years so the mid sized ones can grow and keep the walleye population down, then change the slot to mid size keepers so the smaller ones can catch up. I am pretty sure sunfish wont overwinter here or there would be a lake or two with a population, courtesy the bucket brigade.

slingshotz · #23 07-27-2009, 12:07 AM

The question that puzzles me is why would anyone want to eat a monster pike. Not only do they have the most toxins concentrated in their system as they are at the top of the food chain but they simply do not taste as good as a smaller "pan" sized one.

There's certainly some wierd regs around, in the Bow you can only keep trout under a certain size and then in some lakes/rivers you can only keep fish over a certain size. I still don't understand the reasoning behind why there's no size limit for pike at PCR unless F&W are trying to remove all pike from there.

Putting in any kind of non C&R limit (unless it was a tag system) in PCR would destroy it. Think of it, one person allowed 1 walleye, you have a million people a hours drive away, 1% of the pop fishes (pure guessing), thats 10,000 fish that could be taken in a day. Yes there are possession limits but if everyone eats their catch they won't spawn fast enough.