reproducing slimys.

Anyone out there ever seen pike reproduce in a dugout???

thanx.

Mabey I should give some details. I have a dugout off the side of the yard, that has naturally occuring perch from the canal. Have seen a couple either rainbows or browns, approx 20inchers, that are wild as well. Some of the perch are pretty good ones, but in talking with the aquaculture center in the Bridge, It seems as though I have a big perch problem. Possibly upwards of 1000. I want to stock trout, but cant seine net the perch due to a couple large year round weed beds. I had stocked probuably 10000 fresh water shrimp, but dont see any anymore. I need to knock the perch pop down abit to promote natural feed. They are eating everything. Have talked to sustainable resources and everyone I thought could help. Been at this a couple yrs now, trying to angle them out, but not even denting it. Got desperate this spring before ice off, and transported 3 approx 3-4 pound pike. Know its not legal, but they have an awesome new home. Now one was a hen, and no doubt had eggs in her, the other two looked like small males, but cant be sure of any. Dont really know how to tell until they get abit bigger, you know. If thats the case, can she spawn, and will the eggs get fertilized??? The dugout is approx 80 yards long by 70 yds wide, and 17 feet deep when full. Its a great little ecosystem, and has had fish in it for yrs according to the neighbor, and used to have trout. But the perch have taken over. I should be able to catch the sharks, when I have the numbers down abit. And the trout can regulate the baby perch from that point on. Note; I want to promote the perch, ie; afew big ones. But does anyone know if these pike are capable of spawning in this situation??? Thanks keep a strain on er.

you should be fine ,had a friend with a smaller dugout than yours and he had lot's of pike..

As far as the Perch are concerned is there not a chemical that is used by bioligists to control Perch in mountain lakes where they are not native.. I beleive it was a couple months back in Alberta OutdoorsMan that I read an artical about it in the mag correct me if I'm wrong guy's... Mayebe this would be a better option...

Actually, I remember something about that Walleyes. I may stay away from chems, as this is the water source, via a well on the edge of the dugout, for the house. But nice, I will definately dig back and check that out for sure.

I don't understand your situation packhuntr. You have a dugout that is connected to another water course??

Robin

Yes Duffy. Though it is piped from a main canal. There is only water feed when I open the manual gate valve for filling the dugout, couple times a year. This system is underground. And the {canal} side of the 4 inch poly line has a suction screen fitted on, so as to prevent fish from escaping, as well as to prevent anymore perch from calling my dugout home. As soon as i can get my perch pop under control, I will have the boys out to inspect the dugout for a licence to buy afew rainbows. There are pike, perch, and browns and rainbows going by my place all summer, down the main canal. The only time they can enter is while im gravity filling, only as minnows or fry. But does anyone know, if these pike can reproduce in my dugout???

If you have heavy vegetation or grass flooded about a foot deep they'll spawn. If you want pike and have grassy edges on the side, raise the water level right away and lower it again come late May. If theres mature pike they will be very succesful. Thats definetly the best spawning substrate you can create for pike. (Perch use the same stuff in a little deeper water so if there going the pike should as well). Good luck, wish i had a dug out like that I've seen them spawn in as little as 6-8'' of water in little ponds off Willow Creek and they will produce a ton of eggs (and fry).

Jeez, i think one was a hen for sure, and prob mature enough to spawn. I just wonder if the males are old enough to know what to do about it. This could be a big mistake. And may be a big problem with my wanting to stock rainbows. Then again, mabey the rainbows and remaining big perch will keep the baby pike from growing and causing havoc. I think I might have just started a wreck. Mabey should have waited till after the spawn to get my eating machines. But I wanted to do it while the water was still cold, so as to reduce the stress on them. You know then catch the pike out when I like the remaining perch numbers. I just hope theyll hit dead bait at that point in time. Could take a couple rods sitting for a week. jrs, sure hope your wrong about these eggs man. There is some great year round beds, that are the perfect nurseries for baby pike.

If its a small enough pond the pike will stunt, maybe that could help, i wouldn't bet on it though. How big of rainbows do you intend on stocking? If you can stock 10-12'' trout they should be fine but otherwise the pike will be eating trout fry within 2 months of being hatched, growth is fast and they will eat anything smaller than 0.5 there size. You will still lose lots of big trout if mature pike are present. The males don't need to be large at all to spawn either, a 2-3 lb male pike will definetly spawn. You may want to look at draining you dugout, maybe salvaging a few perch to leave in, then throw in your rainbows. That or just use bigger trout to start. If its big enough, just forget trout, i've seen some amazing pike fisheries in guys dugouts in similar conditions to yours. The perch can get huge in the dugouts and average 10-12'' if population is kept down. Oh, by the way pike produce hundreds of thousands of eggs each, controlling them may be tough.

Even if it doesnt seem to hurt anything I hope the CO's will be payin you a visit. By the sounds of it everyone thinks its ok to do this.

Yip, your right Willy. And I hope they do. These fish in my dug out right now, are all owned by the crown, and they told me, every dugout in this country has fish due to the irrigation. As i said earlier, I have talked with Sustainable Resources. They didnt grace me with any of their knowledge, and didnt provide me with ANY solutions to get my dugout in order, but did mention that I should promote these fish. Sounds like fun, so thats what im doing. I transplanted 3 small pike to accomplish this. If I get the perch pop under control, all the fish in this small system will benefit from an increased food supply. I didnt explain my situation to get attacked, though I sort of knew it would happen. I asked these questions, so anyone with some knowledge of pike bio could help me out.

keep a strain on er.

jrs, i do intend to put big rainbows in. the cormorants cleaned out the neighbor in 1 soft water season, 150 rainbows, sized 9-12 inch. We are going to get some hauled in the spring,2008. But through discussions, have decided to go with brood hens, to avoid the loss. Could get pricy, but what do you do. we should be allowed to shoot the bastards on our ponds. I guess we are really no different than ranchers shooting predators attacking their livestock. big trout and larger perch may be able to cure or dampen this aparent mess i have just created for myself with the pike/spawnig situation. Pretty new deal this fish pond is. Tons of fun.

Check out the info on Agriculture Canada's site concerning your trout. There are permits and regulations. I somehow missed the part where you said the pike were transported, i thought they just got in through the ditch. Refrain from doing that in the future, stocking some big trout would have helped thin the perch as well. The pike repro facts are true but i would not reccomend transporting any more fish until you contact Alberta Agriculture. The cormorants will help thin the perch out as well if you give them a chance. They won't prey on the big trout as easily.

So its ok for everyone to transplant fish to there liking? I would hope the mods would forward the info to authorities let them decide.

Over the past 2 yrs, have acquired all the paperwork, documentation, and reading material. Some good stuff to be sure. I appreciate all your info. Thanks.

"So its ok for everyone to transplant fish to there liking? I would hope the mods would forward the info to authorities let them decide."

Willy, you can get permits for dugouts. He stated he knew the pike was illegal (i missed that first time through, i thought they just got in through the pipes) but there are lawful ways. I believe its a $10 permit per year to run a trout pond. All the dugouts i know of with fish had pike get in through the irrigation system. Perch usually show up out of the canals even easier. I don't know packhuntr personally but simply tried to answer the pike bio questions then point him towards more information so he can get his pond all figured out (hopefully with co-operation from Alberta agriculture it will be a success). I'd love to have my own suitable dugout someday and have a little trout pond for friends and family.

Willy, dont get riled. Im right off the slough these pike came from. Heck, I could have pulled off my screen while filling, and let one of the very same fish in, as I brought in. I no doubt have existing pike minnows or fry from this same body, and mabey bigger that I havent been able to catch. I merely elected to get a bigger appetite going sooner, than later.

keep a strain on er.

The fact remains that Willy is right:

"ILLEGAL TO TRANSPLANT FISH"

It is very dangerous to "bend the rules" here and there and talk about it as if it is ok.

There have been some problems with lakes in the Rocky Mt. Hse. area of someone introducing perch into lakes that have been trout stocked lakes. If the trout cannot compete with the perch then perhaps the trout stocking may stop.

I am not saying that your actions will cause any problems. But if anyone reads this thread and figures its not so bad to move live fish around then that could be a problem.

Good luck on your fish pond. I had a trout pond at one time and it was a lot of fun for me and my kids.

Robin

I thought I heard that there was a Cull in the works for these destructive birds. I sure would be tempted to protect my 'aquatic' livestock from these 'arial' predators. I think a few less of these birds could have a very positive impact on the fishing in Alberta. And to all those who are suggesting to 'report to the authorities', I think you guys should back off. It is on his own property and is not affecting anyone or the environment either. There are a lot of battles to fight out there and this is defineatly not one of them. Just my opinion.

to all those who are suggesting to 'report to the authorities', I think you guys should back off. It is on his own property and is not affecting anyone or the environment either

sorry the law is the law your land or not dosent make it right.Would you shoot a extra deer just becuaseits your land .:rolleyes

I think a few less of these birds could have a very positive impact on the fishing in Alberta.

This statement is weak and you know it.I thought I heard it before yah she said he said never ends.:x

I am assuming you are in the South with irrigation, you also mentioned that fishing can not control them, but would you be willing to let more people fish it to reduce the perch numbers even more, I know alot of people would love to catch what is considered fair size perch, at least I know I would be interested if I lived in the Southern part of the province.

We currently have it stocked with rainbow and brook trout good entertainment. Have the lic. from srd to stock only trout. The water comes from mcgregor yet to have any pike or perch enter.

Yes Robert I agree that we all need to abide by the laws even if it is on your own land. I guess it is fish in his own dugout and to suggest reporting him to the authorities is nit-picking. And the cormarat thing is weak. It has no scientific basis. Like I said it is my opinion, but i did get that information from somewhere. I did not just make it up. Has anyone else heard of a proposed cull on the Cormarats? A little orange sauce on them perhaps? Yum Yum!

try netting the lake use a small mesh sinking net ucan gt them at comercial fi+shing s+upply stores
get the one that has bottom weights and floats on top drag it from one end to anthor pull it out and throw back any fish u want to save and eat the ones u dont

Gotta say, I should have saw this coming. Wished I had just kept to myself. But thought someone may be able to help shed some light on a couple things i am seeing here. Understand, im not an old man, saying to hell with the rest of the world, i will do what i want. This is surely not the case. I practice what i preach, and am surely no outlaw, with regards to our outdoors. My self and family, are very practical, and somewhat educated outdoors people. Would not consider transporting fish to my pond, if they werent from the same body of water, that my water comes from. Obviously, this is a discretion thing. But some just see what they want to see. I guess i am that way sometimes as well though. Thank you.

keep an strain on er.

In closing, i would like to add, that if indeed there is a course of action that requires myself being penalized, i absolutely will take responsibility for my deliberate actions. I refuse to have my name placed with the likes of those who are out to jeopardize fish and wildlife, and do not wish to be judged as such. That being said, undoubtedly,there are outdoorspeople on this site that are in an authoritive position, and i would be happy to disclose my personal information, privately. Click packhuntr, and i will answer any questions pertaining to this issue. Thankyou.

packhuntr quote:Would not consider transporting fish to my pond, if they werent from the same body of water, that my water comes from. Just because you took fish from the same waterbody that you get ur dugout water makes no diff. I could go to mcgregor and catch trout at the canal for our dugout would that be right?

Sorry Willy, you must have misunderstood me. I am not a criminal, or a poacher, and do not require lessons in ethics. If you have any questions or concerns, please, pm me. Thanks.

I think the chemical being referred to is Rotenone. You should be able to find it in Home Depot and stores like it in the pest control section (I believe it's slug bait or grub killer... Something like that...)

...not that I would recommend using it, BTW!

Cheers,
Stinky