Limiting fishing pressure
 

This year has been a real eye opener. Our lakes and streams are facing so much fishing pressure and general recreational use. Is it time to consider limiting the numbers of anglers at some waters? Perhaps special permits with an annual quota? Booking days? Thoughts?

NO

Yes some popular lakes are busy with COVID and layoffs. Not all are busy either and it doesn’t take much exploring. I have had no issues catching fish either

We have regulations to manage harvest and limit impact already. If changes are needed to help fish stocks that is reasonable but not into time share and stuff like that

If Alberta went down the path you are suggesting it would be a mistake in my opinion

Well aroumd here what I have seen is nothing and I mean nothing compared to when the oil was booming.....there was a lot of people back then out on the water....I spend a lot of time out on the water around this area and have no issues or concerns to what I see going on as in pressure on fish etc....people are out but dont have the cash to put into all the toys so they sit on beaches or camp and spend time hiking, biking, paddle boarding , kayaking etc....

They need to increase the charges for poaching and signs to warn people not to poach. Far too many poachers out here just wanting to take fish home without even following regulation.

Limiting fishing pressure only hurts individuals who follow regulations. Those who want fish don’t care about it.

This is more of a reasonable response

X100

Firm no.

Lots of water C&R, leave it that way. Caught many a fish with mouth scars,big ones. Put them back gently for reproduction & someone else's turn. As others have said, really, really nail the poachers!!

I would agree with Smoky buck.
A firm NO to reduce the number of Anglers.
Also more Anglers means more money and the money should be well spent for improving our fisheries. Not suppress it.
Cheers

Classified waters on the Eastern Slopes trout streams, especially in ES1, especially for native trout...

...no brainer.

Anglers have to be managed better.
Anglers need to be more educated.
Ditto - if not more -> big ditto to random campers.

As I see it, the province has some choices here:

1) More regs, more fees, more constrictions, less freedoms (curtail or limit random camping)
or
2) More enforcement
or
3) A combo of both, though I'd be happy right now just to see more enforcement as a starter.


F&W in this province needs to double in size. Triple would be better. I spoke to one officer, he'd like to see 300, for the entire province.

There's 125.

For the whole province.

It's absolutely ridiculous.


This wild west, free-for-all needs to change. Now. Drastically.

Enough said.

~125 F&W officers, people!

Take photos of poachers holding the fish, take photo of their licence plates and most of all... be discrete and never confront them unless you’re a brave soul.

I received my 6th(approx. $800) check last week for reporting poachers this season alone! If you’re in the position to report anyone then do it. Don’t shrug it off as none of your business, 1 fish poached is 1 fish not able to reproduced. If dozens are taken every day, there will be nothing left for anyone.

I wouldn't base any regulation decisions on what is going on this year. It's an anomaly.

Bingo

I highly doubt Boat, RV and Diesel truck sales are through the roof here this year because of the fishing refs, lol.

This year might not be the norm but lots that started this year will keep at it. So many I have run into just thought "might as well go fishing". No idea on the regs.

I have always been more on educating then reporting but word needs to get out that the rules must be followed. When I can I will now be reporting.

100% agree

Yup first offence 5k

Second offence 10k and loose your ride too....or anything associated with this crime up to and including your house.....now we are talking harsh realities to arsehole activities .

Years ago, I helped Trout Unlimited install regulation signs along trout streams. Sadly, most did not last more than a couple of years, either shot to pieces or sawed/knocked down.

Seems to be an attitude with some campers on catch and release waters of “well we’ll only catch a couple to eat or let the kids taste fresh fish”. Not realizing that stocking does not happen on most Trout streams in Alberta. They are taking next year's spawners. And leave nothing for stock. The attitude of I’ll only take a couple of magnified times the number of uneducated outdoor users might be more than our Stream can take. Poaching is not always a greedy individual filling a freezer but uneducated people doing stupid things.

Finding more and more worm containers and evidence of poached fish (all reported) in areas where camping is heavy. There is also much more garbage and less respect for the land than ever before.

Last week while fly fishing through a campground I gathered a crowd of various ages and did an impromptu lecture for about an hour and a half about the stream ecosystem with lots of questions applause at the end (I’ve often given talks at sportsman and fly-fishing shows). Wish we had the funds to have people do this for the public. I believe it would help.

We don't need to limit access. If anything, we need to promote fishing and education more. Tripling the number of fish cops would be great as enforcement is tough as it is.

Personally I'd also like to see many waters ban bait and ice fishing. I like to ice fish as much as the next guy but some waters would do well without that pressure. It's done in BC and most lakes without ice fishing have excellent open water seasons.

Single barbless hooks would also be nice to see and on a selfish note, some lakes and streams could go to fly fishing only.

Overall though, no I don't think we need to limit access. Just gotta tweak a few things.

Tough call on making some waters fly-fishing only. You a bow-hunter or a rifle-hunter or a hunter?

Hard to make soft calls, boat vs non-boat, motorized vs manpower, type of fishing, etc.

I think KISS it, C&R unless the fishery can handle some retention.

install cams at docks and high fishing pressures
 

install cams at docks and high fishing pressures! do this at lot of thieves go away or very least much less poaching. maybe less garbage too.nature is so nice until its litter with garbage. real fisherman take there crap away.red neck to me is anyone who doesn't give a...these same people dont feel good until they do something to **** you off. they dont litter their home.

Fly fishing only areas, I agree, aren’t practical. I think single barbless is a good idea though. Itd do much more for the fish.

Agree with single barbless hooks.


The way it's going in 30 years you will have to register and buy an outdoors card. Each card is loaded with 240 outdoor hours for the year. Will have to register where you are going with GPS coordinates and times. Entitled to 80 hours fishing, 80 hours hunting, 5 days for camping and 80 hours trapping. Use the hours up or lose them next year. No banking hours for next year and extra hours cannot be bought or sold.

Fly fishing only and banning ice fishing... oh boy I don't think there's been many statements on this forum that I've disagreed with more over the years. What a fly guy thing to say lol. I fly fish myself and would have nothing to lose but I'm also not a snob.

You sound like some of the fly guys that fish Beaver. It's mostly fly fishermen plugging up the lake and parking lot during the entire open water season, all day, every day. Yet if they have a tough go it's the ice fishermens fault who maybe get a week or two of catch and release ice fishing IF THAT on a warm year. Just one example.

:snapoutofit:

I'm just gettiing back into hunting, but have both bow and rifle. Same as I both fly fish and gear fish. Variety is the spice of life. I'm cool with C&R fisheries.

Settle down. I didn't say anything about turning ALL waters into no ice fishing or fly fishing only. Just a few where it would be sustainable and beneficial. I can think of 1 or 2 lakes that are too small and shallow for trolling gear and already have electric motor only laws. It was also just spitballing ideas since that's what we're all doing here right?

Like I said, there are fly fishing only lakes in BC and lakes that ban ice fishing. The ice fishing ban helps prevent the introduction of shiners which usually hurt a trout population. Said lakes are also usually single barbless hook regs with 1 or 2 fish limits and are managed by the province as "trophy" lakes, being stocked with triploids that grow to very large sizes. I'd love to see similar opportunites in Alberta.

But if the consensus is to have a pure free for all, I guess we can do that too. I chuck spinners and spoons too, and I like ice fishing in the winter. I can deal with a free for all, no holds barred system if that's what you guys want.

Grew up in BC and can’t say the fly fishing only had amazing results in all areas applied. I don’t really see this as a conservation tool. Great way to promote fly fishing and see it as a good thing in small numbers but not a management tool. I know of more then a few lakes full of float tubes and cronie fishermen bobbing around in high numbers. Funny thing the better fly fishing lakes in BC don’t have this restriction and are not well known lol. Fly fishing only attracts fly fishermen so only changes the style of pressure in my opinion

Ice fishing ban not going to get into much because I never really put much thought into it. The only way this or any seasonal closer is worthwhile is in a C&K situation or to protect spawning. Shorten the season on C&K fish numbers are at risk sure but I would not target directly ice fishing

Single barbless I agree and disagree. Fully support Alberta going back to barbless but like I have stated many times there is benefits and disadvantages to fish health with both trebles and singles if you choose your hooks correctly. Single hooks are not always the best option. Size appropriate hooks/lures make more of a difference then single vs treble. When bait is involved circle hooks work wonders.

One I am a supporter on is bait restrictions in waters that are C&R and even in heavy pressured waters where fish stocks are a concern

The truth is there is a lot of good fishing out there and lots of areas with minimal pressure get out and explore. If you fish areas everyone talks about expect them to be busy. I hear people always saying how the fishing is so bad but most of my trips this year have been 5-20 fish in a morning or afternoon fishing with some days being much better. Most of the areas I have fished I basically have no experience fishing either and just trying random new places. Being in a new area I am starting fresh. Many of the spots I have been fishing have limited restrictions with C&K opportunity. Funny part one of the most productive areas I had been told was dead by many people lol.

Could Alberta’s fisheries management use improvement yes but I my days on the water are not the doom and gloom many report

My biggest complaint this year is the water levels in the rivers suck so have not been able to explore the rivers as much as I want to

I didn't think you meant ALL waters, I vehemently oppose turning any waters in this province into fly fishing only. I don't know the ins and outs of why this would be implemented in B.C. but seems like a completely silly rule.
Fly fishing isn't exactly a handicap to those who know what they are doing. Restricting waters to fly fishing only strikes me as nothing more than a discriminatory venture that does nothing to limit fishing pressure.

We already have seasonal closures that pretty much effectively eliminate ice fishing in certain waterbodies other than maybe a short window. Don't see the need to expand on that. Ice fishing is a great way for people to get out in the winter.

Nothing wrong with spit balling ideas I just don't happen to agree.

This is a good comment. We already have waters in our national parks that have fly fishing only.
I disagree that it doesn't limit fishing pressure, it really does. More people are comfortable with casting a lure than a line. If that were to change and more people are brought up on fly fishing, then it wouldn't make a difference like you have said. In this light, I understand why it is done but agree that it is better left as fishing is fishing.
I also agree with you that it sends a poor message and they should be using other measure to level the playing field. E.g. no bait, lures of a certain size, no weight on the line or whatever it is they are trying to limit in a particular area.

Be careful what you ask for, I guided in BC whilst the classified waters system came into play.
There has been only one group that has benefitted from this, the guides. If I was wrong the classified waters in BC would be choked full of fish.... are they?

Good comments. I certainly wasn’t contemplating a broad brush approach, but limited application of a means to create and maintain some high quality fishing opportunities that aren’t necessarily remote and hard to access.

I wonder how the discussions went when it was decided to move from general seasons to special licences for some big game species and zones? Was that based largely on conservation needs, given demand exceeding supply, or were draws designed to create better “quality” hunting opportunities?

For myself, I think I would appreciate the trade-off of not being able to fish at some places whenever I want if the availability of rod days is limited and the fishing is memorable.

Looking down the road a couple of decades, it’s easy to predict that Alberta might have a population of 6 million and 400,000 licensed anglers, which I think is about 25% more than now. That might be conservative.

I dunno...like I said, the recreational traffic this year is an eye opener. I don’t think it’s entirely a one time blip.

Just more liberals trying to take our rights away. This country is doomed

To many people of privilege enjoying something simple. We should definitely regulate this. Sheesh