Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc
Explain how it doesn't work?
It's not up to my standards but if it's the busiest stocked lake within two hours of Edmonton, it's definitely working.
I swayed you? Good now go talk to all the average Joes and convince them we need these lakes too and we'll all be happy. Oh, wait but you don't want quality fishing you want easy to catch tiddlers. If we all stayed around Edmonton then you'd be catching to many easy to catch bigger fish! That doesn't work for you remember?
No, I want bigger lakes that are currently 5 trout per day. There are to many of those now. We need to change that.
Oh they'll do it. With the pressure put on them for big fish in the past, they came up with the quality lakes initiative (that was the reason they put the poll out there in the first place). Once the lakes and regs are in place, we will not be happy with just that and we'll put pressure on them for better management. Once the Alberta Angler gets a true taste of what can be, more pressure will be applied for more of these lakes. It'll take a while as SRD is very slow to react (regarding pretty much anything) but it will happen. And you're right, if we get enough quality lakes near major centers, the long to drive to lakes will see less pressure and will be become quality lakes once again themselves. If SRD can manage the stocking numbers accordingly that is.
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Average Joe angler won't go for changing their favorite lake into a "quality" fishery. Local anglers know what's in the lake already and if a city fella goes there one time and doesn't catch any big fish they are fine with that. They have the ability to go there every day and if they don't catch a big one one day then they'll catch one the next. Why would they want to give that up?
Even if I convinced them that there'd be fewer anglers because they are going to stay at the fish farms created in Edmonton they'd tell me that they didn't care because the city guys don't think that there are big fish in their lake anyway. Just look at the disbelief in this thread when I stated that I was already catching big fish in lakes that arn't "quality" fisheries. I know these guys because I'm one of them.
I doubt that SRD will change their current position of not changing anymore stocked lakes to "quality" fisheries......anything is possible, but I highly doubt it. Creating new "quality" fisheries in new bodies of water they will do. It seems to me that they have learned from their mistakes. Case in point Police Lake. Look what they are going through now with the fight to get it back to a regular stocked catch and keep 5 trout lake. I would like to hear from a local down that way when he heard about the "quality" lake resolution sneaking through.
You see, Joe angler likely didn't even know anything about the resolution until it was too late.