number of lakes and number of fishermen

[SKSniper]

Never once did I pass judgement on anybody, nor did I say only some people should be aloud to fish. I simply said it is very irritating to sit and listen to people who limit out every time bitch about there not being enough fish in Alberta. It's quite hypocritical if you ask me, keeping fish every chance you get and then turning around and complaining that the fisheries here suck.

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by SKSniper

Never once did I pass judgement on anybody, nor did I say only some people should be aloud to fish. I simply said it is very irritating to sit and listen to people who limit out every time bitch about there not being enough fish in Alberta. It's quite hypocritical if you ask me, keeping fish every chance you get and then turning around and complaining that the fisheries here suck.

There are places where the fishing pressure is higjer and your allowed to take fish home each day. Only difference is in those places they keep fish under a certian size. Here we keep fish over a certian size. Thats partly why some of our lakes are full of little dinks. If we harvested the smaller fish we would have more size classes in the lake.

[fishmonger]

He then went on to b**** and complain (in a thick foreign accent)

Why would his accent be of relevance? Why would it be worth noting? Guessing its the foreigners that are keeping all the fish in the province?


I though to myself it's because of guys like this that try to limit out every time they go fishing that the rules are so strict.

Isn't this passing judgement? These guys are the reason why our fisheries are not as good as other provinces.


If people would just catch and release and make do with only a few fish frys every year there would be bigger and more fish.

Is there a magic number for the amount of fish fries that I am allowed to have each year? Or do we open it up to a vote, let Joe/Jan Public decide?


Some people just don't look at things from any ones perspectives but their own [/QUOTE]

Amen.



Yes, coming across as a bit of a jerk...but we all need to realize that the people following the rules are NOT the "bad guy". If you choose to keep your limit WITHIN the regulations it does not make you a killer of the resource.

Poachers are bad. Sportsmen/gals are not, regardless of whether they practice C&R or not.

[huntsfurfish]

[QUOTE=pickrel pat;2047051]There are places where the fishing pressure is higjer and your allowed to take fish home each day. Only difference is in those places they keep fish under a certian size. Here we keep fish over a certian size. Thats partly why some of our lakes are full of little dinks. If we harvested the smaller fish we would have more size classes in the lake.[/QUOTE]

For a while. Then you would/could end up with a collapsed fishery again.

[fedfred]

Originally Posted by SKSniper

When I was camping on the may long we had a few guys pull into our site to ask how the fishing was. We told them lots of small pike. He then went on to b**** and complain (in a thick foreign accent) about how stupid Albertas fishing regs were and how he had such a hard time catching legal sized fish to take home and eat. I though to myself it's because of guys like this that try to limit out every time they go fishing that the rules are so strict. If people would just catch and release and make do with only a few fish frys every year there would be bigger and more fish. Some people just don't look at things from any ones perspectives but their own

Don't be ignorant. When you catch and release you're not doing the fish any favors either. At least this guy's gonna catch a big pike and go home. You're gonna sit around and catch 50 walleye in one day and release them, chances are one of them will die anyway.

[Bobby B.]

Originally Posted by fishmonger

Not everyone is a C&R fisherman...nor should they be. Not everyone is an anti-hunter...nor should they be.

Canada is blessed with resources, we choose to utilize them in our own way.

I don't hunt, but I do fish. I don't keep/kill Alberta fish, but I have kept the odd walleye in the past, and I certainly keep BC coastal species. To each his/her own. It's unfair to pass judgement on those sportsmen who choose to enjoy wild meat, fish or fowl.

Our resources belong to all Canadians, not just to the elite, the fortunate, or the self righteous....with or without thick foreign accents.

To the point of the OPs original comment...Alberta has over 150 times the fishing pressure of Sask and other provinces. Reading into that statistic, that's probably why we have reduced limits, collapsed zero-retention fisheries, and a tag system, among other fishery initiatives, in an effort to halt the further decline of a fragile resource.

"Sustainability"

The "powers that be" have determined that it is sustainable to keep a walleye over XX cms from YY lake...who are we to say different?

Or do we wait until "AO forum scientists" give the OK to allow us to re-begin the harvest?

That makes alot of sense to me. I hear it all the time what a great 'trophy pike' lake Wabamun is. Isn't that because it's C+R?

Some 40 years ago when I first started moose hunting, no one had ATV's. And, no one wanted to pack a moose out very far. So, most guys drove the few roads that existed and pretty much shot their moose on or near the road. What this allowed for is the moose deep back in the bush to remain relatively safe from hunters. So, with a healthy population of 'safe' moose to constantly produce sufficient numbers to allow for enough 'roadside' moose to be killed, moose hunting was always good. Now, with ATV's and vast numbers of roads providing access to the 'safe' moose, draws are required to limit the number of moose licences and thus the number of moose killed.

Bobby B.

[Bobby B.]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I just want to know what happened to the condom thread because that had AO Classic written all over it!

LC

I wondered what happened to it as well. However, thanks to a phone call from a buddy of mine, I do know how it started and by whom. Both my buddy and I enjoy putting one another on the spot for our own entertainment. Wish I knew how good he got me.

Bobby B.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Bobby B.

I wondered what happened to it as well. However, thanks to a phone call from a buddy of mine, I do know how it started and by whom. Both my buddy and I enjoy putting one another on the spot for our own entertainment. Wish I knew how good he got me.

Bobby B.

Pretty good I would say....I wish I screen captured it for you to read. I know you would have enjoyed it as much as the rest of us.

You owe your buddy a "return burn" big time.....lets leave it at that....

LC

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by pickrel pat

There are places where the fishing pressure is higjer and your allowed to take fish home each day. Only difference is in those places they keep fish under a certian size. Here we keep fish over a certian size. Thats partly why some of our lakes are full of little dinks. If we harvested the smaller fish we would have more size classes in the lake.

So where are these places with higher fishing pressure and you can keep little fish every day?

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, they can measure the average walleye catch rate in hours per fish,,, here in Alberta it's measured in fish per hour.

I agree we need to look at the practice of putting all the harvest on the oldest and largest fish. Slot limits do work when the harvest within the slot allows enough recruitment through the slot to reach the desired population level of the protected size. This can be accomplished with light to moderate angling and / or combined with restrictive limits (which in Alberta, would likely mean tags).

Lake studies by our SRD over the past 20 - 30 years seem to indicate a sustainable walleye harvest of maybe 1 - 3 kg of walleye per hectare of lake depending on lake productivity. Now consider that lakes like Pinehurst get over 10 hours of angling effort per ha in a summer,,,, http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/de...A344127CD738CB ,,,, (Buck lake was over 20 hours / ha and Pine was over 40!!!)

Can these lakes support an open slot limit of one 1 kg walleye per day per angler? Hardly!!!!

But could a slot limit combined with a limited harvest (tags) work? Sure it would , but such an idea needs better angler acceptance for it to happen.

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Pikebreath

So where are these places with higher fishing pressure and you can keep little fish every day?

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, they can measure the average walleye catch rate in hours per fish,,, here in Alberta it's measured in fish per hour.

I agree we need to look at the practice of putting all the harvest on the oldest and largest fish. Slot limits do work when the harvest within the slot allows enough recruitment through the slot to reach the desired population level of the protected size. This can be accomplished with light to moderate angling and / or combined with restrictive limits (which in Alberta, would likely mean tags).

Lake studies by our SRD over the past 20 - 30 years seem to indicate a sustainable walleye harvest of maybe 1 - 3 kg of walleye per hectare of lake depending on lake productivity. Now consider that lakes like Pinehurst get over 10 hours of angling effort per ha in a summer,,,, http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/de...A344127CD738CB ,,,, (Buck lake was over 20 hours / ha and Pine was over 40!!!)

Can these lakes support an open slot limit of one 1 kg walleye per day per angler? Hardly!!!!

But could a slot limit combined with a limited harvest (tags) work? Sure it would , but such an idea needs better angler acceptance for it to happen.

Agree, and that is already in place.

But areas with light to moderate pressure likely can sustain limit of one to 3 fish over a certain length insuring sustainability. Even if pressure increases will allow time for adjustment (3 fish to 1 fish or increase in size limit).