Re: When are we going to start holding F&G responsible?
You can't say fish and game is totally at fault though. Fish and game is basically broke how cam you fix a problem like this without proper funding, create a salmon stamp, or raise license fees, I have no problem with this but many would and I think that fish and game fear this as it could lead to fewer sales
Re: When are we going to start holding F&G responsible?
Let’s face it and admit there are too many Salmon in Winni and it’s not directly Fish and Game’s fault. We all wanted a high catch rate in Winni, otherwise why do we all brag about numbers, instead we should be bragging about fish size. They only gave us what we wanted, which is their job.
Stopping the Derby will help the fish wound problem, but will it help the fish size, overall it should help some ?????
We all know there are too many Salmon in the lake, but it’s a taboo subject, nobody wants to go there, it’s good to hear some folks talking about it finally.
Fish and Game biologist are scientist, they know their job well, where they fell short is allowing public opinion and wants of the fisherman to dictate what they do instead of listening the net results. And why not, they work for us, we pay them.
The net results and forage counts and other factors are a guide as to how many fish a body of water can hold, I think Winni has been crying for less fish for years.
Simply cut the stock rate and I’m sure fish size will improve by itself and that I don’t think takes a scientist to figure out..
Someone wrote "the fishery should be made to handle the pressure instead of adjusting the pressure to the fishery". I wonder if that's possible, be nice instead of cutting back people from fishing.
Be interesting how many agree with the fact there are too many Salmon in Winni.
Re: When are we going to start holding F&G responsible?
John,
I agree 1 million percent. Less fish= more baitfish, more baitfish= bigger fish. I know they say bait is not the problem but I feel it's part of the problem. You should see the bait balls that show up on my fishfinder when I'm out on the Finger Lakes. They are unbelievable. I've fished Winni a long time all over the lake and have never seen anything remotely close. This will result in lower catch rates but improve the overall size of the fish. I'm in favor of this but I know others are not. Thanks for sticking up for the solo angler in a previous post. One line per angler would simply be a waste of time for solo anglers. What if I want to establish a pattern of what's working on that particular day? If I'm alone and only have one line I and I give each method (top, leadcore,rigger) 1 hour to produce, I could on some days be three hours into fishing before I figure out what's working. I usually fish in 3-5 hour chunks so for me that would be a waste of time. One line per angler would be terrible, and steer me away from fishing for salmon/trout in NH. 3 lines per boat, regardless of # of anglers, would be a decent compromise to all involved. Lastly, I would really like to see F&G take some of the larger salmon/trout lakes and manage them for trophy browns. A hardier fish, tougher to catch, and not as limited with their diets. All this could add up to bigger fish. I'm not saying do this in Winni, but there's no rule that every salmon/trout lake must be managed for salmon. Diversify the fishery throughout the state for both the warmwater(pike, musky, walleye) and coldwater fisheries(more browns)and this could help take some of the pressure of Winni and meet the needs of a wider range of anglers.
