Don't feel bad Mark LOL We ended up catching one really fat 19incher that if it would have been an inch longer would've been a contender for the day UGHHHHHH Just our luck LOL Oh well always next year LOL Take Care God Bless LOL Dave

We caught short Salmon about 8 out of 10 fish caught (since ice out) had only 1 Salmon over 20" the 2 days we fished the Derby. I know fish and game do a great job and Winni gets 20.000+ new Salmon every year, but with catch and release by us and Bass guys, maybe there are too many fish and not enough bait.

There are allot of mouths to feed in that Lake and most Salmon caught are put back, adding to the mouths to feed. Many Salmon looked starving, especialy the older/bigger ones males and females..

This week they will be putting another 20,000 plus in (plus ???? many Bows) add these to what shorts are there now and how may shorts do you think you will catch now ????????

I'm sure Fish and Game are aware of what's going on and will recomend solutions, they are on top of it. Data from the Derby and date we all supply after each trip are very important to Fish and Game to help sustain the fishery. We can all be a part of our own destiny.

Big John

Please don't get me wrong that was in no way a dig on F&G. I think they do an outstanding job handling the lake.
With the numbers we put on board the boat this weekend you would have thought somewhere there would have been 1 over 21"??
Still it was a great weekend and already making plans for next year!!

IMO, I think you gotta give some consideration to pressure. There are alot more guys fishing the lake now than were 5 and 10 years ago. I'm not saying there aren't big ones in there but they are fewer and father between on my boat. Also consider the technology we have now with sonar/downriggers/jigging machines/planer boards etc. I, like alot of guys do catch and release but I also wonder how many of the fish we release really survive, especially in the summer when the surface temps are up in the 70's. Just my thoughts.

Mark T,

Thought I was doing well, haven’t got kicked off the message board while typing in a while, wrong.

The quality of the fishery I’m sure is well known by Fish and Game and after the Derby results (they check every fish registered) they know what’s going on and will most certainly make adjustments, if deemed needed. But what they might recommend might not be well accepted well by the majority. Within reason, Fish and Game will give us what we want, they work for us. Most people don’t want to drive for 1 to 2 hours to get there and catch 2 or 3 fish (or none) and who can blame them. On Winni, you should be able to catch plenty of fish and if ya get lucky, you might catch a big one as many have...

Winni is managed more for quantity than quality, there are several other NH lakes and rivers that are managed differently. But they are not as desirable or as easily accessible to fish as Winni. They all have their own little quirks, launch problems, poor to not much parking, hard to fish in general for various reasons (tough bottom, etc) and perhaps low catch rates with a good possibility of being skunked, etc. (you can read it all here) But I always say, “no pain no gain” and the majority (myself included) do want higher catch rates, so Winni is where they go. I fish there until the Derby every year for that reason, then I go back to my home Lake for the rest of the year, once in a while, if I need a fix (lack of fish caught) I come back to Winni at least once or twice a year.

I talk with allot of the Guides and the Fish and Game Biologist and they are concerned too, they want all hook wounded or otherwise stunted or thin fish harvested, it doesn’t help the fishery to put them back in. Take a few Lakers home once in a while to leave more food for the Salmon.

Travis has some specific suggestions on the subject, maybe he will make a post on the subject.

Great thread you started, let’s see how bad people really want a better fishery, it’s a catch 22.

Big John

I'm also torn between 2 lakes!! Good thing to have I guess...
I fish a lake in Maine that has quality Salmon in it, as you mentioned in your lake "X" not always going to post big numbers but you will always post a quality fish.
I know totals are frowned upon here so i won't give any of mine, as for hook wounded fish I saw only 2 this weekend which I thought was relatively good??
I agree with the thinning of the Lakers would help out the Salmon!

we caught 1 fish 21" on friday morning he only wieghed 2.6 pounds. we caught one 19 1/4" on saturday that was heavier but short. All in all we caught 22 between friday and saturday and only one was over 20".
But there is hope because I have read here that there was at least one 5 pounder lost at the back of a boat and numerous "the one that got away" reports over the radio......lol.
We had a great time though it was mine and my friend Nicks 1st derby and we enjoyed it!!! Also tried the Chambelain releases....... they are the best!!! I hope they do come out with a stacker release.

Say for a moment that a salmon over 16" feeds on 20 smelt per 24 hours to keep a healthy growth rate. If that fish is caught and released 10 times over the fishing season, and we say that 2 days after it is released it doesn't feed at the same rate due to fatigue and mouth injury. Then let's also say that the fight takes another 10 smelt to replenish the energy lostduring the fight (total of 50 smelt are taken away from salmon to grow each time it is caught), then as I see it, 500 smelt were used to replace the energy needed to keep this salmon on track for a healthy gowth period for the year. Now multiply this by 1000 salmon and you can see that almost 500,000 smelt are needed to support just the catch and release fishery of just 1000 fish. Whether 1000 fish are caught 10 times a season or 10000 salmon are caught just once it is the same impact on the smelt valuation. And there are 20,000 new salmon stocked yearly?

Of course, my quick analysis lacks the actual data on smelt consumption and energy content to make any decision from, but clearly shows there is a logical impact.

What if those 1000 salmon are kept? If just one is kept - that is like putting 50 smelt (for each time that fish is caught) back into the forage pool for other salmon to use to grow.

Here is an idea - anyone fishing for salmon / lake trout should keep their first legal fish, period. Then as the trip continues, the second fish can be kept as desired if at all. This allows some level of enforcement as CO can check license and a fish if you were spotted catching a legal fish.

The bottom line as I see it, is that the value of each smelt should be preserved since catch and release definately de-values the energy content of the smelt forage pool. So unless we all keep more fish, we will continue to see a lot of smaller fish - which should naturally lead to less salmon stocking but in the end may not increase each smelts value in that smelt population is used to support only the catch and release fishery and not a growth fishery.

Only by taking at least 1 fish per outing, would we start impacting and balancing the fishery in support of the current management techniques which is fundamentally growth.

I will admit I seldom keep anything but with this new logic and the current reality of the fishery, I think I will be filling the livewell more in the future. I know my boys will be happy as live fish in the livewell adds to their excitement on the water.

I hope someone out there has real data regarding how many smelt a salmon eats per day, etc.

Comments?

Stackers are in the works, I called and the guy said withon a couple of months he will have them available.. I agree they are very good.

Big John

Same deal aboard the Talewalker. Decent numbers of fish but all 19 - 20". Rainbows were pretty healthy though. You wouldn't think there was a lack of forage by the size of the huge baitballs we were marking on the fishfinder though. Will be back out this weekend to get some more time on the water. Also thinking about trying one of those "other" lakes one of these weekends coming up...