Kevin Lee
02-02-2009, 11:20 PM
RudyG
I like the 23" slot. I fished Lake Gogebic for years where Seldom... SELDOM .. did.. umm do.. you catch a fish in that big lake of over 23". The limit was 13" for years.. until the late 80's.. we caught way too many fish 11-12 inches. After a few years with the limit at 15 we soon caught many fish 13-14". I understand what Enterprise says, and agree for the most part. But, I also know that it wouldnt take long for us to not catch many larger walleye in LBDN if "most" people knew they could keep all the big ones they catch. (1)
I think that is the one thing that is unique to LBDN over other waters; the Trophy fishery we have. (2)
I hope to, one day, latch on to one like this young man caught when he was only 10 yrs old.. From another body of water.. not LBDN
Mike: (1) These are very different waters entirely and not comparable in your example, at least in my view. The harvest of walleye in LBDN is less than 4% annually. There are a LOT of walleyes that are born, grow, live to a very old age and never see an anglers hook, boat, net or beer can. The data we have are solid and defendable and not just pulled out of some mouse’s ear.
(2) The data says that the “trophy” fishery would not change.Jigginfins
I think the slot limit is great. It helps keep the big fish hear and alive. I wish it was expanded to big bay as well. The fishing over hear has dropped a little bita and i think a slot would maybe help boost up the population, especially with eaters have more big ones left to spawn.
Mike: The large walleyes are not the only ones that spawn. Although approximately 45% of the eggs deposited in LBDN come from fish that are over 23 inches. That means that 55% of the eggs come from smaller fish. As fish get larger, egg viability or egg health declines. Harvesting a few more larger walleye each year will have no negative impact on walleye recruitment or on this population in LBDN.
Rockbass
what would the purpose of going back serve? So when the Jug Bourdeau touny is on you can keep more fish to try and win more money? Or the guys from out of the area can really clean up next month? Its not like the 28 inchers are the best eaters. I can't even believe this is a question. Don't be greedy, it's working fine now why change anything.
Mike: see explanation(s) above.
FrankS
I'm okay with the way it is, but I also would not be opposed to the slot being upped a few inches. Not sure about the science behind the choices here on LBDN, but I read a Canadian study that indicated fish in the 20-22" range were the prime spawners. That may have been on different types of water, though, further north, with slower growth rates. Interesting topic.
Mike: Increasing the “slot a few inches” would serve no purpose since very few of these larger fish are harvested during any given year. We propose to remove the regulation because it serves no biological purpose, is not necessary and we should work to simplify fishing regulations when we can. One of our responsibilities as fish managers is to create regulations that are effective and not encumber anglers with those that are not. Having said that, I totally recognize that this regulation does serve a social purpose, as evidenced by the correspondence on this forum. If it makes you feel good to release all the big fish you catch, please do that because I want you to feel good about your fishing. You should be able to exercise that “choice” as much as an angler who wants to keep some larger fish if the biology supports it.
MarquetteDoc
Keep the over 23" slot, Walleyes can be found over the entire UP only in LBDN do I have the feeling every time I fish I might catch a real trophy.
Mike: see explanation(s) above. You will not realize any difference in the “trophy” walleye fishery that we now have in LBDN because of the very low harvest rates of big fish. This is true now and was true prior to implementation of the one over 23” rule.
Hannapin
I to believe it should be left alone,there arn't many places where every bite is a potenial 10 pounder..I know this is what keeps me coming back,not sure if new rules would change this or not, but why risk it..
Mike: see explanation(s) above. You will not realize any difference in the “trophy” walleye fishery that we now have in LBDN.
WalleyeGuy
To compare LBDN to Lake Gogebic is like comparing apples to oranges.
A 15" fish on lake gogebic is approximately 6 years old according to DNR officials.
A 15" fish on LBDN is 2.5 to 3 years old.
LBDN is basically a rearing ground for young walleyes and a spawing ground for the bigger fish. LBDN fish grow extremely fast. Gogebic fish eat wigglers due to a lack of major forage base.
How many times have you caught a walleye over 23" in the summer in non-slot boundary water (LBDN). Some but not many.
The massive migration of big walleyes to the bay that occurs in fall through winter are from areas that typically don't have a slot limit.
I imagine the DNR is thinking that the overall effect from keeping fish over 23" in LBDN wouldn't matter on the big picture cause most of these fish reside in areas that don't have slot limits anyways. (1)
My opinion is the slot limit is beneficial if natural reproduction is occurring and I think this is a proven fact since we are seeing these tiny walleyes that aren't a result of plants due to the VHS thing.
My $0.02 – WG
Mike: (1) I could not have stated this any more effectively. Please remember that fingerling walleye do not only come from very large walleye. All sexually mature females in LBDN contribute to the natural reproduction component of this fishery. And just to remind you, we did stock LBDN in 2008 with 93,604 fingerlings.
I like the 23" slot. I fished Lake Gogebic for years where Seldom... SELDOM .. did.. umm do.. you catch a fish in that big lake of over 23". The limit was 13" for years.. until the late 80's.. we caught way too many fish 11-12 inches. After a few years with the limit at 15 we soon caught many fish 13-14". I understand what Enterprise says, and agree for the most part. But, I also know that it wouldnt take long for us to not catch many larger walleye in LBDN if "most" people knew they could keep all the big ones they catch. (1)
I think that is the one thing that is unique to LBDN over other waters; the Trophy fishery we have. (2)
I hope to, one day, latch on to one like this young man caught when he was only 10 yrs old.. From another body of water.. not LBDN
Mike: (1) These are very different waters entirely and not comparable in your example, at least in my view. The harvest of walleye in LBDN is less than 4% annually. There are a LOT of walleyes that are born, grow, live to a very old age and never see an anglers hook, boat, net or beer can. The data we have are solid and defendable and not just pulled out of some mouse’s ear.
(2) The data says that the “trophy” fishery would not change.Jigginfins
I think the slot limit is great. It helps keep the big fish hear and alive. I wish it was expanded to big bay as well. The fishing over hear has dropped a little bita and i think a slot would maybe help boost up the population, especially with eaters have more big ones left to spawn.
Mike: The large walleyes are not the only ones that spawn. Although approximately 45% of the eggs deposited in LBDN come from fish that are over 23 inches. That means that 55% of the eggs come from smaller fish. As fish get larger, egg viability or egg health declines. Harvesting a few more larger walleye each year will have no negative impact on walleye recruitment or on this population in LBDN.
Rockbass
what would the purpose of going back serve? So when the Jug Bourdeau touny is on you can keep more fish to try and win more money? Or the guys from out of the area can really clean up next month? Its not like the 28 inchers are the best eaters. I can't even believe this is a question. Don't be greedy, it's working fine now why change anything.
Mike: see explanation(s) above.
FrankS
I'm okay with the way it is, but I also would not be opposed to the slot being upped a few inches. Not sure about the science behind the choices here on LBDN, but I read a Canadian study that indicated fish in the 20-22" range were the prime spawners. That may have been on different types of water, though, further north, with slower growth rates. Interesting topic.
Mike: Increasing the “slot a few inches” would serve no purpose since very few of these larger fish are harvested during any given year. We propose to remove the regulation because it serves no biological purpose, is not necessary and we should work to simplify fishing regulations when we can. One of our responsibilities as fish managers is to create regulations that are effective and not encumber anglers with those that are not. Having said that, I totally recognize that this regulation does serve a social purpose, as evidenced by the correspondence on this forum. If it makes you feel good to release all the big fish you catch, please do that because I want you to feel good about your fishing. You should be able to exercise that “choice” as much as an angler who wants to keep some larger fish if the biology supports it.
MarquetteDoc
Keep the over 23" slot, Walleyes can be found over the entire UP only in LBDN do I have the feeling every time I fish I might catch a real trophy.
Mike: see explanation(s) above. You will not realize any difference in the “trophy” walleye fishery that we now have in LBDN because of the very low harvest rates of big fish. This is true now and was true prior to implementation of the one over 23” rule.
Hannapin
I to believe it should be left alone,there arn't many places where every bite is a potenial 10 pounder..I know this is what keeps me coming back,not sure if new rules would change this or not, but why risk it..
Mike: see explanation(s) above. You will not realize any difference in the “trophy” walleye fishery that we now have in LBDN.
WalleyeGuy
To compare LBDN to Lake Gogebic is like comparing apples to oranges.
A 15" fish on lake gogebic is approximately 6 years old according to DNR officials.
A 15" fish on LBDN is 2.5 to 3 years old.
LBDN is basically a rearing ground for young walleyes and a spawing ground for the bigger fish. LBDN fish grow extremely fast. Gogebic fish eat wigglers due to a lack of major forage base.
How many times have you caught a walleye over 23" in the summer in non-slot boundary water (LBDN). Some but not many.
The massive migration of big walleyes to the bay that occurs in fall through winter are from areas that typically don't have a slot limit.
I imagine the DNR is thinking that the overall effect from keeping fish over 23" in LBDN wouldn't matter on the big picture cause most of these fish reside in areas that don't have slot limits anyways. (1)
My opinion is the slot limit is beneficial if natural reproduction is occurring and I think this is a proven fact since we are seeing these tiny walleyes that aren't a result of plants due to the VHS thing.
My $0.02 – WG
Mike: (1) I could not have stated this any more effectively. Please remember that fingerling walleye do not only come from very large walleye. All sexually mature females in LBDN contribute to the natural reproduction component of this fishery. And just to remind you, we did stock LBDN in 2008 with 93,604 fingerlings.