Musky/Pike Regulation Changes

[Red Childress]

I doubt any of those 34 waterways were rivers but that is just a guess. I assume that most of these DNR surveys are done in lakes with some radiotelemetry involved as well.

Each body of water is different. Some can handle more top end predators than others. Some have marginal numbers of baitfish while others have an abundance of them. We HAVE to trust the PFBC to know these answers and stock accordingly.

I do know in regards to smallmouth fishing, that the guys on the Susky River were having very tough times catching limits of BIG smallmouth bass the past several years. Many think that this problem was caused by increased fishing pressure and increased post-mortality after release. I hear many of the tournaments have lowered their limits to only 2 to 3 fish coming to the scales in order to reduce the stress of being hauled in a livewell all day. Some tournament formats might even reduce this number to 1 big fish per boat coming to the scales. The bottom line is this: A bass must first reach 12 inches BEFORE it can reach 20 inches.

I tend to think that we are our own worst enemy the majority of the time. While many waterways have been stocked with various species of fish and have great success stories, humans (not an overpopulation of muskies/pike) have lead to the demise of many rivers and lakes. In all the reading I have done, I have NEVER heard of there being too many muskies stocked in a body of water but I am sure it has happened a few times.

We cannot continue to increase fishing pressure and harvesting of fish without helping our own cause. When I hear the question "I wonder why I cannot go to my favorite spot and limit out on walleye/bass in six consecutive casts", I feel like saying, "Ask the guy in the boat beside you who takes a limit home with him everytime he fishes."

It is not illegal in PA to release a few fish either. I really do not care what people do within the limits of the law but it does bug me when the guys that are bitching are the very ones who are taking everything home with them each time they are on the water. WE CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.

Fish, like humans are very resilient but they cannot reproduce nearly as fast as we are raping them from their waters.