Anyone know the results of the fishing tournament

[johnnyb]

I have read one person's account which stated most of the walleye weren't even released back into the lake. By the time the release boat got them out there, the majority had croaked.

 

 

[beagle dad]

heres an option hold a tournament where the anglers then get to take there fish home

sure this would not be popular with anti tournament community however would be perfectly legal

no relaese!!! good bye to the future of our fisheries

[hirk]

If it such a travesty that 5,10,20???? Walleye were found dead that MAY (or not)have been as a result of a

tournament and you are outraged and believe it has measurable impact on the fishery then you really wouldnt want to know how many are taken on a weekend by meat hunters,poached by keeping fish outside the slot or kept even though the fisherman already has a limit at home or kept via group fishing as well as mishandled or kept on a chain and later culled.To suggest a tournament has an impact in comparison to the above is......

[beagle dad]

you can also add in there the kill rate when the TSW..raises and lowers lake levels..during winter and during or after spawning

as evident a few yrs back on the kawarthas

[jedimaster]

If its a slot tournie, why not just turn in the single largest fish. Why bother turning in 5 slot fish? seems weird to me. I mean everyone and there dog knows that walleye are not like bass.

[beagle dad]

this tourney is not so much luck based

catch 6 fish in slot to weigh in 2 days in a row

only 16 out 100 teams weighed 6 fish 1st day..sure that was less over 2 days

plenty boats caught 1 good upper slot limit fish

the winners worked hard...practiced and deserved it

[Garnet]

The whitefish on Simcoe sucked so I'm home early.

 

MNR policy is 10% mortality, I don't think any tournament angler would be happy with that.

 

So I have no inside information just 30 years of high end tournament experience.

 

Let's start with parking, signed direction to the parking area for all rigs. People showing us were the next available spot. Anybody going to town Sat. or Sun. didn't even know we where their.

 

All this takes major planning. Congratulation to the board.

 

The check in and weight site was Little Bob Channel. This again was great planning on the boards behalf. Back in the day the weight in was at the park where 116 boats would have been floating around for 2 hrs blocking the channel. Bad for everybody.

 

Clearly marked channel was established for use to follow. So as each flight returned they went under the bridge and checked in.

 

The water temperature in Little Bob Channel and the main lake was exactly the same.

 

We all idled to a second pontoon boat that only let between 3-5 boats proceed to dock at any time. The check in boat, the second boat and the dock all had radio's.

 

Bags were only handed 1 at a time to control #'s a the wait troughs.

 

So we bagged our fish and walked maybe 100ft to a drain site. The bagged water and fish were dumped into a plastic box with 2 lids and immediately we were in the holding troughs.

 

These troughs were not large and the organizer where vigilante that not more than 3 people holding fish in 2 tanks. These tanks both had constant airination.

 

Seem like everybody was getting interview but at most maybe 2-3 minutes before I was on stage.

 

O ya I drain my basket 3 steps handed my fish to somebody and they were back in water for a quick check then on the scales.

 

At this point I was getting interview by 1 of my old tourney partners and good friend so I was getting the full treatment.

 

I was watching the scales and seen the weight lock in and before the print out started the fish were gone.

 

I think they were put in another basket with water and they were gone. My good buddy was yacking I was yacking so I'm not real clear on were they went but my guess strait to the holding boat.

 

This all takes huge coordination. A great big Congrats to the board.

 

On day 2 we where second heat and checked in 8-10 minutes early and by the time we got to 2nd control boat we went strait to the dock. Total time maybe 15 minutes. I don't think I ever seen a better setup.

 

If and I mean if their was a problem the only thing I see that was missed or I missed.

 

Walleye are absolute oxygen hogs. With so many new to walleye competitors maybe some education on livewell management would help. You cannot pump enough water into your livewell I don't use my timers strait pump all day and then with my system I can pump them out at the same time always good to do.

 

 

You cannot blame the board if there was a problem if the fish get to them in bad shape bad things happen. It's the angler's fault.........that's why we get the penalty.

 

So nobody wants to guess how many walleye would be harvested if 100 were caught by Rec anglers last weekend. My guess 30 and all 100 probably could have been legally kept.

 

 

Legally 116*2 *4*2= 1856 so the tournament could have legally kept 1856 walleye last weekend. Now that's un acceptable.

[beagle dad]

very well put garnet

[Garfisher]

From the one account I've heard suggesting something went foul, the release boat had iced water in it, so released walleye would have been shocked temperature wise twice (going in the boat and being released into the much warmer lake). The shock from warm to cold might have killed many fish, as it was reported by the same guy that there was a lot of fish that weren't released because they had been killed by the shock. I believe the MNR is investigating, it'll be a while yet before we get the "official" statement on what went on (so all we can do is really offer ideas/opinions about what might have happened until then).

So you haven't been on Sturgeon this year last year or the year before or the year before that.

 

The water temp. was 65.4 main lake and 67.8 way up Goose Bay and the river too the rail line. Hardly high water temp.

 

Just so you "Know" The sat. before Canada/US I caught 5 walleye in the 12.5 - 14.5" class That's 1 year class.

 

Just so you "Know" on tues. before the Canada/US I caught 9 walleyes in the 8-10" class. Yes I was swimming crappie tubes for crappie. That's another year class.

 

The lake is crammed with slot's. That's another 2 year classes.

 

The overs I caught were between 4-6 lbs. That's another 2 year classes.

 

And I heard of fish over 8 lb. This is another year class or 2.

 

Hardly a fragile fishery.

It's probably considered fragile because the population is nowhere near the population it was before zebra mussels. After zebra mussels, the water cleared right up, which caused a lot of walleye to hunker down in the weedbeds, which made the fishing excellent for a while (Lots of fish in concentrated areas compared to lots of scattered fish when the water wasn't nearly as clear). Add in a ton of panfish and crappie, which thrive on clear waters and are voracious egg/fry/small fish feeders, and you quickly have a reduced reproductive success since adults do not care for the eggs after they are laid. Plus it's a relatively popular lake for fishing.

Yes Sturgeon Lake may have a variety of year classes, it's how many fish are in those year classes (especially the ones that reproduce) that is of importance. If a lot of slot fish are taken in a given year on the lake (especially with the potential of this tourney if there were in fact a lot of fish deaths), that means there are not many fish left over that become those prime spawning fish. This can cause a great reduction of younger fish over the next couple years as the leftover large fish slowly die off, and the prime spawner population slowly drops as the slot size population drops.

[hirk]

Who considers it fragile? Centainly not the mnr as evidenced by the current slot regs. Even IF there was a problem and mortality was over 10% and say as high as 25% To put it into context 2,3,4,5 times that number are harvested every week there in season. If you think its fragile then question the limit/slot regs not a one time event.

[esoxansteel]

Nice to have the truth from someone who fished the tournament from start to finish, thanx Garnet, an excellent read

 

 

[mike rousseau]

Sounds like an awesome tourny...

 

Our walleye tournaments are amateur at best... All fish are released at the weigh in dock... Cooler for a pre weigh in tank... Fished weighed in a plastic tub on a deli scale....

 

And the only fish that seem to die do so before the weight in...

 

I've only ever seen one dead walleye(that I can remember) on the river...in my life... And it was decapitated...

[Garfisher]

Found a pic online of what was hidden in the release boat:

 

Looks like plenty of dead fish to me, mortality was much much higher than 25% judging from that picture. Both days were apparently like this.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Garfisher

[Big Cliff]

Now that is just plain sad and illeagal! I think someone should get charged for allowing those fish to be wasted. It isn't the fact that some fish died which is bad enough, it is that they were allowed to go to waste. I have never had a problem with tournaments before but I sure do now!

[beagle dad]

whoa!!!!!!!! if this indeed is tourn. pics yes sad

 

fish gone to waste NOT

 

assured they would be cleaned shared amoungst volunteers

 

PROOF PLS...have seen pics like this through ssfc and mnr seizures and netting programs for teaching programs

[beagle dad]

people post pics "found this online" you got facts

you member p3ta

or where you there when showed baby seal being clubbed

 

not sure what to think of these people they save animals only to put them all down secretly

[Garnet]

I see bags dead fish a hose. I don't see any proof.

 

Again if their is a problem. The Angler's take the blame. I know our fish were in good shape when presented to the weight station.

 

1 of my buddy's text me yesterday to say over 900 fish were caught so 10% would be 90 fish and your contention of 25% would be 225 fish.

 

 

We need a few more pic. to get to 225 dead fish.

[hirk]

Garfish you seem to be going out of your way too push your point of some fish mortality,do you have a agenda your not reveiling? Are you anti tournament? Read my previous post IF your really concerned about the fishery. This event injected ALOT of money into the local economy and you either intentionally or by default are tarnishing it with speclulation and sensationalism.

[beagle dad]

i challenge all those skeptic to get out to a live release tourn...

educate yourselves..see the care taken by most anglers and tournament officials to assure the fish get back in the water alive

live release organizations are those looking out for the future of our fisheries

imagine NO fish left if you keep all you catch and more...dont beliieve?

then why the keep limits less and a slot size to boot..this don't come about from people letting them go!

[johnnyb]

I saw the same pics. Posted by a fellow who claims he was there and watched the whole weigh-in and "release" procedure. "Release" being in quotes, because as he claims, most of the fish came back in bags. He also claims that there is now an investigation going on, so, maybe in a few months we'll hear something about it.

[Sinker]

This event injected ALOT of money into the local economy

 

Ya, sure did. But NONE of it will ever go back into the fishery!!! Maybe if they donated a few of those dollars into the fishery, I wouldn't be so opposed.

 

 

I saw the same pics. Posted by a fellow who claims he was there and watched the whole weigh-in and "release" procedure. "Release" being in quotes, because as he claims, most of the fish came back in bags. He also claims that there is now an investigation going on, so, maybe in a few months we'll hear something about it.

 

The fellow who claims he was there would not Bull. He has been involved with the fishery on sturgeon lake for many, many years. Any member of this site who attended fleming college would know him. He is a stand up guy who knows his fish biology, and cares about the fishery. He has seen the changes in that lake take place in front of his eyes. He isn't just joe blow.....he has a scientific background, and a looooong list of colleagues that support him.

 

Bottom line is, the tourney wasn't a good idea on sturgeon lake. It had an impact on the fishery for sure, and once the investigation comes to a close, we will all find out what "really" happened.

 

Keep in mind, a lot of dead fish will sink, and never be seen again. Even the floaters will be taken by birds and other critters, before they are noticed by people.

 

There is a lot more to think about with a walleye tourney than a bass tourney. Walleye use up to 3X more oygen than a bass, and require much colder water. Comparing this to a bass tourney is apples and oranges.

 

 

 

S.

[petegarnier]

Couldn't agree more Garnett - 100% Phenominal event! Can't wait for next year - I know the organisers will again be working hard to ensure another great event in 2013. They are 100% committed to the resource, the community, and the competitors.

 

is there room for improvement - absolutely - but this year's Canada/ US Walleye Tournament was one very well run and organised event I assure you! Roo for improvement - absolutely; and I am 100% confident the committed group behind this event will be taking whatever measured necessary to deliver and even better event next season!

 

alter ........ G!

 

(if you want to call me dp - im in the book)

 

 

 

[Garfisher]

I am by no means trying to push an agenda to eliminate all tourney fishing (nor a member of P3TA), hell I'm for tournament fishing. Tourneys are a lot of fun, they do bring in money into the local economy, and everyone has a great time. What I am against is a tourney where a coolwater species is targetted during a warmwater period on a lake where the population has dropped a substantial amount. If this tournament was held either within the 1st 2 weeks of Walleye opener, or from late sept. into the fall when the water is cooler, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I do believe the anglers did their absolute best to make sure that the walleye they were bringing in were as healthy as possible, and treated as well as possible. I believe more of the actual damage would have been done due to temperature shock induced by putting the warm-acclimated walleye into water that had been iced (Preslie observed this, and I haven't seen any other accounts as to what the release boat water was like so this is really the only info on that), and that more fish might have died being put from the chilled water (being already stressed from the firsth thermal shock) back into the warm lake.

I should have actually talked about the picture when I posted it, instead of just posting "found this, this looks like more than 25% mortality" (and if I offended anyone in that post or any of my previous posts in this thread, I am indeed sorry for it). It's a picture Preslie himself took while at the tourney (as mentioned before by Sinker). Considering that picture (I'm guessing 40-60 fish) was only on the saturday, there were probably more fish on sunday due to it being a lot warmer. Plus there were released fish that were reported to have died as well, and fish that organizers took home, although exact numbers aren't certain for sure. What exactly happened that tourney, as in how many fish died, we may not know for a couple weeks/months (if there is an investigation), or we may never know (and I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, again I'm sorry for that). All we can really do is wait and offer possible ideas until new information is uncovered/released for us to look at and interpret.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Garfisher

[Garnet]

Dr. Bruce Tuff has studied this icing of live wells how much how often and all these live release boats are well aware of this research.

 

I read about 1/3 of this guys post. Just Crap.

 

I think he has agenda.

 

Sturgeon is the healthiest it's been in 30 years. The old days you could 30-50 walleye all the exact same size. That is a sick fishier. Now we have 8-9 year classes.

 

All the good walleye anglers know why the fishing was tough last weekend. The same reason I struggled on Balsam today.

[Big Cliff]

I've been doing a lot more reading since I started this thread! My conclusion is this: If all tourniments are run as efficently as this one was then all tourniments should be banned and the people responsible for the fish killed as a result of this tourniment should face jail and fines!

 

I live here, I pay taxes here, probably more in taxes every year than this whole tourniment generated in revenue for the area and I don't take more than 6-8 walleye a year for the table.

 

I'll risk the sensors and say that the reports of this tourniment being good for the area and well run are "BULL POOP"!

 

I will now be fighting to reduce or eliminate ANY tourniments from this lake!