Brook Trout Tagging for the 2013 Season

[Guidofisherman]

I finally got around to entering the 2013 brook trout data, creating a summary and chart. This is the combined tagging of two individuals and the data is forwarded to the MNR as part of a long term brook trout study for the Nipigon.

 

A more detailed analysis is located here: http://members.shaw.ca/amuir/catchcharts.html

 

What is your take on the data?

 

 

 

 

 

[Locnar]

Right cool, thems some big brookies. Good to hear that C&R is effective on these beautiful fish.

[glen]

Good info thanks.

 

What is the catch rate per hour?

Do the fish have easy food or do they have to work to eat?

[Musky or Specks]

Thanks for your work. Save a Nipigon Brook trout turn out the lights.

[danc]

Good info thanks.

 

What is the catch rate per hour?

Do the fish have easy food or do they have to work to eat?

The catch rate per hour can vary greatly Glen. I've been there for 3 days and caught nothing on the first two days, and 20 fish on the third day, or vice versa. And these fish aren't starving. The ecosystem on Nipigon is amazing. There's a smorgasbord for fish out there. While camping there last summer, I took my flashlight down to the lake one evening and what I saw was amazing. In a 5 foot x 5 foot area, I saw 60 or so crayfish and about 30 or 40 minnows. Crayfish were fighting minnows and other crayfish. Minnows were taking shots at each other. What an amazing sight. And then there's the smelts. A friend caught and kept an 18" Brook Trout (when it was legal to do so. 22" now), and it had 13 smelts in its belly. So no. They're not starving.

[BillM]

Caught my first tagged fish last year out in the lake.. Pretty cool to see it swim away for someone else to catch.

[Dozer]

What to make of the data? Looks like you've got the pigs dialed in! Share the pattern Thanks for the post very interesting stuff... new world record by 2020?

[glen]

Thanks Dan.

[Guidofisherman]

The tagging data confirms that the move to the 22" catch limit for the Ni[pigon system about 7 years ago has had a positive impact on the sustainability of the brook trout population. This move has protected a significant portion of the breeding population, combined with the fact that now 95% of all fishermen practice "C&R". I will be interested in seeing the results of the MNR netting/sampling survey that was conducted this past fall in the South Bay spawning area. It was last conducted in 2003.

Dan is right...there is a lot of food in the system and catch rate varies as some days they are "on" and other days they have lock jaw. The published MNR goals states, "one brook trout 22" and over for every 8 hours of fishing", and "one fish of any size for every two hours of fishing." Their creel surveys indicate "catch rates of the average brook trout angler on Lake Nipigon in 2009 remain below the management objective of one brook trout for every two hours of fishing".

The bottom line is that it is a great fishery and we are lucky to have it.