Lake Scugog Stewards goal is to ban winter fishing in Scugog

[mattybculp]

My grandfather who is now pushing 90 years of age, says " the fishing ain't what it used to be". Then breaks out the album and there's 50 lakers or walleye on a long wooden stringer. I say back to him "I wonder why.?" Did you really need to keep all those fish? I just see these pictures from the 40's, 50's and 60's and its crazy to me, to see the limits of fish these guys were taking home.

[Musky or Specks]

Damn Musky are eating all the walleye we need to have a year round open season no size limit. I can't get any eyes for my table/s

[bigugli]

My grandfather who is now pushing 90 years of age, says " the fishing ain't what it used to be". Then breaks out the album and there's 50 lakers or walleye on a long wooden stringer. I say back to him "I wonder why.?" Did you really need to keep all those fish? I just see these pictures from the 40's, 50's and 60's and its crazy to me, to see the limits of fish these guys were taking home.

You can't apply your standard to the way things were 50 and 60 years back. It's like accusing Henry Ford of intentionally polluting the air when he started building automobiles.

Canada, in your Grandfather's heyday was a nation of 10-11 million people, not the 34.8 here now.

Back then, sports fishing was something done by the wealthy and privileged. Most others caught fish as food. Fish were not play things, and they didn't go to waste. My grandfather would make the run to Simcoe, fill a bushel of whitefish and share them around when he got home. I was brought up on those same values. and yes I still view fish as food even though I do really enjoy the recreational part of it

[jimmer]

I believe all issues listed in this thread have had an impact. Crappie, water levels and overharvesting. The overharvesting is still happening on the kawarthas and scugog got hit hard because of the ice fishing season. Many anglers still don't read the regulations or totally ignore them.

I haven't done much fishing on Scugog lately because I live on Pigeon. A few years back, before the slot, I was getting totally disgusted with the stringers of 4-5 pounders hanging over the boats on opening day. Now many ignore the slot or don't even know it exists. I sure hope that the guys that said the walleye will bounce back are right!

[Sinker]

I believe all issues listed in this thread have had an impact. Crappie, water levels and overharvesting. The overharvesting is still happening on the kawarthas and scugog got hit hard because of the ice fishing season. Many anglers still don't read the regulations or totally ignore them.

I haven't done much fishing on Scugog lately because I live on Pigeon. A few years back, before the slot, I was getting totally disgusted with the stringers of 4-5 pounders hanging over the boats on opening day. Now many ignore the slot or don't even know it exists. I sure hope that the guys that said the walleye will bounce back are right!

They will.

 

The lakes can sustain a harvest, but they can't if there are year classes of fish that don't make it.

 

The new slot limit is great too, as long as everyone abides by it. Theres enough in the keeper slot for a fish fry, no need to keep the unders/overs anyways.

 

S.

[moxie]

Sinker said:

 

Rice lake is a perfect example. 4-5 years ago, rice was practically void of walleyes. A few good years of recruitment ( due to proper water managment at TSW) and now the lake is one of the best walleye lakes going....likke it used to be.

 

 

We fish it quite a boy and boy did it ever bounce back quick.

[Stoty]

 

Rice lake is a perfect example. 4-5 years ago, rice was practically void of walleyes. A few good years of recruitment ( due to proper water managment at TSW) and now the lake is one of the best walleye lakes going....likke it used to be.

 

 

We fish it quite a boy and boy did it ever bounce back quick.

 

Exactly!!!

 

 

A little off-topic...but why they dont have a slot limit on Quinte.... I'll never know.

That's a world-class fishery that needs to be treated like one, because its def on a rapid decline....

Edited April 17, 2014 by Stoty

[gotfish]

Lake Stewarts are made up of locals who have their own agenda for the neighborhoods they live in and care nothing of the fishing industry and its resources. I was once a memeber until after a few meetings. what a joke. They should have no input in the fish managment of the lake. leave this to the MNR and OFAH and other groups that truely care.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Gotfish

[Stoty]

 

Lake Stewarts are made up of locals who have their own agenda for the neighborhoods they live in and care nothing of the fishing industry and its resources. I was once a memeber until after a few meetings. what a joke. They should have no input in the fish managment of the lake. leave this to the MNR and OFAH and other groups that truely care.

 

EXACTLY! Bunch of

[Sinker]

 

Exactly!!!

 

 

A little off-topic...but why they dont have a slot limit on Quinte.... I'll never know.

That's a world-class fishery that needs to be treated like one, because its def on a rapid decline....

I wouldn't say quinte is in a decline. Did you fish it like 10 yrs ago? Its come back a lot since then.

 

S.

[ty1on]

Hi Guys, I used to be on this forum years ago but for some reason haven't been in a while. Anyway, this discussion was brought to my attention and I thought I would clarify some comments that were made, even though it has been over for a while. I am with the Scugog Lake Stewards and it is NOT in our mandate to close the ice fishing season for all species. However, we would like to see the ice fishing for Walleye to be closed in order to allow the population to recover. There is a lot of pressure on the lake all year long and we believe the walleye population cannot withstand this constant pressure even with slot sizes. There are only three areas in FMZ 17 that allow ice fishing for walleye, one section on the Trent which has very few walleye left and the Crowe Lake which also has few left. These three location traditionally had walleye ice fishing season and when the new Zones were formed they kept that status, I assume it was like a Grandfather clause. Regardless, there is plenty of MNR data that show a massive decline in walleye population, as well as data that suports a healthy walleye population could still be sustained because the lake conditions have not drastically changed like other lakes in the Kawarthas, i.e. Balsalm clearing up due to zebra mussels. Please see the attached MNR document. Thanks.

[esoxansteel]

This year many of the K Lakes have had very good walleye fishing, other then the traditional Rice and Sturgeon, goods numbers of varying year classes have come out of all of the Tri Lakes as well, Cameron also sports a healthy population, my theory and it may not be the right one is, Black Crappie in most of the K Lakes except Scugog, have came and peaked, and have returned to normal populations to co-exist with the other fish species, Black Crappie are most likely still increasing in population or are near the peak in Scugog, which should soon see a decline to acceptable numbers, maybe at that point Scugog will somewhat rebound as it appears other lakes have. Not to say Crappie were and are responsible 100% for the walleye decline in the K Lakes, but the numbers certainly did drop when they took hold, other factors certainly are environmental impact, and fluctuating water levels, with Scugogs makeup it should be a walleye factory. By closing the winter Walleye fishery, or the summer fishery which has also been discussed, it will not bring the numbers back as fast as one would expect, and it will not bring numbers back to the glory days as well, and thats why no decision has been made on Scugog, and why its still very much in discussion at present.

[SmokestackLightnin]

Hi Guys, I used to be on this forum years ago but for some reason haven't been in a while. Anyway, this discussion was brought to my attention and I thought I would clarify some comments that were made, even though it has been over for a while. I am with the Scugog Lake Stewards and it is NOT in our mandate to close the ice fishing season for all species. However, we would like to see the ice fishing for Walleye to be closed in order to allow the population to recover. There is a lot of pressure on the lake all year long and we believe the walleye population cannot withstand this constant pressure even with slot sizes. There are only three areas in FMZ 17 that allow ice fishing for walleye, one section on the Trent which has very few walleye left and the Crowe Lake which also has few left. These three location traditionally had walleye ice fishing season and when the new Zones were formed they kept that status, I assume it was like a Grandfather clause. Regardless, there is plenty of MNR data that show a massive decline in walleye population, as well as data that suports a healthy walleye population could still be sustained because the lake conditions have not drastically changed like other lakes in the Kawarthas, i.e. Balsalm clearing up due to zebra mussels. Please see the attached MNR document. Thanks.

 

Yep and they used the same arguement in 1997 when the Lake Wahwashkesh Conservation Association was succesful in closing off the lake. Their angle was to apply to the MNR about creating a temporary fish sanctuary on the entire lake from Dec 1 to the middle of May due to the lack of lake trout. Ice fishing is still closed and and that has not changed.

 

The fishing pressure on the Kawarthas is greater then it's ever been. The stocks cannot naturally keep up with the pressure. I don't care how many spawing beds are rehabilitated, they can't keep up. The way I see it is they have 2 options (inside joke), first support the fishery with a massive stocking program. Many of the local stakeholders should support the program, with either resources or funds. Option #2 would be to run the Kawarthas in the same way as some of the ZEC's in Quebec are run, after a certain amount of fishing pressure the lakes are closed off to fishing.

[ty1on]

I agree that the glory days are probably gone, however by doing nothing you are certain to have a further decline in the walleye population and by doing something there is hope that population can increase. I have also heard from guys in Minnesota who have similar type lakes as Scugog that if you can get rid of the crappie and bring back the catfish, the walleye populations will increase?

 

They also have similar programs in Alberta where they will close down lakes and have been sucessful.

 

The reality is when they switched to the "Zone" model all lakes should have been closed off to ice fishing for walleye, afterall the reason that no other Kawartha lake had a winter fishery is because they could not withstand the pressure.

[Entropy]

 

 

Edited June 25, 2014 by Entropy

[Dara]

Lots of lakes up this way are either closed for winter or have a limited length of open season. It does help populations.

Bummer that Scugog is the only one close by though. We have lots of alternate choices.

Most times we can be the only ones fishing any given lake.

If somebody is already there, we move on to the next one.