Changes Proposed to the Walleye Fishery on Lake Scugog

[pooch]

Important changes have been proposed for the walleye fishery on Lake Scugog. Please follow the links below for more information.

 

Also the public meeting information has been determined:

Date: Tuesday April 28, 2015

Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. - Open House (short presentation at 7:00 p.m.)

Location: Rotary Room - Scugog Memorial Public Library, 231 Water Street, Port Perry, ON

 

Please feel free to share this information. If you would like more information, please contact: Email: [email protected] or phone: 705-755-2001

 

https://www.ontario.ca/travel-and-recreation/fisheries-management-zone-17-fmz-17

 

Fact sheet available here: http://apps.mnr.gov.on.ca/public/files/er/walleye-recreational-fishery-on-lake-scugog.pdf

[Acountdeleted]

Closing winter walleye on Scugog seems logical and easy enough to implament.

[lookinforwalleye]

Wow...a day late and adollar short as usual, myself and others have said for years Scugog Walleye were in trouble 2015 and something is finally being done well done!

 

Just close the Walleye fishery indefinitely and make crappie a no limit year round season...ya dont need to be a scientist to figure this one out!

[jimmer]

It's not just Scugog, every lake in the Kawartha's is hurting. If they close walleye completely on Scugog they better do it for every lake in FMZ 17.

[Sinker]

I wouldn't say every lake is hurting. Some are, some are rebounding, and some are fluorishing. Its all a cycle that will work itself out. First the crappies came in, then the zebra mussels, trent severn messed up a few year classes of walleye fry........they will come back in time......things need to adjust to the ever changing ecosystems. They lakes themselves are highly productive if they could manage them properly.

 

Scugog should have been shut down about 10 years ago. Too little, too late.....typical MNRF.

 

S.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Sinker

[fishnsled]

If they noticed a decline in the 90's, why did it take so long to do sometime?? Too little, too late is right. Shut it down all together and see what happens in 10 years time.

[Toronto_Angler]

sports fishing is not the problem guys its just a drop in the (white)bucket compared to things like environment, invasive species, climate and illegal poaching. Closing the legal sports fishery would not do anything positive.

[fishindevil]

Make the changes the same as the other Kawartha lakes no ice fishing for walleyes period!!! ..... And drop the limit it's the same as the rest if the kawarthas recruitment is down invasives are up !!!! And the water levels are a huge problem as well as habitat loss too !!!! A day late & a dollar short as usual

[Garnet]

Scugog walleye has been re bounding for 3 years. More and more small fish caught.

 

Let it fall into the Kawatha limits and close ice fishing for walleye.

[esoxansteel]

Seen several models of plans for the Bog, from closing it for walleye period, to closing it in winter, and closing it in summer as well, closing it altogether for a period of at least 10 years was going to make the largest difference, but it would not allow the rebound that one would expect for a 10 year entire closer of the walleye fishery, environmental factors play the largest part from invasives, to fluctuating water levels during the spawn, climate changes etc. Sinker and Garnet have it right, where given time mother nature will level things out, which has already happened in Rice, Sturgeon, and more recently the Tri Lakes, I would assume Scugog will follow suite, as it already has started to show some recruitment,

[ecmilley]

Never understood why they dont stock it thats how the walleye got there in the first place

[Sinker]

They never stocked it because they are self sustaining. Scugog is a very productive lake, but its been through some environmental changes that has thrown the whole ecosystem for a whirl.

 

Rice lake as an example has already been through the same changes, and has rebounded amazing. First the crappies got in, then the mussels, then the walleyes crashed, crappies boom. Once the crappies level out, and the changes from the mussels take hold, the walleyes bounced right back.

 

The tri lakes and sturgeon are rebounding now, and went through the same cycle...scugog was the last lake on the chain to get hit.

 

There were 4-5 years I gave up on rice for walleyes, then the crappie fishing sucked....now its polluted with eyes, and plenty of big crappies.

 

Its a cycle. I bet in 3-4yrs, scugog will once again be a walleye factory, and the crappies will drop in numbers, and increase in size.

 

I havent notice a drop in musky numbers or size on any of the kawartha lakes, especially scugog....its loaded with them.

 

The biggest environmental factor on all these lakes is water levels. For a system that is controlled, we sure do a bad job of managing the levels during the spawn. A bad year of recruitment due to water levels takes a long time to recover from.

Walleys are hit the hardest because they spawn early, when water levels are high...eggs are laid in high water, then the trent severn locks get opened for May long weekend, and levels get dropped, leaving their eggs high and dry. Bass, crappie and musky spawn later, once levels have stabilized, so no real effect.

 

Thats my 2 cents anyways. I have an environmental background, but Im no fisheries biologist. Ive fished these lakes for 27 years now, and watched it all happen.

 

S.

[Garnet]

Scugog is unique in there is little fast water spawning areas. The walleyes

are shore spawners.

 

When I did the walleye spawning survey for Kawartha Anglers on Scugog the important habitat was water depth on shore. And gabion baskets were amazingly effective. Gabion baskets are chain link fence with lime stone rocks in them and hated by the MNR.

 

What they do is provide wave action and depth. Walleye don't like sand beach type shorelines that just taper to nothing.

 

It would be a good policy on Scugog to encourage land owners to protect there shorelines with baskets or the limestone rip rap.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Garnet

[myot]

stocking would be the wise choice

The MNR has to start treating local fisheries as a put and take fishery. These are great opportunities to grow the sport with tones of accessibilities for everyone to enjoy.

Look at many local fisheries in urban centers in the states. they stock the heavily and promote them as put and take fisheries bringing $1000's of dollars into local communities and promote fishing as part of an outdoor lifestyle for everyone to enjoy.

by closing icefishing for walleye your just taking money out of local businesses pockets. Lets support our fishery by making it accessible in areas where it makes sense

 

just my 2 cents

 

Dan

[netminder]

stocking would be the wise choice

The MNR has to start treating local fisheries as a put and take fishery. These are great opportunities to grow the sport with tones of accessibilities for everyone to enjoy.

Look at many local fisheries in urban centers in the states. they stock the heavily and promote them as put and take fisheries bringing $1000's of dollars into local communities and promote fishing as part of an outdoor lifestyle for everyone to enjoy.

by closing icefishing for walleye your just taking money out of local businesses pockets. Lets support our fishery by making it accessible in areas where it makes sense

 

just my 2 cents

 

Dan

True. But I geuss there has to be some sort of cost analysis done here too. You may be worried about taking money out of the bottom of the food chain by banning ice fishing or fishing altogether, but stocking programs aren't free either, and who's going to pay for it?

Edited April 17, 2015 by netminder

[Sinker]

Stocking is a last ditch effort to help save a fishery that is no longer sustainable. The day they start stocking the kawartha's, is the day those lakes are doomed.

 

They are very productive lakes. Work on habitat, and environmental conditions, and the fish will sustain themselves easily.

 

S.

[Garnet]

By opening ice fishing for panfish they spread the money across the Kawartha's. And now it's up to local community's to decide how much they want the money by providing what anglers need. Access and Tim Horton's usually covers it maybe motels and cottage's.

 

Stocking will never replace good habitat.

[Sinker]

Scugog is unique in there is little fast water spawning areas. The walleyes

are shore spawners.

 

When I did the walleye spawning survey for Kawartha Anglers on Scugog the important habitat was water depth on shore. And gabion baskets were amazingly effective. Gabion baskets are chain link fence with lime stone rocks in them and hated by the MNR.

 

What they do is provide wave action and depth. Walleye don't like sand beach type shorelines that just taper to nothing.

 

It would be a good policy on Scugog to encourage land owners to protect there shorelines with baskets or the limestone rip rap.

Yep, it wouldn't take much, and most landowners would love to be able to protect their shorelines. They way it is now, you can't even push back the ground the ice shoves up in the spring. Destruction of habitat they call it. Ive seen years where there is a 5 ft berm piled up along the shore from the ice.

 

S.

[Sinker]

 

Stocking will never replace good habitat.

Ever.....anywhere.

 

 

Ontario needs to get their head out of the sand and run recreational fishing as a business. It would be better for everyone, and the fish too.

S.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Sinker

[bigugli]

Ever.....anywhere.

Ontario needs to get their head out of the sand and run recreational fishing as a business. It would be better for everyone, and the fish too.

S.

 

Government doing things in a business like manner??? Never happen. Unemployment across the province would immediately double.

[pooch]

Glad to see a constructive discussion, means we care.

 

If you can, please attend the meeting in Port Perry to voice your opinion and get answers to your questions. If you can't attend contact them directly. This is not a done deal and they (MNRF) do want to hear from the public.

 

Personally I favour habitat restoration, above stocking. A walleye closure combined with improved spawning habitat and better management of the water levels will hopefully result in a recovery. Time will tell.

[Garnet]

If 100 properties had better walleye spawning habitat and 5 mature females used each property dropping roughly 300,000 each. That's 1.5 million per property.

 

Not subject to Gov. budget cuts, the Trent Severn waterway can't mess it up to bad and it works every year.

[ecmilley]

really think they can get it together with water levels, been whatching that show for more years than i can count, the bog is probably the most sensitive to it as well.

also zebras have stunted food chain, maybe time to relax some enviromental regs allow more nutrients into lake to kick start plankton production lots of issue here that have been 30 years in the making

[pooch]

Garnet is on the right track, I think.

 

And there is funding available to help support local clubs that want to undertake shoreline rehabilitation.

[ecmilley]

mirror the efforts of the balsom lake gang, rehabilitation of spawning gounds and egg/milt collection into egg boxes, but still need to account fo predation by panfish.