View Full Version : Thought i would open a can of worms here
CarpetBagger
03-11-2003, 04:04 PM
Is it me...or are other people sick of hearing about the rivers...and how they should close the rivers during the spawn to save erie, and blah blah blah...
Im from PA and let me tell you the fishing the past few years has been crap in the central basin waters...and I doubt it is due to a fishermen actually catchin fish in the river...Its not about an ethical fisherman who goes out and catches his fish...not snags...and its not about fishermen who catch their limit everyday...Its about unethical fishermen who constantly are cheating and dipping in to the lake more than they should...the limits are set for a specific reason...There really is no excuse for keeping over 4 or ever 6 walleyes per person...There is however a huge problem with the old ohio 10 fish limit that lasted for as long as I have been fishing erie...I think that put one ##### of a dent in the fish population...especially during the ridiculous 10 fish limit...
Changes are being made to help the lake...we just need to somehow need to sit back and watch and wait and see if it helps the lake prosper...Ohio's changes to the limits can only help...however when the RCL Circut hits Port Clinton...maybe they will hesitate to kill another 3 ton of walleys like they did last season...just a thought...
What are your views on this....
CB
JVolpe29
03-11-2003, 04:17 PM
amen
chaunc
03-11-2003, 04:18 PM
Are you being a wise arse or did they really kill that many fish? I get the walleye-insider mag and i know they had the greatest tourney weights ever recorded last spring. over 300 fish, 10# and better. and you're saying they killed all these fish.... What happened to their catch and release rules?
C&R after fish get beat up in livewells on erie doesn't work if its rough. ODNR either requested or required the fish to be kept. They were put to good use. If you look at the numbers the fish caught at the PWT event are a very small drop in the bucket.
It is my understanding that the reason the limit was raised to 10 was because Ohio was not harvesting its allowed quota of eyes and had not for a number of years. Based on science, an acceptable harvest rate is established for the lake and that number is divided based on the amt of lake owned by Canada, MI. OH, & PA. Renewable Resource.
There is plenty of information to support the above.
I don't think anyone will argue that poaching is good.
Do a little research and find out why the limit was reduced to 4 during the spawn. Do you want our fisheries managed by public opinion or the best available science?
I've had some of my best years when everyone was whining and my worst when everyone else did well. You cannot gauge the condition of the fisherie on personal observation.
Good Luck,
ss
It's true !!!!!!!!!
Every year they have been here , they have killed all the fish they caught . They are soppose to be going to the Vet.s home in Sandusky .
so much for protecting the sport they love .
Why fish Erie then?
03-11-2003, 05:04 PM
Why don`t all you cry babies just stop fishing Erie then? I have been fishing Erie for over 30 years know and sure there are not the number of fish there that there used to be, but the size of the fish has increased.If all of you guys know what is best for Erie ,why aren`t you marine biolgist? Lake Erie is alive and well and ODNR says the same thing.I think I will listen to them and not to all the cry babies on here.
The old Man of Erie
Think about this
03-11-2003, 05:50 PM
If Erie was as good as ever, why was the limit during the spawn reduced to 4 from 10?? It couldn't be from the biologists knowing that there was a problem could it?? Maybe the only reason that the spawn wasn't closed was due to the enormous economical impact this would have on the Maumee, and Sandusky River areas would it?? How much do you think that the early season nets the Reef Area fishing industry. It's mind boggling.
The Old Man of Erie
03-11-2003, 06:06 PM
The limits are not reduced for the spawn from 10 to 4. It went from 6to 4.The reason the limit was cut to 6 was due to numbers declining and to make it easier for the sportmans quota more attainable to cut the numbers that the Canadian Gill Netters could take.Like I said earlier ,the numbers are down but the fish are bigger.Maybe there were to many fish in the lake in the 80`s to allow the fish to grow larger.Lake Erie is far from being a bad fisheries.I can`t wait till the ice is gone so I can start trolling out there and get some dandies.
Old Man of Erie
Seagull
03-11-2003, 07:18 PM
If there are any of you that think Erie can withstand the constant pressure and harvest you might consider or wonder what happens to every other body that dies out. I believe it was a good comprimise to have recreational limits reduced to help stop the insane commercial harvest. Those resources do not in any way belong to such a small group represented by the commercial industry. Too bad Erie is shared with those useless Canadians. If it weren't for Shania....they wouldn't have anything to brag about. I think you can tell by Walleye Central that most of us are ready for open water.
Tonyc
03-11-2003, 08:02 PM
Just a thought or two. The In-Fisherman PWT average weight last year taken was 8 lbs for all three days combined- That's insane, in fact no other lake in the world can beat that or the one day record weight catch. Most of these fish are either past spawning years or not really producing a lot of viable eggs. It is better to take these larger ones home than it is the plentiful 3 year old fish that we will all catch in abundance this year. Also, if i'm not mistaken 90% of all spawning does not occur in the rivers. More fish are caught in Lake Erie every year than all the other Great Lakes combined. To me the biggest issue is protecting water quality and spawning areas. The Oxygen levels from Sandusky to the central basin have been poor( Anoxia ) and the levels of Phosphorous in the lake are high again. Phosporous in the 80's is what caused all the over growth of algae in the lake which caused it to be green in color. Now, however the P is high but the lake is clear-- Could it be Zebra mussels? possibly. I think we need to focus on Foreign invaders like zebra mussels and the anoxia problem growing in the lake. This lake can support many more baitfish and sportfish than it does now. Take a look at all of the species of fish and the catches taken in the 1800's. Lake Erie is quite possibly the greatest fresh water producing lake in the world, it is also the most fragile because it is relatively shallow and small and is surrounded by industry.
my views?
03-11-2003, 08:13 PM
Please put your unorganized temper tantrums on the Gen Discussion page.
Just thought that I would put my two cents in. Tony C is absolutely right. You can blame 10 fish limits , snagging walleyes and the Canadian netters for the low walleye population and the ######fishing in the central basin. The lake has always bounced back along with it's fisheries. The greatest threat to ever hit the lakes and the native fish is from these foreign invaders coming in from these ocean going freighters and their ballast water. If you guys want to help this lake start screaming at your legislators to stop this now before we have a lake full of junk fish that nobody wants. When these invaders change an ecosystem it is altered forever.
CarpetBagger
03-11-2003, 10:32 PM
Definatly not whining...nor was I having a temper tartrum when I wrote this...Every1 has their own views and opinions about certain views...And it certainly dont take a rocket scientist to realize that 10 walleyes around 10lbs during the spawn is OVERKILL...
Im glad things are being done to help the lake...I am all for it...and just like all of you Im against over harvesting, poaching, gillnetting, and killing invader species that the lake has been plagued with...
Just trying to get some views of some other people...thanx for the responses...
CB
marcbodi
03-11-2003, 11:01 PM
Hi,
You think the fishing is bad in Erie now you should have fished it in the early sixtys.Compared to then it is out off sight now.
May I be fishing somewhere Tomorrow.
CarpetBagger
03-12-2003, 12:22 AM
Dont think it is bad...just think it has gone down hill...and Im not too found of the RCL's 3ton kill...if that were a commercial fleet...that just netted 3 ton of fish would you feel differently?
Brian Thomas
03-12-2003, 04:23 AM
Freighters are no longer allowed to pump their ballast water into the great lakes, also there were over 300 ten lb + eyes taken in the PWT last year. Is there anything we can do about that.... NO...lets just fish and get over it!
Get facts straight
03-12-2003, 06:08 AM
1. It was a PWT event, not an RCL event.
2. The harvest of these fish, and their subsequent donation to food kitchens, was directed by the Ohio DNR - which is good enough for me. Surely you are not debating the merits of fish conservation over feeding people.
3. I fished the Catawba area Saturday morning. I guarantee you there were more big fish killed that day from sunrise to noon than in the entire 3 day PWT event.
Whine all you want about your perceived downturn in Erie, but PLEASE stop with the illogical references to the 2002 PWT tourney.
bob oh
03-12-2003, 08:43 AM
You were right about one thing CarpetBagger, you need to get the facts!! First of all Ohio ROD AND REEL fishermen took 700,000 walleyes out of Erie in 2002, but their quota was 1.7 MILLION -- yes, they caught 1 MILLION fewer fish than they were allowed. Why did they catch fewer fish -- for the MILLIONTH TIME -- WE HAD BAD WEATHER in the spring and fall and it killed the fishing for long periods of time. On top of that we had extremely high numbers of forage fish because of very mild winters.
All most every pro tourney record you can think of was set in Lake Erie - they lake you can't catch fish out of ???????
The limit was reduced in OHio BECAUSE OF POLITICS not because we were catching too many fish. The Canadian gills netters (killers) had their quota cut more than 50% so the states had to cut their limits so the Ontario govt. could point to the lower limits when the netters complained... The lake has 30 - 40 million walleyes in it. Sure there were more eyes and it was easy to have a limit jump in your boat in the late 70s early 80s when the lake was overpopulated and the eyes were hungry all the time. -- Times have changed, change with it and you'll catch fish. But you still won't catch fish when the weather kills the fishing !!!!!
Oh, but the way, they are catching hundreds of walleyes right now through the ice -- fishing is incredible in places and just when everyone thought the lake was dead again hmmmmmmmmmmm?????
stizo. vitreum v.
03-12-2003, 08:44 AM
Please refer to the Sea Grant web page for questions regarding the science of fisheries (http://www.sg.ohio-state.edu/discus/). It appears there are a number of "armchair biologists" that visit this site, some of whom appear to have more knowledge than others regarding sustained yield and fish population dynamics. Fred Snyder and others may be able to answer your questions regarding why a change in daily bag was recommended, but my suspicion is that it was an informed scientific decision based on updated knowledge of the trend in the Lake Erie Walleye population(s), not an arbitrary decision based on public polls! I parenthesized population since many biologists believe there are several different populations of walleye in Lake Erie. That throws another wrench into management approaches in Lake Erie! There was a recent post in the Sea Grant site that explained egg production and the misconception that the harvest of larger fish causes less productivity during the spawn. Check it out.
To the organizers of this site, I hope referring to the Sea Grant site does not violate the rules of this forumn. Forgive me if it does...
Happy trails...
stizo
Tim FRick
03-12-2003, 09:23 AM
I saw a chart from the Ohio Sea Grant that said the catch rate(fish per hour) in 1998 was equally to the hay days of the 80's. So I don't think it's taken a turn for the worst. If anything I think the walleyes are just harder to catch. You must be there when there on the feed. when there on you can catch them on anything. There has been so much baitfish out there in the past few years that the eyes can get there meal on their time not ours. With this colder winter I think it should be a pretty good year, less baitfish out there. As for the tournament goes, that just shows what kind of fishery we got and how good these guys are. I'm sure the average Joe doesn't catch has much as them but there's allot more average Joe's than there was pro's in that tournament. If we added up all the fish we caught throughout the year it would probably shadow what the pro's got in 3 days. The ODNR decided to not C & R due to the survival rate would have been low. Why waste it when you can donate it to the hunger. Every year we get into the same debates, man I'm glad it's starting to warm up.
Good Luck and pray for a slow warming, light rain, calm spring!!
Tim FRick
CarpetBagger
03-12-2003, 12:03 PM
I dont understand how my post can go from an opinion to an attack on my ability to catch fish out of erie...I catch enough fish in a season...just i camp with guys who have been on the lake for like 20 or 30 years...and they talk about when the central basin was un believable like the western basin in...dont get me wrong...Erie is the best walleye lake...but just seemed to me that last year around this time there was alot of talk about deadzones, the lake dying, other invader species...ok...
Well i know where i will never post a central basin report again...
What are your views on this.... Honest, to hit the Alert Button!
Let's go Fishin' :)
bob oh
03-12-2003, 12:40 PM
I am sorry if I hurt your feelings CarpetBagger. You can't quit playing when things get a little rough :-) Remember, there are always stories about the good old days. I was there, they were very, very good, but the lake was a lot murkier then and you could cast a weight forward anywhere and get an eye. The lake has changed, it is not as easy, but there are still millions and millions of fish there. Every year we will have some tough fishing conditions and everyone will start talking about the lake being in trouble. Then things clear up and the eyes go on a tear and all you hear is "wow, what a lake!!" :-)Same cycle every year.
CarpetBagger
03-12-2003, 04:24 PM
Bob i am definatly an optimist when it comes to fishing...im confident with my gear...my boat...my ability...and the lake which is erie if not pymatuning...Ive had my share of limits in my 11yrs of fishing the lake...but ive worked my ##### off for em...
I hear the stories about limits in 2 hours...or when it took longer to drive out than it did to catch the fish...Id love to have 1 day like this in the central basin...I dunno how it is in the western basin...but im hopin maybe i can find a few good days of eye fishing when i come over there for a week in the middle of may...
CB
jackass
03-12-2003, 05:44 PM
nothing we could do about it? stop supporting over paid over welcomed tourny fisherman and their sponsers.
WAAAHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
I hear this "the lake is declining" stuff and it makes me sick. Each year, the tournaments get better and better weights. I fish ice, spring, summer and I can tell you, the last two years have been awesome....when the weather was fit for fishing. If it is so bad, why were their massive floatillas of boats fishing for eyes between the lower detroit river to Catawba all summer? I'm talking wall to wall fishermen. At times it was tough to run boards on both sides because in some areas there was that much traffic. It certainly looked like "the old days". The number of boats, and the number of fish. The quality is better than ever, and from what I saw, the quantity was great too. How about some cheeze for your whine?
PA eye slayer
03-12-2003, 11:36 PM
The fish are there....they are always there in PA....funny thing is most guys go about 20-40mph right over top of them on there way to the "TRENCHES"
CJHughes
03-13-2003, 09:59 AM
If the fishing is so bad at Erie someone needs to tell the cheeseheads and the guys from the Dakota's . Every spring I stay on Kellys and most of the time I am the only vehicle in the state ramp parking lot with Ohio tags . It is full of guys from all over the USA they sure are driving a long ways to catch NOTHING .