Proposed Regulation Changes Part 2

[dekkard2019]

Hello All. I attended the Prairies and Southern Rockies Area Joint Roundtable this past Wednesday. Some good topics were discussed and good presentations made by members of ASRD. The Bow River was mentioned along with the dwindling population of the Westslope Cutthroat Trout. "This species has been identified as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). It is currently being considered for listing under the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA)." But that should be mentioned under another thread. It is bothersome though. I love cuttys. The proposed regulation changes that I brought up here on FFC was brought up in the meeting and that is what I would like to discuss in this topic. Some of you have helped me with my previous petition for making a regulation change and I am asking for your help again if you wish. The current regulations for the Upper and Lower Kananaskis lakes are: "Open all year-Trout (except bull trout) limit 3; Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout over 30 cm; Bait Ban." We feel that these lakes have the potential to provide quality fisheries. To that end, we are proposing that the following regulations be implemented, so as to permit quality fisheries to develop: "Open all year-Trout (except bull trout) limit 1; Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout over 50 cm; Bait Ban." Some of the issues we are faced with are that: Catchable-sized (20-30 cm) Cutthroat Trout are being stocked in both Kananaskis Lakes. Many stocked fish are being harvested shortly after stocking. Current size limit provides no protection for spawners. Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout can grow to a very large size and provide a quality fishery, if allowed to live long enough. I know there are a lot of opinions on what should be done, but we think this is a good route. If you have any other ideas or suggestions please let me know here or send me a pm. Again, I have petitions at several locations in Calgary. I have petitions at Southbow, Wholesale Sports, and Fish Tales. If you have a group of people interested in this I can send you a petition via email. Just pm me the details and I will get one to you and then you can mail it back to me. Thanks again to people like Mike at Southbow...Dave, Terry, and Nancy at Fish Tales...and of course Tyler down at Wholesale. I appreciate all your help. Beedhead may also try and paste an attachment to show you guys what is going on in a little more depth. Oh yeah, thanks to the folks down at SRD and Trout Unlimited.

[Harps]

I'd like to put my name on the petition.

Have you thought about an online one?

[dekkard2019]

I'd like to put my name on the petition.

Have you thought about an online one?

 

I have but my computer skills aren't up to par...lol. Thanks!

 

[beedhead]

Hi Guy's and Gal's....As mentioned by Jake above, the meeting was very informative, along with some great Ideas for the future of our local waters....Attached is the poster of the New suggested regs for K lakes....

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

[brownonbow]

I would love to see that fishery turn into what it has the potential to be! Why don't we put 'em all back for the next 7 years or so and then revisit the catch limit. Really what we need is more C.O's checking tags and creels.

 

 

Am I wrong or is that the same fish being held by different guys? The background looks awfully similar in both shots.

 

 

[beedhead]

Am I wrong or is that the same fish being held by different guys? The background looks awfully similar in both shots.

 

Hi jigsaw, Not the same fish, Same spot, Many Diff fish were captured, below is a portion of the electrofish/survey we conducted in June of 2009....Ill add some other pics from that day....

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

June 16, 2009

SUBJECT Boulton Creek Electrofishing and Rainbow Trout Spawning – 12 June 2009

Successful reproduction of rainbow trout in Boulton Creek was confirmed in October 1984 by the

capture of age-1 to age-3 rainbow trout in the lower portion of the creek, downstream of the road.

On 12 June 2009, we sampled 370 m of the lower portion of Boulton Creek, starting just

downstream of the vegetated shoreline of Lower Kananaskis Lake (Start: 11U 632744E 5610739N)

and electrofishing upstream (End 633065E 5610761N). The purpose of the survey was to gather

information on the timing and use of the stream by spawning rainbow trout. Water temperature was

5°C at 2.50 pm. Individuals participating in the survey included: Jim Stelfox and Jenny Earle of Fish

and Wildlife; Brian Meagher and Lesley Peterson of Trout Unlimited Canada, and two local anglers

– Jake Gotta and Jeff Wilson.

In total, 66 fish were captured including 65 rainbow trout and 1 bull trout. Most (50) of the rainbow

trout were large (>400 mm) fish and many of the females were green (did not express eggs when

stripped) with only a few being very ripe (readily expressing eggs). Of the mature rainbow trout

which could be sexed, 21 were female and 22 were male. Data for all of the fish captured are

provided in the attached sample record sheets and the length and weight summaries of all large

(>400 mm) rainbow trout are provided in Table 1. The bull trout captured was a juvenile fish

(146 mm).

[beedhead]

More info below....

 

Based on length, it appears that the rainbow trout captured on 12 June 2009 represent a mixture of

resident and adfluvial rainbow trout. The small (<300 mm) rainbow trout were likely fish that had

resided in Boulton Creek since hatching, whereas the large (>400 mm) rainbow trout were likely

adfluvial adult fish (Figure 1). The absence of large (>400 mm) fish in the electrofishing conducted in

October 1984 supports the assumption that these large fish are adfluvial rainbow trout that just use

Boulton Creek for spawning in the late spring/early summer period. Age-at-length data for rainbow

trout captured in Boulton Creek in October 1984 indicates that fish resident in Boulton Creek are

very slow growing, with mean lengths of 67 mm for age-1 (n=7; range 58–95 mm), 88 mm for age-2

(n=5; range 82–91) and 125 mm for age-3 fish (n=1). Considering the age-length data from 1984,

and that electrofishing was conducted earlier in the year in 2009, the size-distribution data suggests

that the resident (<300 mm) rainbow trout captured in Boulton Creek in June 2009 were likely age-1

to age-5 fish.

 

Most of the fish were captured in deep pools and runs associated with undercut banks and large

woody debris. More fish were captured in the section below the pedestrian bridge than above the

bridge. It was noted that many trees had been cut down along the banks, thus reducing the potential

for high quality fish habitat to be created by sweepers, log jams and large woody debris. It is not

known when these trees were removed, but there is correspondence in the LSR file (1982)

[bulltrout]

i'm all for whatever changes are made there as long as they keep dropping the hatchery munchies in there for the bulls...

[beedhead]

Some shots from that day....I'm thinkin these fish along with others in the K lakes, are well worth looking after for the future...

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

 

 

 

 

[dekkard2019]

Thanks Beed. I will have those petitions out for the next month. I know it is a busy time of year, but if you have the chance, and you want to make a difference, I would like your help. The fish will thank you too. The first petition made enough of a difference to actually bring the entitre topic up at the roundtable meeting. Jim Stelfox has done a good job!

[SanJuanWorm]

I love this idea.

[Locke]

Great idea, but i have a question.

Why would the 50 cm and above limit protect spawners, considering that the vast majority of the fish found in the study were above 40 cm, Would this not induce a greater impact on the spawning population? Would it not be better to do something like the Bow, where it is 1 below a certain size (such as 1 below 40 cm). Or make it all C&R for a few years and see what happens (nonviable, i know).

 

Rather catch a couple 50cm fish then a ton of 30cm fresh stockies..

[Jayhad]

Cheers Gotta, out of the constant whining and bitching about our watersheds it's nice to see a couple of dudes can get enough traction to impart change. My hat is off to you guys, Thank you.

[dekkard2019]

Thanks Jay! Locke I will take your opinion into consideration. I want to hear everyone's opinion. Yes, the 1 over 50cm still does target spawners, but the ones between 40 and 50 will be protected. It really is hard to please every fisherman. Right now guys can take 3 trout! Let's try and make it 1. That will make a big difference. Look what happened in Smith-Dorrien (tributary to the lower Kananskis Lake)...they were down to 60 spawning bull trout in 1992...it almost got wiped out. Luckily, Garrie Gillund stepped in and the bull trout made a huge turnaround. This year approximately 923 redds were counted in the creek! We just want to try and make this a quality fishery, and we think this is the best way. But we are ALWAYS open to discussion.

[Brookie2]

Good on ya!!!!!

[Bigtoad]

I would be with Locke as well with keeping one under 50cm. My reasons are as follows:

1. If you're going to keep a fish for the table, usually smaller will taste better anyway. It would be a shame to keep a monster and then find out it doesn't taste great.

 

2. With modern taxidermy techniques, there is no need to keep a fish to have it mounted. A few measurements and a couple of quick pics and you're good to go.

 

3. With modern digital photography, pictures can easily be taken and shown to people instead of the fish (and you can hold that fish WAY out so that it looks like a freaking whale!)

 

4. If you want lots of big fish, don't take them out of the waterbody.

 

5. By letting people take at least one or two small ones, they still can feel "successful" and have something to show for their efforts.

 

6. By making it strictly C&R you might piss off a lot of people that like to keep them. By allowing some harvest, it creates a nice compromise.

 

Cheers.

PS - I'd still sign the petition for keeping less and bigger fish. Any change in the right direction is good change.

[jstelfox]

Some responses to the questions posed above.

 

It is unlikely that a 50-cm maximum size limit would work as well as the proposed 50-cm minimum size limit, since fishing pressure on the Kananaskis Lakes is great enough that most of the cutthroat/rainbow trout would be harvested before they reached 50 cm. As a result, it is unlikely that a 50-cm maximum size limit would greatly improve catch rates or fish size.

 

The proposed regulation is not strictly C&R, since it still allows anglers to harvest cutthroat/rainbow over 50 cm. All that is required is for harvest-oriented anglers to exercise some restraint for a few years, while the number and average size of fish increases in the lakes. In the mean time, anglers will be able to enjoy a fishery that improves as it develops into a QUALITY FISHERY, which is something that an increasing number of anglers have been requesting in recent years. For the area west of Calgary, Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes provide the best opportunity to create readily accessible QUALITY FISHERIES.

 

While the proposed 50-cm minimum size limit won't protect as many cutthroat/rainbow trout spawners as would a 60-cm minimum size limit or total C&R regulation, it will still protect more spawners than the current regulations. If, in the future, enough anglers wish to have the minimum size limit increased to further increase the average size of fish and quality of the fishery, this is something that can be done then.

 

Speaking from experience, and also based on feedback from a number of anglers, I know that large fish can taste just as good as small fish in the Kananaskis Lakes, provided that they aren't harvested just after spawning. Spawners tend to have soft, unappealing flesh for several weeks after they have spawned, until such time as they have fully recovered.

 

Attached is a poster that shows how much the fishery has improved since we began stocking native cutthroat and bull trout in Upper Kananaskis Lake. Considering that bull and cutthroat trout were only stocked in UKL in 2001 and 2003, respectively, and that data from Lower Kananaskis Lake revealed that bull trout can live to be at least 20 years old and cutthroat/rainbow can live to be 11 years old, the sizes of fish in Upper Kananaskis Lake should increase considerably over the next decade.

 

In 2011 we (with the assistance of Trout Unlimited staff) will be continuing the creel survey which was started this year, and will also be gillnetting UKL to gather information on the relative survival and growth of fish stocked at different sizes in 2009 and 2010. The data gathered will also enable us to see how much more the older bull and cutthroat trout have grown and whether the proportion of sport fish in the population has increased.

 

Cheers,

Jim

UKL_Poster_2008.pdf

[beedhead]

Hi All....To make things easier, and to help out Jake (dekkard) due to the fact Jake has "Dial Up Internet" Where he lives in the ''Awesome Hills'', I have made a online petition....Also a Thanx to Harps, from the board, for sending me the link to the online petition site...

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

The link below...

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/dekkbeed/petition.html

[Bigtoad]

Hi All....To make things easier, and to help out Jake (dekkard) due to the fact Jake has "Dial Up Internet" Where he lives in the ''Awesome Hills'', I have made a online petition....Also a Thanx to Harps, from the board, for sending me the link to the online petition site...

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

The link below...

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/dekkbeed/petition.html

 

Done! Thanks.

[Bigtoad]

Hey Beedhead, you might also want to throw this onto the Alberta Outdoorsmen website http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/ ?

 

I'm sure you'd get a mixed bag of support from there, but at least more people might know about it. There are a few bait-chuckers on there that seem to think it's their god-given right to take as many fish out of a lake as possible and the bigger they are the better. However, most seem to be sensible individuals, many of which I am sure, if given the opportunity to fly-fish, would throw down there maggots and powerbait and step up to the vise.

 

Just another way to get the word out.

 

Cheers.

[beedhead]

Hey Beedhead, you might also want to throw this onto the Alberta Outdoorsmen website http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/ ?

 

I'm sure you'd get a mixed bag of support from there, but at least more people might know about it. There are a few bait-chuckers on there that seem to think it's their god-given right to take as many fish out of a lake as possible and the bigger they are the better. However, most seem to be sensible individuals, many of which I am sure, if given the opportunity to fly-fish, would throw down there maggots and powerbait and step up to the vise.

 

Just another way to get the word out.

 

Cheers.

 

 

Hey thanx, Bigtoad....Working on it....

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

 

[Harps]

Signed and passed around!!

[CF8]

Signed.

[pokerfish]

Signed, and circulated.

[Bigtoad]

Hey thanx, Bigtoad....Working on it....

 

Cheers...Jeff..

 

Now you've really gone and let the powerbait hit the fan on the outdoor forum. Nice! At least you should get a few more signatures and some healthy discussion on the topic.

 

Cheers.