Re: Lily/Luzerne - tournament debate

[JMZ]

Note from moderator:  keep it civil and clean please

can someone give me the conditions on the lake. snow depth any water it rained a lot on Monday where I am coming from 3 hr drive for us. ice depth thanks

I would not fish Lily Lake for the rest of they year. Its like Swiss cheese after the NEPL tournament. I cant understand why they hold tournaments on small lakes like Lily. They should hold the tournaments on large lakes or make the contestants return the fish to the lake.
When I fish small lakes, I only take few mid sized fish for a meal.

[JiggerMan]

what the ice looks like does not affect the way the fish bite.  all those hole are solid by now.  with how cold it going to be for the next couple of days any slush formed with the weight of the snow could be stiffened up for the weekend.  the sheer weight of the snow is what causing the slush.  it causes the ice to sink forcing water through cracks and edges and then getting absorbed by the snow. 

I don't know ho much snow they have over there but east of Scranton by 30 miles I have a total of about 20 inches on the ground from the past two storms.   

[JMZ]

I wonder how many of the fish caught at the tournament were returned to the lake. 25 teams averaging 10 fish per team is 250 fish. The lake cannot afford to loose that many large fish which are breeders. I would not object to tournaments if all the fish are returned to the lake. I know this topic can get carried away so if you want to continue the discussion, I'll look for another thread to post.

[ice-phanatic]

I know it is off topic to conditions as well but I totally agree with JMZ with your point about the sustainability of a lake.

[isthereiceyet89]

  there were around 5 2lb crappie brought to the scales and maybe 20 more smaller. Most of the fish weighed were bluegills n most of them were under 7".   

[NEZ]

I have fished this lake several times before and I would have to say that a weekend here in the spring would do more damage to the population of fish than what a small tournament of fisherman would do to that lake on the ice.  Many people are taking those spawning fish right off the beds before they even got a chance to finish spawning.  The approximately 25-30 crappies brought into the scale did not hurt this lake at all and is probably what many spring fisherman take each time out.  This lake does have a fairly healthy population of crappies for it's size.

[chez]

I never fish this lake or,even drove by it.im interested in it bigtime,i hear so much about it,and don't know why I never made a trip to the lake.i fish wayne county lotts,i guess im gunna have to make a stop at Lilly.dose anyone do anything at nite?with all those nice calico in there they should be a nite bite.

[builder]

I thought all the tournament fish were put back in the lake

[JiggerMan]

Lily Lake has a strong population of Crappies, but the tournaments and the spring spawn fishers don't do it any good.  Pick a larger body of water for your tournaments.

If the population is strong then a few large crappies taken in a day is nothing.   Its alright to keep some not all.

[eyefishermandt]

When we fish a tourny we do alot less harm than most weekend fisherman as we are only allowed 12 yes 12 fish per two guys. Now think about it if a group of guys get together and go there they are allowed 50 each. So all you guys that think having a tourny here or other small lakes is gonna hurt it think again. And ALL the fish caught and weighed are not monsters as you guys might think. So before bashing the tournaments maybe you should come try it and learn a thing or two. Great guys and great times with some friendly competition. I hope we have a tourny here every year heck twice a year than we can keep tabs on whats in the lake!!!

[retired bob]

AMEN!!!!!

[isthereiceyet89]

Lily Lake has a strong population of Crappies, but the tournaments and the spring spawn fishers don't do it any good.  Pick a larger body of water for your tournaments.

considering they have had numerous tournaments here and it still produces nice fish we must be just destroying it huh. We could have a tourney in some ppls head cause its a LARGE BODY OF WATER!

[eyefishermandt]

considering they have had numerous tournaments here and it still produces nice fish we must be just destroying it huh. We could have a tourney in some ppls head cause its a LARGE BODY OF WATER!

Very well said. I just think too many people get butt hurt. I wish we had a tourny here every weekend!!!!!

[goldbars]

does a tourney really put that many more people on the lake than any other weekend? or take any more fish out of the lake The torneys I fished in were a 6 fish weigh in limit not 50 .

[JMZ]

Hey Northeaster PA locals, not the NEPL guys who are masquerading as being from our area by calling themselves NorthEast Panfish League; lets get together and fish Lily Lake heavy before their tournaments in the Summer and Winter. Catch them crappies and return them to the honey hole to save them.

[eyefishermandt]

Hey Northeaster PA locals, not the NEPL guys who are masquerading as being from our area; lets get together and fish Lily Lake heavy before their tournaments in the Spummer and Winter. Catch them crappies and return them to the honey hole to save them.

Wouldnt really matter to us or make a difference we will still catch them... lmfao. You surely will not make a difference!!!!

[isthereiceyet89]

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=310664.0

[JMZ]

Wouldnt really matter to us or make a difference we will still catch them... lmfao. You surely will not make a difference!!!!

Why don't you listen to the locals and just schedule your tournament to a larger lake like Beltzville. You'll have all the panfish and parking you need. I fish Lily Lake regularly in the summer and winter. I practice selective harvesting and release small and large fish. I think if the locals should contact the PFBC
and ask them to make the lake into a Panfish Enhancement Lake and stop all tournaments, since you are not listening to us. I will be contacting the PAFBC by email. I have done this before and they replied.

[after-4]

Why not start a new topic because this really isn't about Lilly Lake now is it.

[WildOutdoorAddict]

I think the best thing to do to slow these tournament people down is to get together put some pressure on the fish commission to regulate these tournaments more heavily. Maybe practice catch and release, regulate the member of participants based on the size of the lake the tournament is held on. Something that makes more sense to everyone. That tournament on Lily Lake had almost 50 participants. I have not seen 50 fishermen on that lake in a month.  Everyone limited out with 12 fish per team do the math. How could anyone think removing that many fish would have no effect on a small lake like Lily Lake. I wonder why they don't have the tournaments at The pack or Beltzville, could it be there not up to the challenge of a bigger lake.  It's obvious by some of the above post they don't care what you think, regulations from the fish commission would get their attention.

Well Jitterbug, first off not every team weighed in 12 fish so your calculations will be off. I have the report and video of it  ) secondly about 75% of these fish were very small and returned into the waters. 3rd we've fished in lakes over 17,000 acres already and on Oneida lake. It seems some like to try and stir the pot and cry when they don't have the facts to stand behind it.  6 fisherman could take a limit equaling 300 fish each day from that lake and you wouldn't know the difference. 23 teams fish it and take 20-30 fish home to  eat and it's a fish massacre.. Whine about the global warming we are having right now instead!  The alwives someone dumped in here will eat all the fish fry and there will be hardly no fish in this lake.. but it will still be our fault though in your eyes right? Oh and FYI, I only put 50 people max on the permit for this lake instead of my normal 100 people I normally put on them for most tournaments.

[WildOutdoorAddict]

does a tourney really put that many more people on the lake than any other weekend? or take any more fish out of the lake The torneys I fished in were a 6 fish weigh in limit not 50 .

No goldbars it doesn't!.. it's the sight of a bunch of people in a smaller area that scares the others. Tournaments do a lot of good for bodies of water. Catch reports are useful to the PFBC and the people in them are a good impact on the local economy. Not to mention that some work closely to add habitat etc. for the future of the fisheries. Most people just look at the outer skin and think it's bad news and don't take the time look into it deeper for the truth of things any what really matters.

[WildOutdoorAddict]

..do people understand that female crappies can have between 9,000 to over 100, 000 eggs?

...if not kept, the population will be stunted in a few years.

..yes the alewife will eat the fry, but an ice fishing tournament of 50 people will not impact the crappie population in a negative way.

http://www.ncwildlife.org/portals/0/Fishing/documents/crappie.pdf

Thank you for the extra boost... a very good example of that is F.J. Sayers lake in Centre county.. Billions of fish and not enough food.. 90% plus stunted fish.  But we still have tournaments on that one too 

[Byron/PA]

Well, you know I have to chime in, and these are just my opinions. Those that know me are aware that I am a strong supporter of catch and release, even for panfish. Here are my views, perhaps they are biased, but something to think about.

It was 6 or 7 years ago when I held my first panfish tournament on this lake during ice fishing season. I had about the same number of entrants as were there this year. Yet, all these years later, the weights and numbers of fish were almost identical each year. If tournaments hurt this lake, you'd think there would be smaller weights/fewer fish each year? No?

As I stated before, I am a big fan of catch and release and the principles behind selective harvest. Let me explain how we, as tournament anglers fish; We try to pre-fish a tournament lake for several days prior to the tournament in order to develop a pattern. During that time, we release all or almost all of the fish we catch; after all, we want to catch them again on tournament day.

Then on tournament day we show up and do our very best to put a 12 fish team limit in the bucket. At lily this year, I killed 12 fish, and will enjoy them all.

After tournament day, we leave and start pre-fishing the next lake, where we will repeat what we did on the previous lake.

So, a local meat fisherman who fishes lily, or any other lake, more than once or twice a year, will have a much greater impact than the tournament fishermen.

I understand that some folks are just opposed to the idea of tournament fishing. But, like hunting, our sport will soon come under attack from those who see no difference between tournament anglers, recreational anglers and meat fishermen. We, as a group, need not be fighting among ourselves.

If you choose to oppose tournament fishing, at least educate yourself on the facts.

[WildOutdoorAddict]

OK, I haven't read a lot of back posts to know whom all said what there. But I see no point in trying to filet a 4-5 inch bluegill or perch...do you? There are still a good number of large panfish in this lake... some get put back by locals and tournament fishermen and some get taken home by both. There is a recent underwater video of numorous large crappie swimming around here and  I wish I could have the right to post this for you to view. I do recongnize a problem in the future of this lake as I do many others. But, whether we stop fishing it or not will make no difference unless the general public stops as well. The locals take much more from this lake than we do! We buy a fishing license just like the general public does. We are a group of people that registers to fish on a certain day. A neighborhood could fish this at the same time on the same day.... will they get run into the ground for meat fishing "their lake"? No, it's to much work to go knocking on each neighbors door to b***h about fishing this lake. It's easy to blame a single organization though.

[WildOutdoorAddict]

..the bass is fishing in this lake is outrageous after dark.
..who's the ass who put alewife in this lake, some papinki or was it the Fish Commish?

It wasn't the fish commish! They did a trap net study just last year and found out there is a lot here. It's been a long time since their last study, so lord knows when they were put in here. And yes..very nice bass in here, not just after dark either.

[Byron/PA]

That is my position and I'm entitled to it.

Yes you are.................

In regards to stirring the pot, it was your people who threatened to come up with 100 fisherman and clean out the lake.  It was your people that said none of the locals know how to fish all they do is sit in one spot over one hole all day and stare at the hole and you are needed to come up to teach us how to fish.

         I hope I didn't say that at some point in the past, sometimes tempers flare. All I can do is tell you that I'm sorry if someone felt the need to be arrogant.............. ..

Not exactly setting the world on fire. And certainly not going to desecrate the lake.

No, it was a tough day and we didn't set the world on fire, glad you agree we were not going to desecrate the lake.................I was rather proud of my 2.15lb crappie that is in the freezer.

why do you need to put a tournament on a 160 acre lake like Lilly. I am not questioning the legality I'm questioning the ethics.

There are several reasons; first of all, we are human and we are fisherman, we enjoy having the chance at an honest three pound crappie, plus the huge bass and trout. Second of all, there is nothing to indicate that we are having a negative impact on the fishery. Even after the first tournament, when word started to leak out about this fishery, the lake has held on and continues to produce quality fish.

If they really wanted to help the lake they would have released the large spawners and kept the 150 stunted bluegills for a meal

  Is that what the locals do?? If so, they need lessons on catching those stunted gills.

I think you misunderstand me

I am not Greg, and other than being a tournament participant, I am not involved with the tournaments at this time. Your posts are very good, and I appreciate being able to disagree with you in a respectful manner. And although I may disagree with your views on tournament fishing on this lake, I do support your desire to protect the fishery and hope that passion continues............. .............

[WildOutdoorAddict]

Hey Northeaster PA locals, not the NEPL guys who are masquerading as being from our area by calling themselves NorthEast Panfish League; lets get together and fish Lily Lake heavy before their tournaments in the Summer and Winter. Catch them crappies and return them to the honey hole to save them.

Good luck with that... or maybe you should catch them big ones, weigh them.. and collect some cash then release them back to the honey hole. Or aren't you confident enough to produce enough on event day?  And we are in the Northeast part of the USA.. not just the state   

[WildOutdoorAddict]

You may be right  and maybe not.  Maybe a short term better idea would be for 10 or 15 locals to get to the parking lot early enough to take up most of the parking spaces, that would be doable. And then spend several hours blowing the carbon out of our 50 hp motors just to make everyone feel welcome. What do you think?

Seriously.. your feathers are all ruffled and you might have forgotten the rules there:
Boats with greater than 60 horsepower engines or greater than 18 feet in length are prohibited. Boats are limited to slow, minimum height swell speed except those operating within the buoyed high speed operating zone, between noon and sunset between the Saturday preceding Memorial Day and September 30.

NOON until SUNSET!!! that gives you an hour to blow the carbon out of your speedboats before weigh in!! (we can stay out of the bouy areas for that hour.. I guess we'll see you all in open water then right?? Tight lines!!

[chez]

WHY CANT WE ALL JUST GET {{{{A LONG NECK}}}}?

[digger953]

i thought this was the reports  and condition page?
not the whiners page?