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I symphaize with everyone's frustrations and concerns, but what we fail to acknowledge is our cooperation with the biologist and game wardens is imperative to make it a cohesive network of concerned anglers and educated purveyors of our sport. We all recall and listen to fishing exploits of yesteryears but that was a generation where fisherman, in large part, depended on a full creel to feed their family and neglect sportsman like conduct. We, the fisherman have all contributed to bringing fisheries to the brink, with over fishing and thinking that just because it states the maximum limit in the law book is something we need to achieve, out of ego not hunger or necessity! To look at the decline in vermonts lakes, streams, and ponds we need only look in the mirror to see the culprit. Progress and reversing the damage of a inferior fishery starts with us! Reducing the amount we take home, selectively harvesting larger fish or taking a picture instead, volunteering time to trout unlimited or other like minded organizations, these are simple steps to preserve and enhance fishing, not complain when you discuss the cause when you chastise the game wardens. We all need to practice better stewardship to keep our fish population in check and give it a chance to rebound. I welcome all rebuttals everyone has a opinion and this is mine
it sucks this state should have a great wallie fishery they should put them in semour willabe echo casbi all the big lakes that hold tons of smelt they would never hurt the laker population just about every lake in canada has wallie and lakers we have to many deep lakes going to waste. the state should make a wallie program
So we need another invasive species to fix the problem? They make their way into enough bodies of water without legal help. Its thoughts like this that have people fishing for pike in Memphremagog now, largemouth bass in Lake Carmi, and alewives in Lake Champlain just to name a few examples.Part of the reason that so much effort goes into Champlain is because it undoubtedly receives the most fishing pressure and its watershed covers most of the state. The other little hole in the wall ponds make very little sense to stock and such if someone is going to go there with their kids to "catch fish like grandpa" and haul in 5 limits of salmon or walleyes over and over, or someone decides "Hmmm, I think there should be crappie in here." The fish stocked in the lake have a much greater chance of survival in a larger body of water.I have no problem catching decent numbers of quality fish year after year. I think many of you are probably fishing your grandfather's old honey holes and such, expecting the same results as the old photographs. Do you think those trophies and full stringers were caught every day? I sure hope you don't. Don't forget that lakes and ponds are AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS. They aren't static, but rather subject to constant change, and fishing no doubt is a major factor affecting them. Try fishing somewhere else on the lake sometime, go out and look for the fish you want. You may be surprised at what you'll find. Well, I'm done pissing into the wind on the internet and trying to change the world with a few keystrokes, time to go fish for brook trout in Norton Pond...
i happen to like the fishing in this state. can't comment on the walleye thing, there are none around my area and it doesn't bother me a bit, i just fish to fish and i have fun doing it!
tench i fished magog since the early70s there were pike in it then i know we caught them wallie is a good fishery fish these big lakes should have them the diffrent is no body ice fish back then much because alot of people were to lazy to walk or it was to hard to much work and to cold to do it for them
Bucket biology has no place in natural resource management. Organized stocking efforts to reinstate NATIVE populations do however. These actions TODAY have to take into account the condition of the ecosystem TODAY though. Overfishing in past years is the problem that we are dealing with today. Lets not be so short sighted as to give the next generation an even more crippled fishery...