2014/2015 Lake Louise Thread :)

[Akhardwater]

If you guys want to bash Jedi start another thread don't ruin this thread with all your BS.  We all need to come together to help protect this fishery and fighting amongst ourselves will not help anyone.  Maybe someone on here is good at writing and could draft up a proposal on C&R for lake trout in the louise and crosswinds drainage.  I would like to hear from anyone that opposes C&R so that maybe would could formulate a better arguement. 

[akwchil]

I could write it, but the real question is if F&G will manage it as a trophy fishery or if they will just blow it off.  Good example is Hidden Lake on the Kenai Peninsula.  It used to have a very good to decent  laker fishery, good numbers with decent size.  Limit used to be 10 fish per day, yes 10 any size to keep and take home.  about 4 or 5 years ago or so they finally changed it to 2 fish per day after about 20+ years of it getting pounded.  They openly admit that the lake is over fished and cannot sustain a very high harvestable yield.  but yet they will not go to C&R or trophy management philosophy which will only continue to hurt the lake.  They still allow 2 fish any size every single day to be kept.

Now with that said, Lake Louise suffers from some of the same issues as Hidden Lake and is very comparable to unit 13 caribou hunting.  It is the most accessible decent laker fishing around within proximity to the largest population in the state.  Just like Hidden Lake being the most stable laker fishing on the Peninsula it gets hit hard, some will complain, and the state will not want to spend any extra resources. Much like the Nelchina caribou heard, a ton of resources go into that just to manage it for maximum sustainable yield, and that has everyone and their generations of families involved in it.

The lack of resources will be highly stated as a reason not to change it due to the fact that there will still be subsistence fishing allowed, more enforcement needed, and better research which they don't or won't spend the money on. But it can't hurt, heck I'll even start a petition so we can get signatures for it.  worse thing they can say is no, or we'll have to study that for another decade before we decide it's worth the change.

Let's see how much traction we can obtain, don't forget to share
https://www.change.org/p/state-of-alaska-department-of-fish-game-lake-trout-management?recruiter=186702281&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive

[kwackkillncrew]

signed

[AlaskaOutdoorsmen]

Signed with an in-depth comment.

[Akhardwater]

Thanks akwchil.  this is defiantly a step in the right direction.

[jkw]

Signed and shared on FB.

[Missionmadness67]

Hey everyone!  Looking to go up to LL sometime this upcoming week or next weekend... New to the lake trout ice fishing...  Moved up from MN about 7 years ago and was addicted to walleye fishing!!  Anyone headed to the lake in the next week possibly want to meet up and catch and release some lakers??  Or anyone in the chugiak/valley area need a partner in crime to pitch in for gas??

[akdube]

Gonna be chilly this week up there. -26 on monday. Check out the lake louise lodge web page for weather.

[PikeSticker]

We all need to come together to help protect this fishery and fighting amongst ourselves will not help anyone.  Maybe someone on here is good at writing and could draft up a proposal on C&R for lake trout in the louise and crosswinds drainage.  I would like to hear from anyone that opposes C&R so that maybe would could formulate a better argument.

Hey Akhardwater: Just a heads up on the Board of Fish proposals process. I'm sure Lake Louise falls in the Copper River/Glenallen region for the proposals process scheduling. Unfortunately, they just had their BOF meeting this past Fall 2014. Those new regulations approved (including changing the Chitina Dipnet fishery permit system AND LIMITS to exactly like Kasilof/Kenai/Fish Cr fisheries) go into effect APRIL 15th, 2015.  That would mean any new proposals regarding LL or Xwind, if approved and adopted at the next BOF cycle for this region would not go into effect until April 15 of 2018.  F&G does not have the authority to change regulations on their own outside of the required BOF process. They can issue temporary Emergency Orders if they have justification for something along those lines but I doubt there is any environmental emergency in the LL fishery at this time. Three years sometimes is a long time to wait between regulations changes. But please don't let the timeframe discourage you. The process works, I've had a number of proposals for Southcentral approved and are still in the books. A worthy cause deserves the effort.

BTW, as I was looking through my 2001 & 2002 regs booklets for LL (I keep everything) I did notice that in those two years that the LL laker limit was one fish over 24" per day with all fish under 24" required to be released immediately. 2014 LL laker regs is one per day any size. So apparently these changes must mean something to go from CnR for under 24" to one any size somewhere down the road after 2002. But I'm not quite sure exactly what this signifies.

I was also surprised that Burbot was CLOSED YEAR ROUND on Lake Louise for at least those two years I have the booklets for. Wonder when the fishery got healthy enough to allow harvest again of one per day, any size.  So it appears F&G is making changes in several directions for LL over the last 14 years of my hardcopy records.

....  Good example is Hidden Lake on the Kenai Peninsula.  It used to have a very good to decent  laker fishery, good numbers with decent size.  Limit used to be 10 fish per day, yes 10 any size to keep and take home.  about 4 or 5 years ago or so they finally changed it to 2 fish per day after about 20+ years of it getting pounded.  They openly admit that the lake is over fished and cannot sustain a very high harvestable yield.  but yet they will not go to C&R or trophy management philosophy which will only continue to hurt the lake.  They still allow 2 fish any size every single day to be kept.

I have been fishing the Kenai Peninsula for 45 years now. I just dug up one regs booklet for the year 1999 and the limit on Hidden was two lakers any size per day, two in possession. There may have been a regulation many decades ago allowing 10 fish under 20" per day but for right now I know that only applies to Kenai, Skilak and Tustumena lakes going back as far as I can remember.  But for Hidden it was 2 any size from 1999 and I'm sure much earlier. Just don't have the regs back further.  That 2 fish limit was changed about two BOF cycles back (about 7+ years ago now) to one lake trout any size per day, one in possession. That has discouraged a large number of anglers who use to fish the lake for the table and not necessarily for the sport. Couple that with our warm winters delaying ice over and safe ice sometimes into January and all those factors add up to often a lot less angler effort. If the ice isn't thick enough most anglers won't walk very far if they have no snowmachine.

Just my For what its worth.   

Prayers to DirtofAK~!

[akwchil]

BTW, as I was looking through my 2001 & 2002 regs booklets for LL (I keep everything) I did notice that in those two years that the LL laker limit was one fish over 24" per day with all fish under 24" required to be released immediately. 2014 LL laker regs is one per day any size. So apparently these changes must mean something to go from CnR for under 24" to one any size somewhere down the road after 2002. But I'm not quite sure exactly what this signifies.

I was also surprised that Burbot was CLOSED YEAR ROUND on Lake Louise for at least those two years I have the booklets for. Wonder when the fishery got healthy enough to allow harvest again of one per day, any size.  So it appears F&G is making changes in several directions for LL over the last 14 years of my hardcopy records.

You are correct those changes took place during the 2012 BOF meeting. They were citing hook mortality as one of the main issues, though no bait during the summer rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. The fact is that if they cut bait during the winter it would kill set-lines and possibly harm subsistence set-lines, or that's how I viewed it.  there was a post on it here http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=202620.0

I have been fishing the Kenai Peninsula for 45 years now. I just dug up one regs booklet for the year 1999 and the limit on Hidden was two lakers any size per day, two in possession. There may have been a regulation many decades ago allowing 10 fish under 20" per day but for right now I know that only applies to Kenai, Skilak and Tustumena lakes going back as far as I can remember.  But for Hidden it was 2 any size from 1999 and I'm sure much earlier. Just don't have the regs back further.  That 2 fish limit was changed about two BOF cycles back (about 7+ years ago now) to one lake trout any size per day, one in possession. That has discouraged a large number of anglers who use to fish the lake for the table and not necessarily for the sport. Couple that with our warm winters delaying ice over and safe ice sometimes into January and all those factors add up to often a lot less angler effort. If the ice isn't thick enough most anglers won't walk very far if they have no snowmachine.

Yep your right it was further back that I had thought.  But needless to say if your 45 years how much has that fishery changed?  just curious but what was the biggest laker you have taken out of Hidden Lake?


Just my For what its worth.   

Prayers to DirtofAK~!
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[Cgfisher]

I'm thinking about making the trip up from valdez, maybe the 14th if I have work off. How thick is the ice since its been atleast -20 at night.

[akdube]

Better than 2'

[Whitefisher]

just asken,,,,, any pike in LL.....??

[kwackkillncrew]

I dont believe so

[Salmonman]

No reports of Pike in LL. Although I don't know how many people look at my laker pictures and say... Is that a pike? Hahaha!

[Missionmadness67]

Girlfriend caught her first fish through the ice today! Good times and cold!  -25 today! !

[Salmonman]

Epic Day on the ice yesterday. Here is the big one of the day. And a couple more for fun

[smelloftrout]

Congrats on the nice lakers everybody. Hope to get up there and meet a few of you avid ice guys.  Maybe I'm on the slow side of things but for those who have lady's with size 3 feet there making black bunny boots that size now and white ones start at 4.

[Missionmadness67]

I'm curious to on if those were released...

[Akhardwater]

Prime rib dinner at the lodge this sat and a band if anyone is interested.  This is their big reopening weekend.

[Salmonman]

One of the fish were released unharmed. The other Ones were kept and eaten because they were bleeding. I encourage everyone to release lakers whenever possible. But also some people have never caught a lake trout and when they catch their first they want to eat it. Hard to blame them for that. I guarantee they won't keep any other lakers after this because anyone that has eaten a lake trout knows its not as good as fresh red salmon, silver salmon, or halibut. They still taste pretty good compared to a stocked Rainbow Trout but not when we are blessed with so many salmon to catch and eat.