The red is nearly fished out.

[30-30]

Over the past 6-7 years I have noticed a dramatic reduction in both the quantity and quality of fish from the Red. I will not even get into what the river was like forty years ago compared to today, but the reduction in the past few years is very alarming.

It may be time for a moratorium on the river. Catch and Release only. Reducing limits will not stop the poaching as quickly as catch and release will. Perhaps we have to take one for the team for the next season or two or there will be nothing left for us - or our kids and grand-kids.  Catch and release is much easier for the NRO's to enforce. No arguing over who caught what and how and when, how many were hidden in cars and boats. You have a fish, you have a ticket.

Will there be a short term impact on the industry and towns such as Lockport and Selkirk?  Somewhat for sure....but the majority of real anglers practice catch and release anyway, and the ones who don't are not in these towns to spend money anyhow. They are there to fill freezers, pure and simple.  When I go to towns like Selkirk, I fill my truck, fill my jerry can, buy breakfast at a restaurant, pick up minnows, snacks and such, then end my day with a beer and fries at one of the hotels. Probably drop $50-$100 there every time I go. I practice catch and release so there would be no impact on the economy from folks such as myself.

And no - it is not because I had a bad weekend or two on the river, this is a long term observation.

The pressure on this fishery in unsustainable. In the end we will all pay anyhow.

[bbrook]

I hear they used to dredge the river at the mouth of the lake they haven't done that for a while that could have somthing to do with the amount of fish that enter and leave the river

[30-30]

bbrook, this may have something to do with it, but the big lake is nowhere near as good as it used to be either.

[CILRedRIVER]

Over the past 6-7 years I have noticed a dramatic reduction in both the quantity and quality of fish from the Red. I will not even get into what the river was like forty years ago compared to today, but the reduction in the past few years is very alarming.

It may be time for a moratorium on the river. Catch and Release only. Reducing limits will not stop the poaching as quickly as catch and release will. Perhaps we have to take one for the team for the next season or two or there will be nothing left for us - or our kids and grand-kids.  Catch and release is much easier for the NRO's to enforce. No arguing over who caught what and how and when, how many were hidden in cars and boats. You have a fish, you have a ticket.

Will there be a short term impact on the industry and towns such as Lockport and Selkirk?  Somewhat for sure....but the majority of real anglers practice catch and release anyway, and the ones who don't are not in these towns to spend money anyhow. They are there to fill freezers, pure and simple.  When I go to towns like Selkirk, I fill my truck, fill my jerry can, buy breakfast at a restaurant, pick up minnows, snacks and such, then end my day with a beer and fries at one of the hotels. Probably drop $50-$100 there every time I go. I practice catch and release so there would be no impact on the economy from folks such as myself.

And no - it is not because I had a bad weekend or two on the river, this is a long term observation.

The pressure on this fishery in unsustainable. In the end we will all pay anyhow.

Some goods points and us from Selkirk appreciate your patronage. I too have fished the river for over 40 years, well before a single shack  or anyone knew or heard of the river being a Walleye gold mine.

The river is hot and cold, some winters it can be great all year and other years by the end of December its done.

Good luck and keep fishing!

[30-30]

Some goods points and us from Selkirk appreciate your patronage. I too have fished the river for over 40 years, well before a single shack  or anyone knew or heard of the river being a Walleye gold mine.

The river is hot and cold, some winters it can be great all year and other years by the end of December its done.

Good luck and keep fishing!

Love your little town and am am considering making it my summer home when I retire.

Over your forty years, have you seen it decline as much as I perceive it has? Especially in the past 6 or 7?

[CILRedRIVER]

I don't think the numbers have decreased but I do see a decrease in the big girls. I don't see or hear the 30+" as frequently as I did in the past.

We could use additional COs on the river banks and in Lockport, for that matter throughout the province. I personally think all on the Manitoba resources are poorly managed.

[30-30]

I don't think the numbers have decreased but I do see a decrease in the big girls. I don't see or hear the 30+" as frequently as I did in the past.

We could use additional COs on the river banks and in Lockport, for that matter throughout the province. I personally think all on the Manitoba resources are poorly managed.

Additional resources are badly needed. Unfortunately with the way the province is being run at this time, that is an impossibility.  The job of the NRO is simply one of frustration, especially for the older ones who actually got into it for the love of nature, not the love of pensions.

Interesting that you do not see a reduction in the numbers as I most definitely do. Perhaps it is my perception only, but I am pretty adamant that the consistency of catch is no longer there - so by extension one assumes there are less fish.

[dkozyra15]

I was having the same thoughts today. I haven't been fishing for 40 years but have noticed this year the fall run sucked we fished it hard and only caught a couple over 20" biggest 26" all fish were released. This winter Float plane was hot for about a week not numbers wise but size was good and Lake winnipeg has also sucked had some of my best days last year in december this year its been hard to catch more then 3

[CDNwiggler]

I hear they used to dredge the river at the mouth of the lake they haven't done that for a while that could have somthing to do with the amount of fish that enter and leave the river

Yes they used to when the Lord Selkirk used to make runs to Gimli and back therefore leaving a consistent depth throughout the mouth. We too have noticed since they stopped it has been on a steadily decline. I once talked to one of the commercial fisherman and he said at the mouth its now roughly only 3-4' deep. And you know walleye don't really like shallow water like that even though you can pick them up on your locater sometimes at just feet below ice but they can escape deeper if needed,. So my opinion is that they get turned away or get discouraged from entering the Red by having to come into shallow water at the mouth for that reason. That being said you'd think there should be a crap load of fish near the mouth but I guess they move around a lot.

[30-30]

DK: it is worse this year than last.  But my concern is the long term decline we are seeing.

CDN:  I believe dredging stopped in 1998. The Dredger was parked in the Slough in Selkirk, I believe it was disassembled and removed last summer.  Not sure how long it would take to "silt up" the mouth, but I would think that this may actually be a good thing. Seems the people who over-fish tend to stay close to Winnipeg, ie Selkirk and Lockport. The Lake being closed off may actually protect the stock from the poachers....they are less likely to drive all the way to the lake, and for the most part would need a boat for the summer and a real truck for the winter.

So the lack of dredging is a "good" thing....at least for the resource itself it may be.

[greenbackhunter]

bbrook, this may have something to do with it, but the big lake is nowhere near as good as it used to be either.

The commercial harvest quotas is recent years would suggest otherwise. The north basin is hotter than ever for walleye.

[Greenteam]

Hey thats fishin'. On to the next hot spot. The Red/LW seemed to peak about 5/6 years back just like it has dozens of times before and will again.

[CILRedRIVER]

The commercial harvest quotas is recent years would suggest otherwise. The north basin is hotter than ever for walleye.

Hey thats fishin'. On to the next hot spot. The Red/LW seemed to peak about 5/6 years back just like it has dozens of times before and will again.

Agreed

[walleye28]

north basin being hot, would that not suggest that there is less fishing pressure up there, I would think so, I've seen it before, the Red River at the Roseau River reserve used to be the hottest place in Manitoba ten years ago, and now not one person fishes there, why ? fished out, ya some may laugh, saying you can't fish out a River, but I believe it can dearly be affected, have tried going back to do some--- used to be hot spots in this area, just to come up empty handed, not only with walleyes, but the goldeye population in this area has also been affected. Have seen it many times first hand that to many big girls have been taken home, have even argued with some of these people to no avail ,we need to all do our part in saving this once great fishery. SAVE OUR RED, cheers and happy new year everyone.

[swampdonkeyice]

We travel over 15 hours once a year to fish your magical waters.  We keep a couple small greens for a hot oil bath on the ice, and release everything else, especially the big ones.  A couple locals came and fished by us last year on the big lake, caught 2 fish over 30 in, kept them both, which was very surprising to us.  I think once you reach a certain level in your fishing career, it would almost break your heart to keep a fish that size, its just very sad.  Keep a couple small ones for the pan if you must, but release the big ones!
Thanks for all the hospitality you guys express while we are there too, you guys are very friendly, and very pleasant, and we really enjoy coming up to Selkirk/South beach every year!

[30-30]

Some good replies here for sure. I do not agree with the "hey that's fishing" remark as it is not the way it has to be. That seems to me to be a statement of acceptance of the situation.  If it was a matter of sporadic poor fishing, then I would agree with the "that's fishing", but it is an overall decline.

And, yes a river can get fished out when there is too much pressure on the resource. Coming up or down the river through thousands of lines belonging to not catch-and-release fisherman will impact the population.

As for commercial fishermen?  I know several and they say that the technique and technology they use is what gives them the good harvest.
Talk to the old boys and they will admit that they would be toast if they were using the same stuff as they did years ago.

Seems that it is a mixed reaction to my post.  Maybe I have fished that river too long and have seen too much. I still feel that the system cannot expect to carry on as it stands right now. Usually it is too late before anybody actually rings an alarm bell - and that will be a sad realization for many people.

Well thanks again for all the replies....let us all hope and pray that I am very wrong.

[walleye28]

educate, educate, we may not win the battle on catch and release but, we may eventually win the war, here's to hoping

[30-30]

educate, educate, we may not win the battle on catch and release but, we may eventually win the war, here's to hoping

Amen my friend...it is a game of numbers. About 700 people read this thread. Let's say that half of them keep fish. So if they each put back just ONE fish each time they went fishing, say ten times a year - that is 3500 fish right there. It is simply the right thing to do. Especially with the breeding-sized stock.

[5 X Master Angler]

Catch your limit....but limit your catch!

[greenbackhunter]

It's the thousands that don't read forums and don't care about rules you have to reach.

[30-30]

5X....that is an excellent mantra!

Greenback, you are right. Perhaps there is no hope for those pathetic souls. We may have to take on for their team as well  - until enforcement or the thought process of those people changes.

In the meantime, I will continue to do what I can to educate youth and new fishers....and when that fails, keep TIPS on my speed-dial.


What else can we do in this era of instant gratification and entitlement?

[5 X Master Angler]

I did some exploring with the Manitoba Master Angler Website. Here is what I found.

Lake Winnipeg Jan 1 / 1991 to Dec 30 / 2013 ...  994 Master Angler Walleye
In the last 10 years 839 Masters.

Red River Jan 1 / 1991 to Dec 30 / 2013 ... 4,312 Master Angler Walleye
In the last 10 years 1,567 Masters.

Red River again:
1/1/03 to 1/1/04...151 MA
1/1/04 to 1/1/05...140 MA
1/1/05 to 1/1/06...289 MA
1/1/06 to 1/1/07...214 MA
1/1/07 to 1/1/08...256 MA
1/1/08 to 1/1/09...137 MA
1/1/09 to 1/1/10...178 MA
1/1/10 to 1/1/11...095 MA
1/1/11 to 1/1/12...058 MA
1/1/12 to 1/1/13...103 MA
1/1/13 to 12/30/13...104 MA

Could the decrease in numbers have something to do with not being able to fish the river as long due to ice cutting?  Could the numbers be down due to the fact more people are fishing the lake instead?  Food for thought!

5 X MA
   

[30-30]

Very interesting research. Thanks for sharing.

There could be several reasons for that reduction including ice cutting and/or over fishing (keeping big mamas).

I did some research myself and tried to find stats on the number of licenses issued and the ages of the licensee. Of course, the Province Of Manitoba keeps this a secret. I was able to find stats for BC and Ontario though - go figure.

I actually read a report on the state of Lake Winnipeg. This report indicated that there was stocking in 2001 and many of these fish have matured and become "keepers" by some people's standards. What the report said was that there was no way of determining what it would be like going forward, but seemed to be a negative bias on the future. The report was from data collected in 2011.  The report went on further to say that there was "less production" in the commercial fishery, but seemed to hint that this was due to the fishermen, and not the stock numbers.

[unclebobber]

I think the fishing on the red is better today than it was 40 years ago. more cats, more saugers and bigger saugers, more greenbacks, but that as you guys have noticed is  changing, could the fisheries department  start stocking the lake and the river with fry, instead of lakes in the middle of nowhere,(shoe lake) I love catching smallmouth there, so no hate mail please, as an example. and maybe instead of spending millions on branding, we could spend money  to  insure we have  a world class fishery for years to come, maybe even create some  more tourism dollars, and an industry for guides etc.

[CDNwiggler]

BUT YA KNOW.....AFTER ALL THIS IS SAID AND DONE ......yea  it would be nice to get some big eyes but if we don't........ its still nice just to get out there and enjoy the sport and the time........beats being at work

[Bowkes]

BUT YA KNOW.....AFTER ALL THIS IS SAID AND DONE ......yea  it would be nice to get some big eyes but if we don't........ its still nice just to get out there and enjoy the sport and the time........beats being at work

This says it the best ! 

[adangomiadonye]

Commercial fishing of walleye in 2012 accounted for approximately 12 MILLION pounds. If you are worried about numbers dwindling, point the finger elsewhere.

[walleye28]

no finger pointing @ everyone is responsible . educate, educate .

[HighlandGlen Guide]

Lake winnipeg is dying...if you think its bad now on the red wait a few years! All of the pollution has helped for years now its too much and we will see the results soon. Now Lake Winnipeg is infected with zebra mussels and im sure the red has them or will have them soon.

[30-30]

BUT YA KNOW.....AFTER ALL THIS IS SAID AND DONE ......yea  it would be nice to get some big eyes but if we don't........ its still nice just to get out there and enjoy the sport and the time........beats being at work

Amen!!

Lake winnipeg is dying...if you think its bad now on the red wait a few years! All of the pollution has helped for years now its too much and we will see the results soon. Now Lake Winnipeg is infected with zebra mussels and im sure the red has them or will have them soon.

I tend to agree with this statement in spite of what the majority of people seem to think.