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I'd prefer to trust the judgment of a biologist stocking salmon according to a plan, than some idiot toting a pail full of bass yearlings to a pond because he wants to catch them there.
Most Maine lake were barren of trout? Really?? Or is this just conjecture on your part...
Which species were decimated by the introduction of salmon decades ago by biologists? Just throwing it out there...
They can and are stocked just very expensive! State doesn't really like to do it. I fell it would bring a lot of ponds back if they did stock smelt.
Thanks im sure every bass fisherman im Maine will appreciate that !!!! Not everyone has man love for salmon sorry to have to tell you that We all need to protect the fishing in Maine water 50ryrs from now our kids will be reading about how Maine fisherman tried to regulate fish population on there own and wiped out several fisheries while doing it we have people in place who manage these waters let them do there job !!!
S-13: No size or bag limit on bass. That is the special regulation on the lake where our camp is. Why? Probably because it is historically a salmon fishery and the bio's would like to keep it that way. I fish for smallmouth in the dog days of summer when at camp and I keep everyone. And I wont say what I do with most of them because I know how sensitive most people on here are.After reading all these posts, one thing to thinks about. Whether stocked, illegally introduced, or migrated bass and pike have had obvious negative impact on trout and salmon. OBVIOUS. Has a salmon or trout ever negatively impacted bass or pike? The anwser is no. I don't care what you fish for, but I will do what I can to help the fishery I enjoy.
I'm wondering if the state would be better off spending the $$ to stock smelt and improve smelt spawning habitat rather than stock salmon and trout. I fish Alligator lake and believe IF&W stocked smelt in there for a while. Seemed to help the quality in the short term but not so much now.Also I remember reading that there was a big effort to stock smelt in Moosehead (I might be wrong).
All kids who love to fish appreciate your efforts at killing all of the bass.
sorry i get it
Don't need to re-read your reply Jim P, got it quite thoroughly the first time. The first part of my reply was not directed at you, it was directed at the general tone and direction that this topic and many, many others just like it have taken as of late. We don't need fish species tolerance and diversity training here on ICESHANTY in my opinion. I think there is much fish philosophy and amchair biology going on here. Maybe National Geographic might be interested!
I can say its not nature thats weakening the salmon and trout population, its people. You know why the bass are so healthy and populated? So many people practice the (ART) of catch and realease. Ok, now if the 1000's of people did this with trout and salmon instead of keeping their limit everytime this would obviously help alot. Some people had their ways of today implanted in them at a young age. Its just like a bad habit, they just can't shake it..My father and the people I was around when I was a young kid always told me if your not going to eat the fish put it back for another day no matter what species it may be...
I think you are right on with this . The bag limits on trout and salmon should be tightend up a bunch and it would have to help some . I know most everyone here knows of a brook or a beaver pond that was right full of trout at one time and as people found out about it the fishing went down hill quick . It was people cleaning them out not bass or pike in these areas . On a bigger scale as the population of the state grows more and more .Roads get made getting us into more and more areas of the state to fish out all the trout . Also development of the state and lakefront property has brought down the water quality . There are tons of reasons for the decrease in trout . Most were brought on by people in one way or another . If it were not for our stocking system the trout and salmon fishing would be almost non existant with the exceptions of areas that see very few people . There wild trout would still thrive. .02
people who have this attitude are no better then the bucket bio's in my opinion. bucket bio's put fish in water that they want to catch, you on the other hand wanna kill fish just because you don't like them....same thing in my book.if i may, i would like to point out another reason for the demise of long pond salmon. i wish the salmon/trout fisherman would think back over the years and add up all the trout/salmon they have kept. a female brookie carries an average of how many eggs? i know not all eggs that hatch will survive, but if everyone practiced catch and release, well, every little bit would help and improve the fishery little by little. maybe some stiffer regs would also help. im also glad to see this thread is remaining civil.
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didn't look good on a 1967 Cannary Yellow, Camaro SS, what did it do to the lakes.