Ice Fishing Derbies Are Disappearing

[thedirtydirtyfisherman]

I think that people should have science to back up claims.  I talked to biologists a couple times about Sabattus and they always told me to kill the small pike, let the big ones go.  I think the derby does a great thing, but im sure people keeping a lot of big ones might have an effect.  The speed at which these fish grow and how much they eat makes them great fish for derby target.  The real hitch to the success of that lake is the forage, most specifically alewifes which are the main forage.  What the biologists told me was that (kind of like stage II crappy)  the lake had reached a point where all the fish had stunted growth because they ate a large majority of the forage.  Culling the small pike would help the others not have to compete so much and thus increase growth.  I guess all im saying is its unfair to just blame the derby for pond being "slow" and if it goes through cycles thats not a terrible thing either.

[gamefisher]

I think that people should have science to back up claims.  I talked to biologists a couple times about Sabattus and they always told me to kill the small pike, let the big ones go.  I think the derby does a great thing, but im sure people keeping a lot of big ones might have an effect.  The speed at which these fish grow and how much they eat makes them great fish for derby target.  The real hitch to the success of that lake is the forage, most specifically alewifes which are the main forage.  What the biologists told me was that (kind of like stage II crappy)  the lake had reached a point where all the fish had stunted growth because they ate a large majority of the forage.  Culling the small pike would help the others not have to compete so much and thus increase growth.  I guess all im saying is its unfair to just blame the derby for pond being "slow" and if it goes through cycles thats not a terrible thing either.

One thing I think you will learn real quick about the I.S. community is they are fine until it effects their pet fish or fishery and then they flood gates of emotion open.  Just because someone submits a permit to host a derby the State has to still approve, if they thought it adversely effected their management goals for a lake they wouldn't issue, simple as that.  The whole "sky is falling" thing is more about emotion than science, a one day derby doesn't kill every fish in the lake or several one day derbies for that matter, in all honesty, most fishermen just aren't that good.  The State will only issue a certain amount of permits for any given body of water per year.  The reason why derbies come and go is it's a lot of work!  Good volunteers come and go as interests and available time wains, etc.  In order for a derby to survive today, it almost has to be done by a broad based organization that has annual influx of new members with interests, not just one person.  What the have done up Milo for 53 years is really quite amazing and probably will never be matched for longevity.