Task force seeks landlock rebound

New York Outdoor News
December 26, 2008
By Don Lehman
Contributing Writer

Lake George, NY - A volunteer task force has been established to work with state officials to rejuvenate land lock salmon populations in Lake Georg.

Members of the Lake George Fishing Alliance put together the task force, which will be led by longtime lake angler John Schaninger, a former president of the Lake George Associations (LGA).

Ed Donoghue, new president of the fishing alliance, said the group hopes the task force members can focus efforts on a rejuvenation of salmon in the lake, whose population has fallen over the past two decades or so, with no clear reason found.

One goal is to try to get the state to switch strains of salmon in its hatchery to the Sebago Lake strain that is native to Maine.

The DEC has used the Lake Clear strain in its hatchery.  Studies have shown that the Sebago Lake strain has a much better survival rate than the Lake Clear strain.

“It sounds like the strain is a beg par t of the problem,” Donoghue said.

The group would also like to see the DEC hold more salmon in hatcheries for longer periods of time so they are bigger when they’re stocked.

They have a high survival rate if stocked at larger sizes, and efforts to hold hundreds of salmon to be stocked in fall instead of spring seem to be working.  Those stocked in the spring are typically about 7 inches long; those kept longer and stocked in the fall 9 inches or so.

This theory has been borne out because anglers have reported many of the keeper salmon being caught have the distinctive fin clipping of bigger stockies.

“If you talk to anyone who is catching salmon, they’re fin clipped,” Donoghue said.

“The results clearly show that holding them longer was important,” Schaninger said.

Bill Schoch, the state fisheries manager for DEC Region 5, said the agency does not have hatchery space to keep salmon longer.  Warren County’s fish hatchery has agreed to keep the fish that are already being held longer.

The fishing alliance got DEC approval several years ago to supplement state-stocked salmon with fish they would purchase, but they were unable to secure certified fish.

The fishing alliance may seek money from Warren County’s new lodging occupancy tax to help its efforts, Schaninger said.

There is virtually no natural salmon reproduction in the lake.

Donoghue said Schaninger will work closely with fellow task force member Emily DeBolt.  DeBolt works for the LGA as well.

The DEC has also taken the next step toward seeking a rule change for lake trout anglers on the lake, a regulation switch that some think might help the lake’s salmon.

The DEC has proposed lowering the size limit from 23 to 21 inches for anglers to keep lakers.  That means more smaller fish would be kept - fish that many believe eat young salmon.

The DEC will open the proposal up for public comments on its web site in the coming weeks, and will host a meeting on the issue was well.

Schoch said the DEC has not made a decision on whether to enact the lake trout regulation change.  Schaninger said he has mixed feelings.

I have no doubt that lake trout are predators of salmon,” he said.  “But at times in the past we had healthy lake trout and salmon populations.”

For more information on Lake George fishing issues, log on to www.lgfa.org.

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