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Examining lake trout proposal
By Don Lehman
The Post Star
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The state proposal to lower the lake trout size limit on Lake George has taken the next step toward becoming a regulation.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation will be forwarding the proposal for public comment in the coming weeks. The DEC is looking into whether the size limit for anglers to keep lake trout should be lowered from 23 inches to 21 inches. That would mirror the statewide size requirement of 21 inches.
DEC Region 5 fisheries manager Bill Schoch said Wednesday that the proposal should be on the DEC Web site's public comment area any day. Once the public comment period closes, the agency will host a public meeting to give all sides a chance to have their say as well, he said.
Schoch said the DEC has not decided whether to make the rule change.
Last spring, Emily Zollweg, the DEC fisheries biologist who asked for the new regulation, said lowering the size limit would allow more lakers to be kept by anglers, which would lessen the number of lakers available to eat young salmon.
Critics took issue with the proposal because they don't believe the DEC did enough scientific analysis before advocating the change.
The new rule would take effect in 2010 if it is approved.
In other Lake George news, the Lake George Fishing Alliance has put together a task force to work on ways to improve the lake's landlocked Atlantic salmon fishery. Longtime lake angler John Schaninger, former president of the Lake George Association, will head it.
The lake's salmon population has been struggling for years. Many believe predation by lakers and pike is the biggest factor.
Ed Donoghue, president of the LGFA, said the group hopes to convince the DEC to allow more salmon to be raised to bigger sizes in the hatchery, to better their chances of survival. Each year hundreds of salmon are stocked in the lake in the fall, when they are about 9 inches long, instead of with the 34,000 or so 7-inch fish stocked in the spring.
Those fish that are stocked later have clipped fins to help identify them.
"If you talk to anyone who is catching salmon, they're fin-clipped," Donoghue said.
The task force also hopes to push the DEC to begin using a new strain of salmon in its hatchery. A strain native to Sebago Lake in Maine, has proved to be hardier than one being used by New York.
"It sounds like the strain is a big part of the problem," Donoghue said.
Schaninger said he has mixed feelings about lowering the lake trout size limit and its effects on the lake's salmon.
"I have no doubt that lake trout are predators of salmon," he said. "But at times in the past we've had healthy lake trout and salmon populations."
The DEC's Web site can be found at www.dec.ny.gov.
Ice fishing
Hardwater anglers were hitting the ice last week before the midweek warm weather, rain and snow. It undoubtedly fouled conditions on some lakes, but a decent base of ice had been established on many lakes and ponds north of Lake George.
Mike West, whose family runs The Crossroads Country Store & Sport Shop in Chester, said ice fishermen were hitting some of the smaller ponds last week, like Burnt Pond in Horicon. Loon lake had closed up, but the two inches of ice that had accumulated on Loon Lake wasn't really considered safe for fishing.
Eaton Lake was also being fished through the ice early last week.
Of course, snow on top of ice is often the bane of ice anglers, because it hides weak spots and insulates ice from the cold, preventing it from thickening easily.
Always carry equipment like a whistle and grappling hook or spike when going out on the ice. The whistle can help you draw attention if you fall through, while the hook or spike can be used to get a grip on ice to pull yourself out of the water.
This is especially important early in the season, and after weather like we've had the last few days.
Bloggin'
The Adirondack Outdoors blog on www.poststar.com is up and running. It's been in the works for a while, but we finally broke it out a couple of weeks ago.
The first week the postings generated nearly 500 hits, which was encouraging in light of the fact we hadn't publicized it yet.
Look for quick-hit outdoors items there, and feel free to submit online comments through the commenting feature.
We've been trying to convince fellow outdoors columnist Joe Greco to participate as well, but with some recent career changes on his part he hasn't been able to jump in yet.
To check it out, go to www.poststar.com/blogs/ and click on "Adirondack Outdoors."
(The picture is me with a 5-pound salmon I caught on Lake George last summer. How bad can they be struggling if I can catch a 5-pounder?)
Don Lehman writes a regular Outdoors column for The Post-Star.
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