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Trout limit discussed at meeting
By Don Lehman
The Post Star
Monday, March 16, 2009
The crowd might not have been large, but the conversation went well into the night when the state Department of Environmental Conservation held its public hearing Tuesday on the proposal to lower the size limit for keeper lake trout on Lake George.
Just more than 20 people were in attendance as DEC senior aquatic biologist Emily Zollweg and regional fisheries manager Bill Schoch offered up an informative, 45-minute program focusing on the history and vitality of the lake's trout and salmon fisheries before opening the floor to comments.
More than two hours of discussion followed, with a wide range of questions about the lake's smelt population and reproduction, what would happen if alewives found their way into the lake and what anglers can do to help the DEC and laker mortality for fish caught by anglers.
Some wondered how often anglers were keeping lake trout, which one angler derisively referred to as "oil cans" because of their oily skin. Most seemed to agree that lakers of 21 inches or so were the best to keep and eat, with bigger fish considered not as tasty.
Most of the public comment about the rule change proposal came from anglers who opposed the rule change. There were some who were in favor of the change, though.
There was talk of a combination of size limits, such as allowing anglers to take one or two 21-inch fish in an outing but require others after that be 23 inches to be kept. (The state size limit is 21 inches, and Lake George is one of only three lakes in the state where the limit is 23 inches.)
The main reason given last summer for the proposed change was the belief that cutting down on the laker population will help the lake's troubled landlocked Atlantic salmon. But Zollweg and Schoch said Tuesday that there are also indications that the booming lake trout population is starting to slow fish growth and stress the lake's forage base.
Much of the forage comes from smelt, which are notorious for population crashes. Too many lake trout can accelerate and worsen those crashes
"I think we're really, counting on boom years for smelt," Schoch said.
Zollweg said the lake trout growth rate on Lake George is second in the Adirondacks only to Lake Champlain, but the growth rate has showed signs of slowing. Too many fish can cause that slowing, and anglers keeping more fish can help remove fish.
"We're starting to run into that barrier of too many fish and not enough food," Zollweg said.
Schoch said the DEC has to take into account what anglers want -- great lake trout fishing, improved salmon fishing or a mix of the two.
"Achieving a balance between the two (species) is very difficult to do," Schoch said.
Schoch said the DEC will weigh all of its options before making a decision on the proposal by May 1. It will then be considered by DEC central office staff, and if enacted will take effect on Oct. 1, 2010.
The DEC is accepting public comment on the idea on its Web site at www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/51001.html until April 10. (Click on the Warren County link on the bottom right of the page to get to the proposal.)
Ice fishing still solid
One of the best ice fishing seasons in decades should still be pretty good through at least early this week, thanks to the cold front that moved through last week and dropped temperatures into the single digits.
Garry Nelson, owner of The Outdoorsman Sport Shop in Diamond Point, said the perch and lake trout fishing was still pretty good on Lake George. He said the crowds have dropped in recent weeks, as interest wanes after an ice fishing season that was more than 3 months long in much of the area.
Still, there is plenty of ice that can be fished. But Nelson said anglers have to be particularly careful about conditions this time of year, especially near shore as ice pulls away.
Coming off the ice in the afternoon, after the March sun warms things, can be more dangerous, he said.
Nelson said the rainbow trout fishing has been outstanding on Trout Lake, with 'bows up to 24 inches being caught.
"There's still 20 inches of ice on Trout Lake," he said.
Deer, bear stats
The statewide and local deer and bear harvest stats came out earlier this month, and the news was mostly good. The numbers showed a rise in the deer take in all five area counties and all but one wildlife management unit in Region 5.
For a full rundown on the local numbers, log on to our Adirondack Outdoors blog on www.poststar.com. The link is www.poststar.com/blogs/?cat132, scroll down a few posts. There's a link there to the full DEC stats on the agency's web page as well.
Stats for bear hunting can be found there as well.
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