Close the cove

[raz]

I really have to wonder if Vermont Fish & Wildlife has the resources to address this issue "through a variety of enforcement efforts". Somehow I think they'd be short staffed like so many other industries in America. Do they have the funds and personnel to have wardens go undercover, day or night, to enforce the rules, laws, and fishing regulations? I know they do it for big game, especially deer.
But, will they do it for Lake Champlain's beloved Landlocked Salmon?

[wyattsflys]

Thanks for sharing! Very discouraging for sure:-(

[flyguy]

I have brought this issue to the attention of the F&W board and the Commissioner. Hopefully, we can discuss this at the next Board meeting.

[Detritus]

Am I the only one who would be fine with just making salmon catch and release only for a few years? I don't think I've kept one in 2022 yet.

[cpmaple]

Am I the only one who would be fine with just making salmon catch and release only for a few years? I don't think I've kept one in 2022 yet.

Detritus only issue with that is getting both states onboard don't think that will happen.

[Larmor]

We as fisherman also need to police ourselves for a better fishery. Lately what they are doing is not working.The salmon population is going down.Please (Vermont) take at least one page out of New Yorks rules they seem to be working better than your blue print.I don’t have a solution but doing nothing doesn’t help.I think the pictures tell a story but not the whole problem. Please listen to the people who voice there opinion ,they wouldn’t do this if they didn’t care. I live in ma. I have been fishing the lake for 35 years. I have never not been able to catch salmon.The last three years have been real tough.Just remember (nothing ventured nothing gained) do nothing it gets worse as is evident of the last 3yrs.

[ReelInvestment]

We need to up the length limit on salmon in my opinion! Give these smaller fish some time to grow. The pictures I’ve been seeing lately it appears that some are keeping every salmon that hits the deck. Numbers seem to be a touch better this spring let’s not ruin it…Up the length limit to 21” and stop killing every lake year 1 salmon and they might stand a fighting chance!

[ATLSALMON]

Why do they not just put a 21# rule in place & that way the fish would have a chance to grow to trophy size & spawn at least a few times to improve the fishery just my two cents. We have a 18 in. limit here on Cayuga Lake & we see many nice fish caught so maybe upping it on here would help

[Digitroll Fishing]

Some of us have been lobbying for this for years. Spikehorn vs 4 or 6 pointer? 19" or 20" would save thousands of fish being kept in a season. Nice to see Cayuga making this work. I can think of the 12 trout limit on a stream or 5 lbs for a 100 years (wasteful) We have a fish and wildlife public board maybe they can introduce this proposal for Lake Champlain?

[Mistress]

I too was wondering why F&W would allow fishing in the Grand Isle hatchery cove during spawning season thinking it would be like the proverbial shooting fish in a barrel so I decided to check it out one beautiful fall Saturday before Fauci Flu hit. There were 10-12 anglers in waders along with a few on step stools farther out and I only saw one fish caught (short and released) in the 1 1/2 hours I was spectating. I counted 19 salmon in the lower staging pool so I know there were plenty of fish present so I guess my point is they are not as easily caught as you would think and the cove is an easy target for wildlife officers to patrol. Obviously a few fish do get injured as shown in the pics but I do not think it has a major impact on our overall fisheries.
I have been fishing northern Champlain for 40 years and the past two years has been dismal for salmon numbers over the rail. Personally I think the State slipped a bit with the stocking program combined with too many anglers keeping the legal limit. I think the legal length should be increased to 18" and perhaps a public announcement fishery conservation campaign to ask anglers to be more selective about how many fish go in the live well.
Just my two cents for what it is worth......

[Dwayne]

Focus on dam removal. If all the dams were removed then hundreds of miles of spawning grounds would open up and all species of fish that spawn in rivers would reproduce. The Saranac river has an impassable dam the ausable also has a dam at mace canyon. Remove the dams and let the spring snow melt wash all the part into the lake and the population will rebound. Trout and salmon are not meant to swim to the river or sea and live in the warm water on the journey and be eaten on the way. The spring floods should be allowed to wash them out of the rivers and streams

[fishhuntadventure]

That’s hooking damage??!!!
Nothing like that has ever happened to me. That’s crazy.

[Surprise]

From Vermont Traditions Coalition:

IMPORTANT:

Fishing Restricted in Part of Hatchery Cove to Protect Spawning Salmon
GRAND ISLE, Vt. – A small portion of Hatchery Cove, a popular fishing spot on Lake Champlain in Grand Isle, is now closed to fishing effective October 1 through November 30 under a new Commissioner’s Order from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
The closure aims to provide a safe corridor for the landlocked Atlantic salmon that gather in Hatchery Cove before migrating up the nearby Hatchery Brook to spawn each fall. The closed corridor is a 20 ft. x 100 ft. area of cove directly in front of Hatchery Brook, centered on the brook and extending out from the water’s edge into Lake Champlain. The corridor area has been clearly marked with signs in the field.
“We have two years of angler data showing a very high number of people at all hours of the day and night fishing Hatchery Cove directly in front of the brook during the fall salmon run,” said Bernie Pientka, a fish biologist with the department. “That kind of fishing pressure can disrupt salmon passage into Hatchery Brook. We’re closing a small portion of the cove to fishing to give the salmon a protected corridor into Hatchery Brook.”
The landlocked Atlantic salmon population in Lake Champlain is mostly supported by fish reared in the department’s hatcheries and released into the lake as young. Adult salmon can live for many years in the wild and return to Hatchery Brook to spawn each fall.
Hatchery Brook does not have the right kind of habitat for salmon eggs to survive in the wild. However, fish culture staff with the department collect eggs from the fall spawning run and raise them in hatcheries to stock back into Lake Champlain. This practice ensures that traits from salmon that have survived in the lake long enough to spawn are passed on to the next generation of hatchery-raised fish.
“Over the last two years our egg collection from Hatchery Brook was lower than we’d hoped,” said Pientka. “We’ll track egg collection over the next couple of years to see if the limited closure is effective at balancing continued fishing in the cove at large while also allowing more salmon to migrate up Hatchery Brook and spawn.”

[Reelax]

Great news!!!!

Thanks for sharing Randy…

[TUnamas]

Only 2k sf? I hope the "unmolested" fish can find that runway! Yet, it's a start!