Minimun length revisited?

[digitroll (ron)]

I remember there was some talk a few years ago at one of our seminars about raising the minimum length on salmon and trout to 18" or better yet 20" with our Vt Fish and Wildlife attendees. They told us it would take 3-4 years for this change to take place at the earliest. Has there been anymore discussion on this subject or has it been swept under the carpet? 18" would allow 90% of fish to be returned and 20" maybe 99% in the near short term. However, the benefit for future years after it takes effect would help us catch bigger fish and more of them. I remember everyone in that room raised hands in support of that. Is this a fish and wildlife board agenda item? I myself would support a 20" minimum.

Food for thought or less food in the freezer?

[C-Hawk]

I would love an 18" minimum. Maybe fish could get a tour of the lake before being killed.

[digitroll (ron)]

I can send a note to a Fish n Wildlife board member.

[keithm87]

As a fisherman who’s objective is larger fish I tend to think that small fish should go back, BUT length limits have a downside. I only keep injured fish, if we up to 18-20 all the sudden a bloody 17 has to go back to die. We have in May caught smolts that are 9-10 inches, sometimes they don’t trip a rod, it’s not a great feeling tossing a fish that is already dead back in the water because the rules require it to be wasted.

[Surprise]

Sorry .....Don't want to start a peeling contest among friends, but I would like No Size just a limit . Anyone can set their own size limit. Why catch and kill shakers all day cause you can? Any responsible Sport Knows when it's time to quit but why feed the turtles?

The fish killed by All the Fishermen in the lake Pale to What the Lampreys ate. Blaming the Cormorants and seeing the water boil with fish at Fishville falls on deaf ears when some say the lake is dead.

Face it Lake Champlain is and has been all our lives a Put and Take Fishery for Cold Water Fishing.

I would entertain any proof to the contrary.

[fishy1]

this is a subject not only for vermont but also new york since its recipricol and wont be easy since there are lots of different opionions . i think with so many salmon in the lake a size limit higher would not make much of a difference. most fisherman are catch and release and 2 keeping 2 isnt going to hurt the population but its just my opionion. if all of the frostbite fleet kept 2 every time out i dont think it will still dent the population all that live after being released should be another 2 inches in the spring. im with randy if i catch a salmon thats not going to make it i want to keep it and give it to someone to eat and enjoy. keep the limit at 2 and maybe the 15 inches and let the fisherman make their choices. im not so sure the way the salmon fight and the motor trolling stresses them anyway if they all live . sure would like to see stats on this . just my opionion and dont want to upset the cart with my fellow forum members.

[digitroll (ron)]

Some good points. I know we have to put back shakers dragging on a release for hours as they become floaters or bird food. I know many people who release them as well. It's possible after 40 years of seeing the yearly fish this time of year in abundance under 18" as very few make it to 20" anyways even if they were released. So in essence as Randy says it's a put and take fishery. Something our biologists said at the seminars as well. So maybe raising the minimum with NY on board would be difficult.

It would be nice to see more 20" fish or better. As others have pointed out you need to cycle thru 100 sub 20" small fish to catch a 4 lb fish. No easy answers. We always see 17" and 18" browns in the 3 lb class but how many get to 20"? The current salmon size have been 15" and 17" which is pretty typical. These fish haven't spawned yet or take on the darker look in the shallow water so there this years stockings. The good news is the lake isn't dead and were seeing the stocked fish again we typically see in the late Fall and next Spring. Many of us release fish with long needle nose in the water with single hooks to prevent a fish food or floaters situation.

[keithm87]

What I find odd about the abundance this time of year is the question of where they are for the 6 months preceding November? We know the state dumps them in in March or early april, people catch them into June as Smolts in relatively small numbers, then they disappear (at least for me) reappearing this time of year in large numbers. For the first few weeks after Ice out they again appear in quantity, and then seem to disappear for good with as stated the occasional 20+ incher being caught. If they all die from lamprey and cormorants its odd that we have these periods of abundance that come and go often from the same year class.
All that said, I don't recall last year many reports of people boating 40+ or even 20+ salmon in an outing late season.

[Sawyer]

This is a good topic and here is my thoughts. When we were having good luck with the Salmon and Browns earlier this fall we got several Salmon just under the 15 inch minmun that were hooked to bad to servive and diden't. We were using single hooks too. If we could have cept them and put them toward our limet it would had saved other salmon. So i'm think SURPRISE has a good idea.

[Captain Paul]

size limit should be 12 " so we don't have to through back dead fish

[fishy1]

great comments we all our joining together with good opinions. i have been having good luck shore fishing in shallow water and mostly catch and release and most are 19 to 22 inches and spawners. i kept only i think 3 or 4 2 females and 2 males and they have not spawned out yet. in fact the male i kept the other day was full of milk and his tail had been roughed up from fanning. i guess i dont know why these salmon havent spawned yet but where im fishing there are lots of them and most are over 18 inches and some big females cruising in and out . the drought really had an affect on them . i have never witnessed this in the lake before i have caught these spawning salmon in rivers but never like this in the lake. they are fun to watch twisting their bodies swimming and dancing and even do back flips and when they fly out of the water they are airborne for 2 to 4 feet. almost december and they still havent spawned out so i think the big salmon are still in the lake i am fishing just one little area would like to see what is on the shore line along the broad lake. i dont like fish dying and go to waste either so i guess no size limit would be okay also.