More Walleye- the Maina Vent

[fishhuntadventure]

I don't fish Muskie and I have never and probably will never fish in Wisconson, but I like Pete Maina and as far as eating walleye- I like to! Wisconson has apparently reached the point Champlain walleye fishing was at in the 90s. Watch this vid: it makes some sense! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjytGG5 ... r_embedded

Now I am not advocating no-kill for Walleye, but perhaps we need to rethink a few things and snag somathat money for Vermont that the feds all too rarely give away these days. Catch and kill pretty much killed Carmi for now... who knows yet what damage the alewives will do. Limits work until the base of fisherman increase to the point that a few here, a few there, and PRESTO! we overfish the renewable resource at a rate faster than the renewing...

(http://www.petemaina.com)

[optimusfisher]

I really hope Carmi bounces back. That was my favorite lake because you could always count on catching some walleye. They wouldn't be huge, but you'd have plenty for fun and just one or two forthe grill. Now, it seems like they're all gone

[fishhuntadventure]

ya- I know what you mean. I never used to feel guilty about keeping a few there.

2011 I only kept a handful of fish, releasing quite a number of legals with my overall catch rate being way down. This year I boated only 9 walleye from Carmi in 7 trips. 5 trips were walleye skunks. I released 3 slotties, released 2 17" legals and released 1 23" legal, and killed 3 16-1/2" fish (but felt guilty about it).

I was there with a friend 4 weeks back and SOMEONE was fishing (apparently still-fishing with live bait under a bobber or possibly even a jig or something) with live bait. We counted 11 floating walleye with ripped-out guts or throats that looked identical- all about 18" fish. They were in the no-take slot, but whoever the IDIOT was apparently somehow catching them awful good but was CLUELESS about C&R and what that all means. That goes so far beyond selfish.

>EDIT< If there were that many killed fish like that the moron(s) obviously thought their 10 cents worth of hook was more valuable than the fish was. I can't remember the last time I released a walleye that was "damaged." It's not that hard! >/EDIT<

Carmi's big pike are nearly gone, and now the walleye. But it now has two new invasives: Largemouth and alewives. Ignorance has severely hurt a blue-ribbon productive warm and cool water fishery. I hope it can recover. I know if I were a bass fisherman I would kill and eat every single legal largemouth I caught there.

Carmi needs a short-term moratorium on walleye kill, and a five-year plan to incrementally increase the limit (and kill) kill and return the limit to its current level. Ice fishing for walleye should be closed at Carmi for at least two seasons. I think also that a two-fish limit (only one being over 19") might be good idea.

What I think sucks is that (it appears) that the walleye population is down when we need as many predators as possible to hunt the alewives. Spawning success is one reason Carmi does so well; alewives harm this greatly. Alewives also forage on baitfish as well. If the forage base changes, it changes the food chain, changes the competition for food both up and down the food chain which may upset the entire balance of the ecosystem.

Have you written your Vermont Fish and Wildlife official today?

[VTgooseman]

Ive been saying all this for years about Carmi and you forgot one of the major invasive for Carmi.........Bowfin! Id like to see the two fish a day and that would be a good place to start for sure. Magog is next on the list that needs some major over haul, how can a premier fishery like that go down hill so fast and the state never did a damn thing about it. Why? Why, would you let all of the guys snag thousands of big breeders out of the Clyde for so many years and just stand aside and let it continue? Id be willing to bet that nearly all of the fish on the states top walleye list were snagged, its sad but true. Its just the way those guys fished them.

[optimusfisher]

Have you written your Vermont Fish and Wildlife official today?

No, but it sounds like I should be. I sure don't know the answers, but yours sound pretty logical. If you ever put anything formal together let me know. I'd be glad to put my John Hancock onto a formal request to help Carmi out, and help round up as many more signatures as I could.