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| The WI DNR Spring Hearings are slated for Monday April 14th state wide here in WI.
As some of you may or may not know there is a question on the list regarding Winnebago Sauger......
In a nutshell it is asking to allow a combined limit of 5 fish Walleye, Sauger, Sauger/Hybrid with no more than one being a Sauger or Sauger Hybrid.
Any opinions or thoughts from the folks out here?
I know the population is making a nice come back but I am note sure if we are ready for the change yet.... Not saying I am against it but wondering if the timing is right... I know if it passes it still will take like a year to put it on the books. |
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Location: Menasha, WI | I'm for waiting another few years until the popluation is better established. It's not like it's difficult to get a limit of walleyes on Bago in the summer. The sauger are frequently in the mix through the ice; I could see some exploitation during the winter -- not sure what influence it would have on the recovery overall, but it can't hurt to wait. |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | The answer boils down to a sustainable fishery. We all need more data. Does the DNR have data that shows there is a healthy population that can sustain fish removal? That is the major question that should be asked and answered. My hunch would be that we should wait until they can reword the proposal to say a mixed bag of walleye/sauger/hybrid without the one fish limit on that species.
That being said, the next question would be .................... when, if ever, will there be a strong enough population that can sustain normal harvest quota's? |
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Location: Menasha, WI | Sunshine - 4/2/2008 7:52 AM T Does the DNR have data that shows there is a healthy population that can sustain fish removal? That's a great question Dennis. Really, the question. Until it is answered, I would vote no. If you get a chance, look over Kendall's "State of the Lake" powerpoint posted on Doc's website. The trawler results suggest a pretty solid comeback (so do anecdotal reports from the field). However, he doesn't address harvest issues -- maybe he did in the oral presentation, Doc says he's going to post video of the presentation. Edited to add a link to the "State of the Lake" http://www.wolfrivercountry.com/stateofthelake/2007SOTL-A.pdf
Edited by Viking 4/2/2008 8:28 AM
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| I agree... lets get more information before we start to harvest. If last year is any indication, the population must be on the comeback. I caught quite a few nicer fish every outing on the East Shore for about a month. On some days, I was catching 5-7 every outing. Back in the early 80's, it was not uncommon to catch a mixed bag limit of Eyes and Saugers every outing anywhere on the North and West shores around Neenah & Menasha. We used to catch a lot of them at the Menasha Dam, especially in the Fall of the year. PS |
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| I'd support a 1 fish being a sauger mixed bag limit, simply becasue I think it would reduce on the "accidental" violators. plenty of people keeping a sauger here and there accidently every year. Otter st. tourney is a perfect example every year a boat or two brings a sauger in. By people that "should" know the difference.
If the biologist think it would be okay than I have no problem. my own arm chair biologist personal observations, there is a good school of 18-19" saugers out there now and a nice school of 13-15" saugers. Since it seemed ever trip out last year resulted in a fish or two. |
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| Jayman,
You make a good point about the "misidentifcation" problem. Just curious, are citations given and/or participants DQed when tourney anglers bring in a sauger? I know in the North Shore Tourney last spring a fine was levied when one of the anglers brought a sauger to the scales. Is that how it usually plays out? |
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Posts: 3899
| Not sure about the fine, but definately a DQ in the Merc, Otter Street, FLW, and MWS.
As for the harvesting, I seem to remember last year that KK said he was not sure if there was any significant spawning success from the restocking efforts, and that if they did not see any evidence soon, the stocking would be discontinued. He said if all the fish in the system were the stocked fish, then they might as well open it up to harvest. Now, looking at the YOY chart, it appears that there was significant spawning success last spring. Am I looking at this correctly? And if so, I would think any harvest should be held back a bit.
We did catch some nice 19-20 inchers last year. I really hope the sand pike make a complete recovery. |
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Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | not current with what walleyes for tommorow is doing this year with stocking... with the VHS rule i was under the impresson that all the stocking ponds had to be drained last year? am i correct.. ? jim? anyway in my opinion if fish arent going to be taken this spring to the ponds and raised and re-stocked i would then say NO dont open the fish up to be taken... if the saugers are agian going to be allowed to be assisted and stocked by our outstanding volenteers at walleyes for tommorow then i would say im fine with a 1 fish limmit on sauger being a part of your 5 fish bag for the day.. agian without support from re-stocking or assisted hatching i would say NO lets give them another 5 years ,, with the quality of the walleye fishery there is no reason to keep a sauger. and ice fishing tells the story... back in the day... 30 years ago tip up fishing in mud was incredible do to the sauger population... bringing it back would be great for the winter bite and buisnesses around the lake ... give it a chance to take hold. |
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Location: Appleton | Walleyes for Tomorrow and Otter Street Fishing Club will continue the Sauger projest this Spring. Saugers will be stripped and fry will be raised in a WFT's hatchery and released back into Lake Winnebago. We will be expanding the area we will be netting Saugers in an effort to gain more information on the sauger population. There is a good article on the sauger project in the Walleyes for Tomorrow newsletter that is being mailed this week. You also came go to Walleyes for Tomorrow web page and see this acticle.
I would like to take this opportunity to THANK all the people from Waleeyes for Tomorrow and Otter Street Fishing Club that have helped with this project in the past and those that are helping this year. These people have given a lot of time and effort to make this project work each year.
Personally I would like to wait a couple more years before the sauger season is open. |
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| Shep when I spoke with Kendall last fall their YOY trawls didn't show much for sauger and they questioned the spawing success of the saugers at the same time the chart does show a younger year class of fish that is in the 'bago system. But the evidence of spawning vs stocking was a question that remains to be answered.
The saugers that were brought to Otter Street I seem to recall fines being handed out. In fact I work with a guy that brought a sauger to Otter St last year and got fined and DQ'd for the day. And we still laugh at him. hahaha |
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Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | thanks for the responce jim... its good to hear the project is still in full swing with idias of expansion ... right now wile out fishing the system i might say, oh wow its a sauger or in a tourny o-crap its a sandpike... but that only happens once every couple of weeks for me now... . i look forward to when i say those words 3 or 4 times a day.... its been so long since i had a lake winnibago sandpike for super i almost forgot that they tast better than the walleyes... yup yup lets wait a few years .... hey did anyone eat a smallmouth out of lake winnibago yet? are the yummy ? there kinda getting to be a pain in the behind some days.... im thinkin i should be serving the darn things up for dinner as they seem to be eating the same stuff as the walleyes... im thinkin its time to take a few home ... i cant just be catching the same one over and over again.... |
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| The smallmouths have tasted pretty good from winnebago, problem is the good sized ones are hard to come by. |
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