Walleye Fishery Crisis

I think all this might come down to what goes back into the lake, most of us pay one way or the other to manage the fisheries, all the property tax, all the fish licences, all the income generated and subsequent tax collected in part helps manage this lake. This will also include man hours for what there is of a hatchery.

Now those who gill-net fish by the tonne what do they put back in this lake?

Its not a finger pointing exercise, is an honest question.

Anyone want to enlighten me?

Trying to keep this civil as this is being spread on other sites as well.

Bottom line for me is really quite simple.

I do not know of any commercial netting operation that has helped any fishery whatsoever.

I alss speculate there is no need today for any commercial fishing at all, or at best a very tightly regulated one.

This is most certainly not happening for Nipissing

To hope that another group will eventually sort out the obvious is a waste of time/personell/resources and dollars imho.

Dang it, Longshank your impeccably civil dialog is counter intuitive to my pot stirring.

This is what I would do: 1st Tell and order and monitor the Natives Not too put any nets in for 2 years and let's see if it makes a difference! And of course have conservation officers just keeping track of the whole thing day and night, maybe even putting a buoy with a camera in it too monitor just saying. If they break the rules in that 2 years through the book at them , as much as you can!! 2nd No Walleyes taken during Ice fishing for that same 2 years anybody takes any size walleye out will get a fine and banned from fishing on Nipissing any season!! Also take away their fishing tackle and such!! Just some ideas and if they are really concerned about this then spending money on it should not be a problem, time for everybody too step up and do something!!!

Also can somebody tell me what fish in the lake eats walleye's eggs or minnows? If its that damn Sheephead then eliminate them!

You may be stirring the pot, but it's already been brewing for

a very long time

I'm glad you said what you did.......more need to come out of the woodwork so to speak

My thinking is, I would not blame them first or regret they can harvest fish if they ran a hatchery to replace twice what they take.
Its very simple really.
That and learn to like the taste of cormorants.

Just a quick fact for this topic, yesterday (August 19th, 2012) will be the second time I have found an abandoned gill net washed up on shore around the Manitou Islands on Lake Nipissing. The first time I found one, I called in the authorities to report it....and their only concern was that I had tampered with it in some way.......(ya you all can draw your own conclusions on that reaction, I know that it changed my opinion on things). This time I just took a photo of the bunched up net and will likely forward the picture to someone (have not decided yet.....but it will be strategic) in the hopes that a picture might help this cause in some small way. (Let me know if anyone is interested in seeing this photo...didn't know if it was welcomed or not here on this board).

Also, in this same area, I caught a slot sized Walleye (did my part and threw it back...all the while knowing that it will likely be on a menu somewhere local soon), and the face on this fish was bright red....obviously the result of it being caught in a gill net for some time and managed to escape.

I don't know what other evidence the authorities need to see and hear to realize that no matter who has rights or first crack at the Walleye, at the end of the day (coming soon to a lake near you!) there will be no more to fight about...and who wins there?......I know who does....the other outfitters and lakes that manage the stock better than Nipissing does...that's who. Hmmm...perhaps I should look at renting a cottage on Nosbonsing, or Temagami Lake...and go there for my summer fishing and ice fishing trips and support those communities by doing so....yes this is the harsh reality check that many local outfitters are facing...but will be the norm if we can't solve this issue NOW! Word has already spread down south that Nip is a diminishing lake, despite the fluff you hear from local polilticians. Mayor is once again going to talk to MNR about this issue...I wonder if the word "comerand" is going to surface....obviously his distraction technique to draw attention away from what is really going on there.

I suggest we all snap photos of this sort of thing going on out there, and issues that you see out there on NIP...and collectively figure out a person to send them to...and do so as a group. Just a thought. It might just help...or at the very least just make us all feel like we tried.

Very good discussion going on here. I understand the concerns as many people rely on the walleye fishery on Nipissing and everything possible should be done to protect the fishery, always!! No matter what side you are on...

I see no problem with posting any pictures, as the saying goes, pictures are worth a thousand words and sometimes even more..

Just keep it a relatively clean & courteous debate/discussion and all is good!
Cheers,
Jerry

Going against the grain here one more time.

This may be an oversimplified temporary solution, but why not purchase the required "commercial harvest' of walleye for the folks up there ftom Erie or L. Winnipeg for 2-3 years, cease all netting operations for 3 years and see how this fishery bounces back

The cost of this would be about 700K to 1 mill per year max...far less than all the meetings/flights/beurocratic mumbo jumbo. It may aslo stop all the political postureing and heaven knows how much unecessary funding going to no-whereville.

Just getting caught up on this thread.

#1 Good proposal Longshank but 2 things sink this, the current money being made hurts somebody and you need to remove native rights (like that will happen)

#2 we don't get nets on the west side of the lake that much because the wind blows from the west more and our deep spot of 15' has 10' of weeds. the nets and weeds just don't like each other.

#3 post any picture you have of the lake and let the fallout come naturally

Any word from the last meeting ?

That is what doing it all, they are the ones

Sorry to post this....but in all seriousness...this is what is doing it.....(yes this picture taken on Lake Nipissing by me):

That there is a death trap for fish and other wildlife.
Not good to see at all.

That's a brutal sight but something everyone should see.

Will I do not live in the area, but can you do anything with that pic and maybe talk to the local people and come up with a solution ?