Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

Where is Andy S?

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

In this case, I agree 100%. LMB can live in any decent freshwater habitat.. Native, naturally reproducing populations of Brook Trout, and Landlocked Atlantics are rare and very special and should be protected.. If the Brookie and LL population was maintained through stocking, I would respond with a heartfelt "meh". Here in NY we have a finger lake called Skaneateles Lake.. It has stocked LL, stocked Rainbows, Browns and smallish native Lake Trout.. Within the past few years someone introduced Walleyes, and they have taken off.. They are reproducing naturally and growing large and numerous.. Locals are furious and want the Walleyes dead. Makes NO sense as we have Salmonid fisheries, in all the other Finger Lakes, and very few Walleyes in any of them.. The NY DEC has set a no closed season, no creel limit and only 12 inch size limit on Walleyes in this lake because a few locals only want to deep troll for "silvers" as Rainbows, Browns and LL are called here.. Thats all anyone here does.. Trolls with downriggers for Trout.. They hate Walleyes with a passion and want the eradicated.. Makes NO sense to me.. In my mind, the Walleyes thrive there on thier own once they were put in.. However without yearly stocking of 10's of thousands of yearlings, the "silvers" that are so beloved would be gone from the lake in only a few short years.. I guess it depends on your perspective.. In the case of the lake in Maine, I hope the Brookies and Landlocks win.. In Skaneateles, I hope the Walleyes win... bob

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

Like I said before, it is us humans homogenizing the Earth. I think Maine is just starting to get caught up with the rest of us, wait till the Snakeheads and Flatheads invade.

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

Flatheads won't make it that far north,, I don't think there is a way for them to invade the far north lakes and rivers.They seem to like big river systems that interconnect with others.. they have recently made it here to NY state in the susquehanna and probably Delaware systems, but I don't think they are in numbers like they are further south..I don't think they want to swim up into the cold rocky Catskill free stone trout streams via the delaware... Its not good habitat for them.. The Susquehanna is a muddy murky warm water river full of carp and channel cats these days, and I am sure the flatheads will start doing damage here, but we haven't seen that yet...and I agree with you.. Humans tend to destroy everything around us it seems....

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

Amazing though in nature there is NO excess.

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

Bob, you sort of answered your own question there. The demand for the salmonid fishery is higher than the demand for the walleye fishery. Also, think of what you need to troll for those "silvers": a boat, downriggers, graph/depthfinder, not to mention gas for the motor. It's an expensive way to fish; perfect for injecting more money into the economy. Certainly not saying it's better, but those that set the regulations will always have their eyes on the economy.

Have you ever seen a fishery managed to prioritize panfish? No, because $20 in gear from Walmart and you're good to go!

Re: Kill invasive largemouth bass!
 

all good observations you made.. I think I was trying to convey a different thought , but I might have not conveyed it correctly.. I think my thoughts were this-
In the case of the lake in Maine, indeed it should be protected against "invasion" by LMB , as they weren't there and shouldn't be.. Native brookies?.. Native LL Atlantics??.. Rare habitat that should stay that way..
In the case of the lake I mentioned [Skaneateles] the Rainbows, Browns and LL Atlantics are not native and would not exist without stocking.. There are no Alwives in this lake so they must subsist on whatever minnows, bugs, small perch etc they can find.. These trout are by far the smallest of any Finger Lake.. However the Walleyes are exploding in numbers and size, reproducing with no help from the state, and surviving and thriving on the natural food in the lake.. In this particular case, that shows me the lake is really much better suited for Walleyes, and not so much for Trout.. Its only because in much of this region when people say "lets go fishing", they mean trolling with downriggers,, Thats just the way "fishing" is done here, and before downriggers they used Seth Green rigs, or "pulled copper"[look it up!] In a round about, half ass way, I suppose I am saying that depending on the lake/river/stream, there is a time for protecting the natural condition of the waterway, and a time to ""improve"" it .. NJ is a great example ... As a kid in NJ, Walleyes ,Pike, Lake Trout, Channel Cats, Muskies, did not exist in NJ, In the Delaware River yes, but other than that, they were not here,, Even SMB were rare outside of the river.. That all changed over the decades due to the fine work of the NJ Fish and Game... There can be positive changes by man, we know that.. Usually the changes we make are negative because they are made for economic [greedy] reasons... bob