Quote:
Originally Posted by dakota560
Chris in cases where there's a tremendous number of fish stocked, I completely agree with your argument. But with this fishery, I don't think that's what we're talking about. Following excerpt from F&W.
Catching Landlocked Salmon (Salmo salar sebago) close to home has never been easier, or more fun, now that Fish and Wildlife is stocking large salmon every fall. Measuring 14-15 inches, these two-year old fish are stocked in select lakes where they can survive year-round, providing anglers with immediate and long-term opportunities to catch this hard-fighting species.
Fish and Wildlife stocks approximately 2,500 to 3,000 salmon, averaging 14-15 inches, each fall. Salmon are stocked when surface water temperatures fall below 60°F (October to early November). Anglers should be aware that salmon regulations vary between designated Holdover Trout Lakes and the Trophy Trout Lake.
Lake Wawayanda (Sussex) - 1,275
Lake Aeroflex (Sussex) - 505
Tilcon Lake (Morris) - 440
Merrill Creek (Warren) - 325
The salmon stocked are 14"-15" fish. Put Merrill aside for now since their size limit is 15" with a 2 fish combined possession limit of trout and salmon. The other three lakes have a 12" size limit with fish being stocked in excess of that so in reality and since there's no natural reproduction occurring there is no size limit for this fishery. Aeroflex and Tilcon combined get 945 fish a year (about 470 average per lake) with a 2 possession limit at 12". With the way these places get pounded, very few fish will ever make it to trophy status with a slot since there's so few fish stocked. And with the abundance of forage in all four systems, I don't believe an 18" size limit will create a predator / forage imbalance and stunt the limited amount of fish we're talking about.
Give them time to grow, impose a one fish possession limit over 18" and I believe we'll have a better chance establishing a trophy fishery. As it stands now, too many of these fish are harvested within a month of being stocked before the water gets too cold in the Fall or too warm in the Summer and they go deep. And even then, the pressure on them from ice fishing when there's safe ice is increasing as people show more interest in this fishery.
Just my opinion but like you said it probably won't change anyway!
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idk the only thing that might be different with a species like salmon is the fact that they feed so much more effectively with bigger schools working together. I still think every small fish kept means more forage for the remaining and will help resist a stunting like what happened to the lake trout at rvr.
i really don't know, but it takes a hell of a lot more food to get a fish from 17-20" than it does to get it from 12-15"
