KING ME

Fins- yes it is a great question to bring up at the meeting. if the current trib designed diary wouldn't work ask what exact info. they would want/need from lake fisherman.

Shumways as stated and Another place is Gibbs riverside marine on the west side of river. Key card entry, cameras and always people at marina.

tim - every piece helps paint a picture.

Gill-T and Dave, Same thing could be done at LOC weight in locations when you weigh in a fish. Also the DEC could go to the numerous tournaments held along the south shore - after each team weights in for the tourney the DEC can then do whatever needs to be done with the fish. Alot of possiblities. creel census information is NOT the answer to all the lakes issues,mysteries, or what have ya but the more accurate data they have about fishing pressure and what is harvested can only help as a piece of the puzzle to see bigger picture.

carl, in theory it could possibly be beneficial. Here is some of the reasons i stated in theory....1. LOU has enough going on and that added task is kinda on far for all Mods and admins to take on.... should be taken on by other means. 2. Input would have to be same line as that conducted by creel census personnel - data like number anglers, hours angling, charter or rec., resident or non, species caught, # caught, length weight ETC. ...this would have to be logged to serve the purpose, 3. multiple ports would have to provided data 4. data provided would have to be provided consistently and accurately for a few entire seasons. these points alone make the task and the idea pretty tough to accomplished on a voluntary basis. Follow what i'm getting?

drop me a line this summer take ya out offshore .....bring the family also. we can talk and they can fish. just no "side pressure" on the fish offshore last time you trib guys where on the boat lost more than landed LOL

Dave, The continued reintroduction of native species is huge and always will be an increasing factor in the playing field. Like i said in the eyes of many their increase is a contradiction. side note... thanks and when was the last time you where out on the big pond?

Dave, yes i run charters on the lake but it is more for the "thrill" than financial gain. My other business is where i make a living. The Lake and the fishery "well being" are not influenced by a wallet for me personally. Respectably asking ..... the two comments below that you posted, comes down to money does it not? like i mentioned a few post ago. On to creel census.....So they have a budget that allows for one to two boats for a few months Another hatchery??? Whose paying for it...whose giving the state the money to manage it and pay 10 people to work there? Lake trout are eating pooping long living species. How are they going to impact the ecosystem, the balance,??? Lake trout are federally funded and "native" species so the DEC looks their safe and cautious stand point to the side? It seems contradicting in the eyes of alot of people

brian - this was mentioned briefly a few years back and was opposed. Why... simply put fisherman didnt want to invest the effort, some didn't want true number of outings shared, some didn't want to get involved

Hey Dave, I will reply to your post in sections The DEC's focus has to be on one thing and one thing only....a healthy fishery. If that means less fish it's only because the science says so. DEC has loaded in almost 3 Million surplus fish the past several years. They upgraded the King Stocking numbers from 1 million when the forage base was low, back to 2 Million, Even WITH what they now know is a large wild population to boot. I do not disagree with the DEC wanting a healthy and stable long term fishery. You know me and we have had discussions i the past I am all about the long term heath and keeping this Lake a world class fishery. The Avg Charter boat caught 8 fish per trip? Where have we ever seen long term Avg numbers like this? I realize you all want those 8 fish to be salmon....but if they didn't have the other fish in the lineup when the salmon fishing is off....Then what? i have mentioned this a hundred times. The Numbers are so "lop sided". I fully understand that the DEC conducts studys and data using Scientific methods, controls, and equations/ratios. Here is my problem with the numbers.... must are self inflicted by us fisherman. #1 the DEC creel boats are seldom around when the vast majority of trout and salmon anglers return to a port. #2 the fisherman report to the DEC dont give the most accurate information...... example they provide misinformation, they are in a hurry so just say" we only caught one and let it go". As for not having other fish in the line up..... that would chrush the fishery. Every trout and salmon swimming in the lake has a purpose within the ecosystem. And we both know that every species is targeted at different points of time throe out the year both on the lake and within the tribs. They can't knee jerk the science. As far as a broken record....how about the continued whining from anglers saying they don't believe any of their scientific data, when we've had a "very" healthy fishery for FORTY YEARS!!!...and have never lost the fishery. If I was a Lake angler...I'd be holding my breath right about now....cause loads of salmon or not...LO is nearly or at the 1979 apocalypse core temp. If the predator to prey balance is flipped this year because of this winter, you'll happy DEC didn't knee jerk a ton of more fish into the system. I agree also that they can't knee jerk science BUT the trawls roaming the bottom in "dead" water looking for forage base is frustrating to say the lease. Again I understand the science and collection of data but the DEC needs to change the trawling methods/locations OR add to what they currently do in location where we fisherman see never ending bait pods, Then the DEC can compare there normal (control) trawl data with what we are seeing. Finally....like it or not...DEC and rightfully so manages this fishery as it should be....a 12 month a year entity. And in less than a month these pages are going to be full (in the reports section)..of 50 fish days trolling the shore line.....every day there will be a dozen new reports, video's...etc. And the question I would have????...are you guys still having fun out there? I watch the video's of some of you guys pulling in big lakers...and to me...it looks like a lot of fun....yeah LOVE King Salmon.....but I simply love to fish! Yes i am a king fisherman and will chase them all over. I always have and always will spend the gas, bypass brown fishing in the shallow/mid waters in summer to run to the King Salmon. But as long as my clients are happy with the day on the water and the experience of our fishery thats all that matters to me at the end of the day.

I am by no means slamming the DEC or any of their efforts. If it was not for them we all would be somewhere else spending time and our money. ALSO if it was not for them LAKE ONTARIO would not have the BIGGEST BADDEST KING SALMON FISHERY of all the Great Lakes!!! Yes there are issues, yes changes could be made, yes we fisherman want more and they want less. We will push them till end of time and try to meet some objectives but LAKE ONTARIO is STILL A WORLD CLASS FISHERY

Added note..... Let millions of dead rotting stinking alewives wash up on the beaches and shores like years ago.letters will be flying to the politicians from water front homeowners about the disgusting smell.... Taxpayers would push the politicans which would push the dec to increase chinooks to rid the problem. I bet you then the DEC Would be stocking Kings like big-screen TVs at Walmart

Because we get the same carbon copy every year Carl. They do not want to admit low numbers of kings and high numbers of alewives. The state does not want to spend the $ to put more kings in. The get the feds to stock more lake trout to knock the alewive numbers down. This record is broken can we play a new one? In the end a lot of it comes down to money unfortunity. Always has and always will. Even back when it was shown to the Dec their return on the dollar ( some of you may remember the stakeholders and that financial report presented to DEC) always something, egg collection, hiring freeze, man power, hatcery, hang nail, whatever the reasoning is that year. Granted the DEC wants and has to be cautious and look at long term effects they still should atleast try increased chinook stocking for 3 years and retook at the impact.

Posted to wrong thread

Shut up and fish LOL