Sk8man

Yeah Sean Fred Flintstone and I rode down to the lake on the dinosaurs to go fishing back then That is a shame about that stuff going into the lake.....none of that helps things any.

Captain Jim and Gambler have made some very relevant points to consider in the mix. We all have an emotional and financial investment in the NYS fishery and hopefully it is in that spirit we share ideas and info. Nobody has the final answer (s) to all these issues yet but at least getting things out on the table to look at and talk about is a start in the right direction. We do need to mutually respect each others views despite our differing opinions. I should also note that anyone who thinks they have the one and only answer is deluding themselves and the same goes for anyone who thinks they have the perch completely figured out because just when you think you've got it down they knock the puzzle pieces on the floor for you to put back together. Despite having a love for all the Finger Lakes Seneca has always been my favorite and considered my "home" lake as it was there I lived for over 50 years and I caught my first fish a 12 inch smallmouth black bass on July 3, 1949 in the Yacht Club bay when most of the folks reading this were not even a twinkle in their parents eye or perhaps their parents weren't even born yet. Even Meatman wasn't around yet so maybe the passion I have for the lake does color my thinking a bit

I'm with King Slammin ....even large mouth bass taste good from ice cold water

This thread is starting to remind me of the time I was painting the house and I accidentally stepped on a hornets nest and they went up my pantleg

This is one situation where I would be very happy (understatement) and relieved to be dead wrong or inaccurate with regard to one or all of the concerns I have mentioned in my previous posts here but I do not believe that this is the case. I have a very healthy respect for data collection, application of the scientific method, the use of statistical analyses to interpret responsibly collected data and solid informed interpretation of the results.....I have spent a good part of my life doing this. The unfortunate thing here in this situation is that experimental research is much more complicated in a natural setting (vs. laboratory) because the necessary controls are either confounded or unable to be achieved because of the complex nature of the environmental habitat as well as the extreme complexity of the combined influences making it difficult if not impossible to separate out one variable at a time. Studies such as those being called for here take a great deal of time and resources and for the most part have to be completed over relatively large spans of time to be able to be able to make good sense of the data and interactions between things. It all sounds great to say "Have someone do a study to find out exactly what is going on here" but the reality of that happening is quite something else. It would have to be a coordinated effort between many agencies, universities and experts to do it competently. That brings us to the reporting of "anecdotal" information and opinions based on informal observations and their potential role in heading off impending problems. Basically we may not have the "luxury" of waiting until all the canaries are dead in the coal mine before getting things out on the table to look at in terms of what things we might be able to do to intervene. I'm not trying to convince the folks who think that what I have offered here is total BS and crap and they are welcome to their own opinions about this situation, but I would say I hope you're right and there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about; especially as it relates to the kids coming up who might want to catch some fish.

:lol:

One of the things that should be clear from the many postings on here regarding this situation is that it is not a situation where one solitary factor is to blame for the actual threat or existing problem to the survival of the perch population or that the threat is limited to the one species. There are many things going on in these lakes right now and they appear to be converging or concentrating in various places at different rates, and at different times of the year (algae blooms, acidification from zebras and quaggas, siltation from flooding, toxic run-off from farms, lawns and wineries along the shores, degradation of the weed beds and spawning sites, decreases in the available zooplankton because of the mussels etc.) and when combined with problematic fishing practices it presents a threat to the resource for future generations of fishermen or consumers.

Meatman- First of all I'd like to clear up a few things. I didn't make any derogatory comments about anyone. I said that that type of thinking is simple minded NOT that you or anyone else is simple minded because I don't have the direct observation facts regarding that. In using the term "blinded by greed" it does not necessarily refer to selling fish. Greed also comes from the over harvesting of perch whether sold or directly consumed by the person doing it. I guess I was a little put off by your arrogant statement that others (including me) don't know how to fish for perch or where to fish for them and that you are somehow the solitary holder of this "knowledge". Darkwater - the use of gold plated #4-8 Aberdeen fine wire hooks is not something new.... I've used them for well over 50 years for the very reason you mentioned.

I guess from your screen name some assumptions can be made regarding the origin of your opinion. Perch can be a renewable resource if they have good spawning areas from which to procreate and if there aren't overwhelming pressures coming to bear on them all at once from degradation of their environment and feed, the covering of spawning areas with zebra and quagga shells and living organisms, technological advancements like the use of cameras to locate the spawners, the over harvesting of gravid (egg laden) female perch, the taking of far too many perch and undersized perch, and the return day after day to the same tightly contained areas by multitudes of fishermen all year long and especially during spawning. Although they may be a "renewable resource" they have to be able to have the time to reproduce at least at some part of the year and in some part of their normal habitat and they do take time to grow by the way. It takes a long time for year classes to recover from all these pressures as well as possible hemmoraghic virus and bacterial infections that can further decimate their numbers quickly in mass die offs that have occurred from time to time over the last few years. Also the Quagga mussels are deep water dwelling so the answer to perch spawning isn't by going deeper as there may be some evidence to suggest that they are out competing the zebras now and are a strong population. I have fished some favorite spots over the years since the late 60's that are in 60 ft of water and they too are devoid of perch and covered in mussel shells. There are still perch in the lake but if things don't change they won't be there in the future. You'd have to be blinded by greed not to see that this is happening. It is not simply a function of people not knowing how to fish for the perch or not using light fluoro line or the right setups and this simple minded thinking is part of the problem.

Nice going John. I know I had that same feeling of strangeness fishing the shallow marshes in South Carolina

Yeah Brian.... I had a hard time with the donkeys though and the folks there probably had a tough time telling us apart Best job I ever had ,....sure as H beat the h out of the previous job doing steelwork

I used to operate the lift bridges on Main Street and Park Avenue in Brockport and occasionally the Adams Basin and Holley/Hulberton bridges and there were a lot of bass in there as well as pike and chubs and rockies and sunnys in all the sections up that way. During the winter the water is drawn down and repair work is done etc. but there is still some water inthe canal itself and a good degree of it in the wide waters areas along the canal system. A lot of the fish seem to winter over in those wide water areas.