Tagged lake trout

[GAMBLER]

Last week off Sandy Creek, we had a laker hit a meat rig 95 down in 115' fow.  When I went to net the fish, I noticed it had a tag in its back.  When the fish hit the floor, I also noticed a healed incision on its stomach.  I quickly removed the tag and got the laker back.  I called the phone number on the tag and talked to Alex from the USGS.  They are tagging lakers all over Lake Ontario to gather data on migration and spawning habits.  If you catch one of these lakers, report the tag and release the fish if possible.  There are internal tags inside the fish that will last 10 years and will give the USGS years of data.  I added photos of the tag for reference.  

Edited August 9, 2023 by GAMBLER

[Bad Habit]

I caught a tagged Atlantic last year off Rochester. Called the number on the tag and it was a Canadian number. The fish was tagged and released from Toronto the previous year. 

[Gill-T]

It is hard to read on the tag Brian but I believe it says to call in the color of Gambler rig used to catch it. 

[Great_Laker]

Great talking to you Brian. Thank you for letting us know you caught one of the tagged lakers and released it to collect more data. We tagged 320 lake trout this spring in all corners of Lake Ontario. Those orange tags are external markers so anglers know the fish have an internal acoustic tag. If you catch one of these lakers you are welcome to keep the fish but keep in mind the acoustic tags last for 10 years and we can collect movement data from that fish over that time period if you throw it back, up to you. We have about 500 acoustic receivers positioned around Lake Ontario on the lake floor and when a tagged fish swims near these receivers it lets us know when and at what depth the fish was at. This data is being used to quantify spawning locations at a full-lake scale and allows us to better understand spawning behaviors. Casey Prisco of Dirty Goose Charters helped us tag a large number of the lake trout on the U.S. shore this spring and you can check out his Facebook page if you want to see the full process from catch to tag to release. If you catch one of these lake trout, please call the number on the orange external tag and I will be glad to tell you when we tagged it and what location it came from on the lake. We have already had 3 lake trout recaptured by anglers who returned our tags. One was a Canadian tagged fish that was caught on the US side, these fish move large distances quick! Thanks again for spreading the word. 

[Todd in NY]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!