DEC meeting on bass in Abay-rescheduled for 3/14

[Lotalota]

UPDATE- The meeting has been rescheduled for 3/14. Details below. 
 

What: Lake Ontario Eastern Basin and St. Lawrence River Black Bass Public Meeting
When:  Thursday, March 14, at 6 p.m.
Where: Alexandria Central School, 34 Bolton Avenue, Alexandria Bay, NY 13607
 

 

 

*************************

UPDATE: The meeting has been postponed due to anticipated heavy lake effect snow. Will be rescheduled at a later date (TBD).

Anyone interested in bass in the eastern basin and St Lawrence River should consider attending the DEC’s outreach meeting. Details below. 
 

What: Lake Ontario Eastern Basin and St. Lawrence River Black Bass Public Meeting
When: Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m.
Where: Alexandria Central School, 34 Bolton Avenue, Alexandria Bay, NY 13607

 

https://dec.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2024/1/dec-to-hold-fisheries-outreach-meeting-jan-17-in-alexandria-bay

Edited March 1 by Lotalota

[Kevin J Legg]

Need a good turnout. Perhaps we can get smallmouth season delayed till July and help eliminate the harvest or harassment of bass on their beds.

Edited January 11 by Kevin J Legg

[lost a lure]

10 minutes ago, Kevin J Legg said:

Need a good turnout. Perhaps we can get smallmouth season delayed till July and help eliminate the harvest or harassment of bass on their beds.

That would be good but the same people will still be "pike fishing" from bass boats.

[Gill-T]

Perhaps the answer is to only close the season from mid/ May through June 30th. 

[fisherman777]

3 hours ago, Gill-T said:

Perhaps the answer is to only close the season from mid/ May through June 30th. 

Would be a great idea. Canadian side already does this. Catch and release season from January 1st-May 10th, then closed to no fishing until first Saturday in July...makes a lot more sense to protect spawning fish up there as the majority spawn from mid may to mid june on the river.

[GAMBLER]

Dropping the creel limit from 5 down to 2 or3 would help too.  This needs to happen lake wide.  When the bass population took a dive years ago, I brought this up during the state of the lake meeting and was told they were keeping it at five for bass tournaments........

[McWally]

Lower the limit to 2 a day, open the season July 1st and close it July 5th. I’ve seen enough Nascar on water and Ricky Bobbys to hold me over for a long time. 

[schreckstoff]

I wonder how the bass population dynamics would change if the creel was even lower (like zero). That would still allow for the conservation minded tournaments that catch and release. If the bass numbers go up the Goby numbers go down. Maybe wouldn’t need seasonal regs at all. 
 

I know, I know, just too crazy of an idea. Probably should just stick my head back in the sand and grumble about how things used to be better.

[GAMBLER]

9 hours ago, schreckstoff said:

I wonder how the bass population dynamics would change if the creel was even lower (like zero). That would still allow for the conservation minded tournaments that catch and release. If the bass numbers go up the Goby numbers go down. Maybe wouldn’t need seasonal regs at all. 
 

I know, I know, just too crazy of an idea. Probably should just stick my head back in the sand and grumble about how things used to be better.

I'm all for it.  We used to have a blast smallmouth fishing off Monroe County.  They are still there but in way smaller numbers.  

[HB2]

The Bass fishing was fantastic untill the gobies arrived . Then there came VHS which hit the population hard . There has been a rebound .There are less fish but average size is bigger. Because of the cleaner water from zebras , they summer deeper . Which makes them harder to catch .

 

Southern Bass lakes are a shadow of what they use to be from tourney pressure and boat and  electronic advancements . 

 

There was a major bass tourney during the height of spawning season  on Cayuga lake last year . They state and locals  must have approved it so I don't think they care much .

 

 

$$$$$$$

Edited January 14 by HB2

[Gill-T]

I am assuming this was a live score tracker event or was it after June opener?

Edited January 14 by Gill-T

[McWally]

20 hours ago, schreckstoff said:

I wonder how the bass population dynamics would change if the creel was even lower (like zero). That would still allow for the conservation minded tournaments that catch and release. If the bass numbers go up the Goby numbers go down. Maybe wouldn’t need seasonal regs at all. 
 

I know, I know, just too crazy of an idea. Probably should just stick my head back in the sand and grumble about how things used to be better.

Zero for tournaments is a good idea. Carting fish from Gallo to the river every tourney for stage time is so stupid. If they can fish with road cones and live scopes, I think they can figure out a fish-less weigh-in system that still entertains. 

Edited January 14 by McWally

[fisherman777]

I think a lot of the problem isn't necessarily fishing for spawning fish as it is catching a spawning fish, then taking it off it's bed down the river 10-20 miles to a weigh in, or taking it home to eat. All those eggs are Goby food unless the bass gets released back right away to guard its bed. The catch and release season has been in place a while now on lake erie without the population crashing, so one would think the st. lawrence would have something similar and maybe extend it till July as the spawn is later up there. 

[fisherman777]

10 hours ago, Gill-T said:

I am assuming this was a live score tracker event or was it after June opener?

It was a major league fishing (mlf) tournament with the catch weigh release format, so they were allowed to fish it before the traditional opener. Not without its issues as multiple anglers were penalized in that tournament for foul hooking fish off beds, catching the same fish more than once, etc. Maybe tourney fishing during the spawn in any format isn't the best idea...

[HB2]

6 minutes ago, fisherman777 said:

It was a major league fishing (mlf) tournament with the catch weigh release format, so they were allowed to fish it before the traditional opener. Not without its issues as multiple anglers were penalized in that tournament for foul hooking fish off beds, catching the same fish more than once, etc. Maybe tourney fishing during the spawn in any format isn't the best idea...

 

Ya think........

[schreckstoff]

I’m especially interested in the insights from the sages who have decades of LO bass experience. On these forums I often read how Round Goby had a negative impact on LO smallmouth angling and the creel survey catch rate time series reflect that, plummeting as Goby survey catches shot up (early - mid 2000s)

 

 

 

but I find it interesting how the gill net survey catch rates decline long before Goby show up. I get the whole “Goby are devastating bass nest predators “ hypothesis, I just do not see population dynamics data that supports that idea (in LO or other lakes). 
 

Hope there is a great turnout for the Wednesday mtg in ABay.

 

Go Bills, bw
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gill-T]

The decline of bass numbers coincided with decline in emerald shiners post zebra/Quagga Mussels IMO.  There used to be all kinds of suspended Smallmouth when shiners were everywhere. Now they are plastered to the bottom as gobie eating specialists. Thankfully, smallmouth can live along time to counter the nest raiding effects of gobies. 

[GAMBLER]

VHS disease took a huge toll.  Tons of dead bass floating up the one year.  I can't remember the year but my lab enjoyed rolling on the carcasses at Braddocks that summer.  I believe 2004 or 2005 was when VHS disease reared it's ugly head.   The spring run of smallmouth at Sandy has been slowly getting better the past five or so years.  We are now seeing small fish instead of just big fish and more of them.    

[Gill-T]

True dat!  It was disturbing to see floating dead adult Muskies among the other species affected by VHS. 

[HB2]

I have to figure I catch as many of those Sandy Bass as anyone the amount of times I fish . 

 

Some years it's lights out , some it's not . I will say  I get a good amount of smaller fish mixed in with the bigger ones and always have since I have been down there . 

[GAMBLER]

6 hours ago, HB2 said:

I have to figure I catch as many of those Sandy Bass as anyone the amount of times I fish . 

 

Some years it's lights out , some it's not . I will say I get a good amount of smaller fish mixed in with the bigger ones and always have since I have been down there . 

That wasn't always the case.  For years, it was all big smallies and no little ones.  The run is weird from year to year also.  Some years they come in early, and it's strung out over a month and some years they come in in one big wave over a couple of days..  

[Sweet Caroline]

I always thought it to be curious that gobies didn’t have much of an impact on Lake Erie smallmouth like it did on LO. I believe their smallmouth pop has stayed pretty strong. 

[schreckstoff]

Sweet C - I agree, thats why I pasted in the LO time series. Why do folks think Goby have had such a large, measurable negative impact on LO bass, what evidence shows that? 20 years ago the Goby eating bass egg videos from Erie came out and with it warnings Goby COULD negatively impact bass populations. Which recent analysis show Goby HAVE hurt LO bass abundance?
 

Is the “Goby hurt SMB populations” one of those ideas that was assumed  but then never tested? Like when the non-native predatory zooplankton, a.k.a. fleas, blew up they were predicted to crash LO alewife food. In reality Alewife ate them, a lot, they provide a late season food source, and increase Alewife growth substantially. 

 

Just suggesting there is value in testing assumptions.

 

the quote below is my favorite, 

bw

 

“He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.” -Edmund Burke

 

 

[Gill-T]

I fight you for the last chocolate timbit in the boat. 

[schreckstoff]

I like the powder ones