Changes to some NY Fishing Regulations (Pike)

[Ronix 51]

Thought I would leave this here since pike regulations have recently been discussed on here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/73762.html

 

There are some changes being proposed concerning walleye and northern pike in the St. Lawrence river and it's tributaries...more notably they are proposing to lower the daily northern pike limit from 5 to 3 which I think is a step in the right direction. I wonder if this type of proposed regulation will open any doors to enhanced pike regulation in other waters as well...

[muskiedreams]

That would be a good start but I think more needs to be done for pike in New York.

 

It might be good for them to also consider reducing the creel limit in other (or all) waters and also consider raising the minimum size to 25 - 30 inches, at least for some waters. Or maybe a slot limit to require release of fish in the 25" or 30" to 36" range. That might help weed out the hammer handles and help to produce more trophy size fish.

 

It would be nice to see 40" pike become more common like they were in the past.

[JOE ESOX]

Definitely a step in the right direction. Gotta start somewhere... Thanks for sharing

[Xxx]

Sound good to me!! Especially for the plke, there's no reason to harvest 5 pike, as far as the giging if it appears that other species will be intimidated by guys giging for suckers, especially if natural reproducing is evident, then eliminate the gigers, there are other streams holding lots of suckers

[JimB]

I've never understood the mentality of keeping a daily limit of any type of fish, especially the predator tier.   What has taken years to accomplish in growth can be undone in 3 minutes of fishing, and to 

do so several times a day, several times a month, just seems to fly in the face of common sense.

 

I've seen pails full of 5 inch perch, I've seen stringers with limits of good sized, healthy pike/walleye/bass, who's genes are now gone from the pool.   I've also listened and seen these

same people bemoan the lack of good size perch/pike/bass.

 

Just because we can, doesn't always mean it's a good idea to do so.    I'm not saying keeping fish is horrible, I do it myself.   But it just seems that not enough people think about this:  
 

If everyone out there has a good day, and catches and keeps a daily limit, how long can a fishery survive?    It's easy to blame the DEC for "letting" us take those limits, 

but human greed seems to play a much bigger part in the overall scheme of things.   

 

Sorry....I'll step down off the soap box now.

[315angler]

That's what we count on the professionals for, to let us know the amount of fish that can be kept and allow there to continue to be fish to catch.

Maybe one of those people you see with a stronger caught fish all week and only decided to keep that day. Shouldn't be judge mental on what others choose to do with their catch

[Tigerhunter]

I think this is great. In a state where it seems bass and trout are considered more important than any esox (at least in my opinion) it lets us know that the DEC is willing to look out for our interest. Between the tiger limit being raised to 36" in Otisco, the recent inland pure muskie regulation changes and now this; I feel the state is headed in the right direction. We as a community need to make sure we logically voice our concerns and opinions and I think this trend will continue.

[Kevin J Legg]

I strongly agree with this 3 fish limit. I've seen the river go from being a great pike fishery to a pretty poor one. 40 years ago you could basically go out and jig up a few anytime you wanted. Now it's a struggle to catch a pike in the Thousand Island region. I personally seldom target them except on the ice. Their spawning habitat has been compromised since the seaway was built and they need all the help they can get. Good thing the walleye population seems strong as the bass and pike are definitely hurting.

[old man]

I saw that as well. I replied to the dec that it was great and long overdue. We could have a fantastic pike fishery in New York at no cost with better regulations.

[BSmaster]

5 has always been too many.

[old man]

And the minimum length is silly too. Get it up to 30 for starters.

[HybridHunter]

I agree with lowering the possession limit, and would also love to see a slot limit.

Jay

[BSmaster]

I was going to say any pike between 30-36in needs to be released and lower it to 2 (preferred) or 3.  min length 24inches.  This gives us guys that like to eat them the eater size and allows a good breeding population while also allowing for some better trophy sizes if someone wants to keep a trophy.

[EsoxAC3]

I agree with many of the above comments. Quantity, Size, and/or slot restrictions are welcome Proposed regulatory changes to protect this important game fish. It's nice to see the DEC being quasi proactive with this species and taking more conservative measures to effect positive change on the Northern population.

Also, agree with min size increase...... 18" seems a bit small...... From a logical perspective, Come on!!!! Cleaning an 18 inch northern is not on my list of favorite things to do, lol.

Maybe in a few years NY will be the trophy northern destination in the US?[emoji229][emoji6]

[muskiedreams]

I will be going to the Sate of Lake Ontario Meeting on March 14th and I will try and let them know that I support the changes and that there appears to be a lot of positive support here, including to extend the proposal to cover all or most state waters as well as to consider raising the size limit and/or considering a slot limit.

[GAMBLER]

Slot limits may not be the answer.  They put a slot limit on the River we used to vacation on in Canada and it turned it into hammer handle City.  The slot makes most people only keep big breeders.  The under slot fish were released because they were too small.  I am all for reducing the creel limit state wide. 

[NPike]

It's in the mind set. Many people learned to fish years ago and view fish only as food. Unfortunately many of them will never change their outlook. They are diehard meat fisherman. I've known a few. I fished with one man who got frustrated because he could caught massive pike that over the slot limit in Canada. At that time in that region of Canada one couldn’t keep fish over or under the slot limit. So 40 inch plus pike had to go back in and believe it or not he wanted to catch smaller pike so he could keep them.

[Xxx]

When we owned property over on the Perch River us kids had a blast catching nice pike 30-35"ers were common, last year we went up to the other end, which was litterly so thick with salmon you could walk across them, back to the pike we. Didn't catch a damn pike we fished it hard from the weeping willow tree in the bay all the way to the very end of the Perch, we were stunned, couldn't believe it. Something needs to be done and fast.

[Chas0218]

Who keeps those slimy awful tasting pike anyway? I only keep walleye. With that being said if keeping 3 fish a day is over harvesting then lower the creel limits. Isn't that what DEC gets finding for?

[GAMBLER]

That's what we count on the professionals for, to let us know the amount of fish that can be kept and allow there to continue to be fish to catch.

Maybe one of those people you see with a stronger caught fish all week and only decided to keep that day. Shouldn't be judge mental on what others choose to do with their catch

The "professionals" you mentioned need to do a little better job.  Here is a perfect example.  Lake Ontario smallmouth used to be around in HUGE numbers on the South shore.  VHS disease wipes them out to horrible numbers and you can still keep 5 per day.  With the population low, this should be dropped to let them try to recover. 

[Xxx]

I'm 100% with you gambler, what I see more devistating is the catch and release program during the spawn period, where all the gobies devistate the nest in less time than it takes to unhook the fish and during this period all the females are of trophy size so you have a photo shot yet then released, by this time the nest is destroyed. I got shutdown quick before on this topic, but when a semi pro bass fisherman says "it ain't what it used to be" maybe it's time to change the rules, even if it's done by lake for lake instead of statewide. Maybe LakeO should do as other lakes do, and that is, the bass tourney guys weigh and measure fish where there caught, not carted all over the lake for hours and all released at a completely different spot. Let me put you in the trunk of my car and drive around and let you out at the end of the day, ok your on your own from here. Right???

[ERABBIT]

When we use to go to Rogers Rock on lake George , we saw the pike turny come in to the Ticonderoga launch off of lake champain . weight in pike go back over to launch and just dump in dead and 1/2 dead pike back in the lake.......then drive away...

[Sk8man]

I agree about the things said regarding  size limits and daily catch restriction. As far as the desirability of pike as an eating fish i would suggest that  first of all most fish depend heavily on the way and amount of time they are cooked, and before that the way they are handled beforehand.  Another critical factor is whether they come out of cold vs warm water. Pike can be truly delicious even large ones when filleted properly and coming from cold water and in fact despite walleyes being one of my favorites I'd take a large pike over a large walleye for eating although I no longer keep ANY pike because of the already mentioned factors. The biggest factor in people maligning the pike for food is usually the  amount of bones encountered when filleting them conventionally.  They are a supreme predator in the warm water fishery and hopefully will make a comeback as they have been here through the normal cycles at least since the ice age or before and are invaluable in keeping other species within limits. 

Edited April 9, 2016 by Sk8man

[Xxx]

Yes Les your correct. My father said many a time that pike are excellent eating, when we fished the northern Quebec lakes which would be cold water fish, although he enjoyed eating pike from lakeO up till about the end of June, then he didn't want them anymore. I had a French Indian show me how to fillet a pike. First you cut along the top till you feel the Y bones, about half the way down. Then cut the fish where your top cut ends, basically along the middle of the fish remove those two strips on each side. Then a 1/4-1/2" down from the top Y bone you can fillet down to the belly meat, he said he cuts that belly the yellowish color off. So you end up with four nice strips of meat with little to no bones, and not much waist of the fish. It took me a while to get the hang of it but he was like a machine. Honestly when we beer battered the eyes and pike it was hard to tell what was what. Dad preferred his pike just fried in butter in a pan. Our last day dinner always consisted of fried walleye and pike, fried potatoes and Bushes baked beans, a meal fit for a king. The guys are going on their last trip to a lake we fished for 20+ Years the youngest of my uncles are 68-75years old. Their going the 2nd week in June, I'm not going and that was a big let down for the guys. I don't want to be that far of the beaten path should something happen to me. I don't want to ruin there trip should I twist or fall with my back issues. They all understand but had to bust my b*\|s.

[NPike]

Pike have a firm white meat when fresh they are very mild in flavor and great for eating. Much better than L_Trout or Bass "in my humble opinion". The trouble is the bones. I clean them just as I would a walleye and just keep the occasional fish between 5 to 10 pounds. If smaller the bones are to much of a hassle and if bigger I don't what to rob the gene pool. In Conesus we get quite a few pike between 5 to 15 pounds. Not to many over the 15 pound mark. The trouble is that many people (it seems even more so in the winter) are out to keep their limit on the days when they are biting. They have the old school mentality and fish with live bait which often hooks the fish deeply preventing a safe release. I'm sure the fishery which is a good pike habitat could be even better if folks weren't so greedy and foolish.