If there is any confusion, promote native fish species and get rid of the others to the extent possible.
-
Happy Birthday, Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956)! ❄️🍴😋
Invasive fish (northern pike) threatens Maine lakes. Huh?
- Thread starter Glenn MacGrady
- Start date
Hayden Lake in Idaho doesn't seem to have an insurmountable problem with housing non-native northern pike along with salmon, bass, trout and other game fish. They control the pike with gill netting and unlimited catching.
"The exceptionally clear waters of this lake are teeming with game fish, including bass (largemouth and smallmouth), bullhead catfish, kokanee salmon, yellow perch, rainbow trout, sunfish (such as bluegill and pumpkinseed), and white crappie. But the game fish that had all of Idaho talking in March 2023 was the northern pike."
. . . .
"The northern pike is classified as a game fish in Idaho. The lakes where northern pikes have been illegally introduced have ironically become some of the state’s most popular fisheries. In a seeming contradiction, this non-native fish that has created an ecological problem has also been an economic positive. Large numbers of anglers such as Thomas Francis purchase state fishing licenses to target this aggressive, hard-fighting fish.
"In the state’s efforts to suppress the number of northern pike in its northern lakes, fishing for the species is unregulated. IDFG wants anglers to remove as many northern pike as possible from the state’s waters, so there are no limits on pike harvests. Catch-and-release pike tournaments are prohibited.
"When anglers harvest northern pike from these waters, it’s a win-win."
"The exceptionally clear waters of this lake are teeming with game fish, including bass (largemouth and smallmouth), bullhead catfish, kokanee salmon, yellow perch, rainbow trout, sunfish (such as bluegill and pumpkinseed), and white crappie. But the game fish that had all of Idaho talking in March 2023 was the northern pike."
. . . .
"The northern pike is classified as a game fish in Idaho. The lakes where northern pikes have been illegally introduced have ironically become some of the state’s most popular fisheries. In a seeming contradiction, this non-native fish that has created an ecological problem has also been an economic positive. Large numbers of anglers such as Thomas Francis purchase state fishing licenses to target this aggressive, hard-fighting fish.
"In the state’s efforts to suppress the number of northern pike in its northern lakes, fishing for the species is unregulated. IDFG wants anglers to remove as many northern pike as possible from the state’s waters, so there are no limits on pike harvests. Catch-and-release pike tournaments are prohibited.
"When anglers harvest northern pike from these waters, it’s a win-win."
Largest Northern Pike Ever Caught in Idaho Was An Absolute Monster
I believe in Mid-Atlantic states the muskie that are stocked are what they call tiger muskie, a hybrid between northern pike and muskellunge. Because they are a hybrid, they are unable to reproduce, and thus they do not establish themselves in the same way the northern pike are doing in Maine...
There is no shortage of places in which one may catch a pike if one so desires. Just say'n.
I am a fishermen, fish eater, biologist and an ecologist. For years local F&G Depts planted introduced fish species. Those days are coming to an end. Our society has evolved in their view of which species are desirable. We have plenty of Brook trout, Kokanee salmon, Brown trout, Lake trout and other species in the West in places where they were never native. Now some native trout sub-speies are being promoted for the first time. I think native species are what should be there. It will take a long time for some fisheries to recover and some never will.
Lake Tahoe might be a good example. The Lake had an impressive poplulaton of native Lahontan cutthroat trout. They were huge up to 40 pounds. The local tribes, especially the Washoes relied on them in summer for protein. During the first Mining Era around 1860-1880 the Comstock Lode was developed at Virginia City, NV concurrent with the gold fields in the Sierra Nevada. The Lake was commercially fished. Some time after 1900 the local trout populaton was extirpated. CA and NV Fish and Game Depts introduced lake trout and kokanee salmon into the Lake. Although there are some large rainbow trout and Brown trout found in the Lake today, neither are native.
The USFWS has released some native cutthroats back into the Lake. Their source has been some remote water sheds in parts of Nevada mountain ranges. Same with the native fish in Pyramid Lake. Since lake trout are pescatorious, it is very problematic about how to get rid of them in such an enormous Lake. Yellowstone Lake has a similar problem. Some of our decision making as a society in the past will haunt us well into the future.
The USFWS has released some native cutthroats back into the Lake. Their source has been some remote water sheds in parts of Nevada mountain ranges. Same with the native fish in Pyramid Lake. Since lake trout are pescatorious, it is very problematic about how to get rid of them in such an enormous Lake. Yellowstone Lake has a similar problem. Some of our decision making as a society in the past will haunt us well into the future.
