Anyone notice the sportfishing changes for Southcentral Alaska?

[Erik in AK]

I don't think it is a bad idea either. But, I think what people are referring to is the fact that large pike tend to eat smaller pike. So, if you remove a large pike, you are just going to help the population of hammer handles (small pike). If you let a big pike go, he can get bigger and eat more pike. I think this is the general idea what people are referring to. It might have been a good idea to change the restriction to allow pike over 30" to be released.

Large pike eat smaller pike after they've eaten all the other forage. I like pike. They are a great sportfish, and I'll happily drive north of the Alaska Range to catch them...where they belong.

No responsible fisherman would ever release a live pike in the Susitna drainage. No, pike are not the sole cause of the decline of salmon runs in the Su but they are the primary obstacle to restoring those runs.

Protecting large pike may have some net positive impact on controling the overall pike population in a pike infested system like Alexander Lake/Creek but large pike continue to produce small pike. The only way to eliminate the pike problem is to eliminate the pike, which as we know, is nearly impossible without killing all the fish in the system.

Silly (i.e. pandering & ineffectual) regulation changes only serve to insult our collective intelligence

Like Su Salmon? Kill Su Pike.

[fullbush]

hmmmmmm sounds like you have been to one??????????
I thought there was a run in the Little su?????????? And there def in the Kenai.

We don't have a run of skagits my man. you would know it if we did, there would be broken sage rods all over the woods. Beavers would be crafting winter huts out of all the broken G-loomis and lamiglasses.

[kenaibow fan]

We don't have a run of skagits my man. you would know it if we did, there would be broken sage rods all over the woods. Beavers would be crafting winter huts out of all the broken G-loomis and lamiglasses.

Well no they aren't skagits, but they are steelies none the less. I think they should take some from Yakutat!

[fullbush]

Well no they aren't skagits, but they are steelies none the less. I think they should take some from Yakutat!

Hey there ya go. I'd be all for it. I'd even donate funds to help

[kenaibow fan]

Hey there ya go. I'd be all for it. I'd even donate funds to help

you and me both FB, I wouldn't even think twice about that one!

[tcman]

No responsible fisherman would ever release a live pike in the Susitna drainage. No, pike are not the sole cause of the decline of salmon runs in the Su but they are the primary obstacle to restoring those runs.

I don't think akpowdermonkey wants to see and expanding pike fishery at the expense of salmon/trout. Based on other opinions he has had on pike I think what he would like to see is that pike should be managed where they are present (or kill the system with rotenone and start anew). This is what I believe as well.

[Bushwhack Jack]

I don't think akpowdermonkey wants to see and expanding pike fishery at the expense of salmon/trout. Based on other opinions he has had on pike I think what he would like to see is that pike should be managed where they are present (or kill the system with rotenone and start anew). This is what I believe as well.

I agree. I would like to see the pike killed off with rotenone, if I thought it would work. But I don't think you would get ALL the pike. And the problem is it would eliminate all the other fish in the system. So, I think I agree with the philosophy of kill the hammer handles, and let all the big ones go. You are less apt to end up with a stunted population that way.

[ak_powder_monkey]

Like Su Salmon? Kill Su Pike.

How on earth are sport fishermen gonna do anything to get rid of the pike?

Sport fishermen have almost NO impact on the pike populations in the Susitna drainage, except to make the average size of pike smaller. The pike have been here for 30+ years even with unlimited limits and a 15 year long campaign to eradicate them, what has come of it? Crappy pike fishing and no more salmon and trout.

At this point poison is the only way to go, and given our state's political climate, there is no way in hell the department is gonna have the funds to do the job (we're talking tens of millions of dollars)

So why not make the best of a bad situation and try to grow some fish bigger than 10 inches long?

Personally I'd like to see some tiger muskies put into play... I'd say a few hundred 50" tigers would do some damage to the hammer handle population

[ak_powder_monkey]

Do you know if there was any in there before the hatchery fish started going up there?

Because I have talked to people that lived here since the 60's (Sterling/Soldotna) and they say there was steelies in the river before they planted them in the Kasilof!

Yes, I'm almost sure of it, the Funny River weir has revealed a small run that looks a lot like the runs in the Kasilof drainage. I would bet the whole kenai system gets around 1000 fish per year.

As for stocking campbell creek with steelhead, they tried that in the 80s, it didn't work. Also if you were to stock steelhead in the Kenai of any genetic origin they would likely not become steelhead, but remain residents, as anadromidity in O. mykiss is controlled primarily by size at smolting age, and not genetics. Take away all the nuitrients from the kenai and you'll probably see some steelhead

[ClearCreek]

How on earth are sport fishermen gonna do anything to get rid of the pike?

Sport fishermen have almost NO impact on the pike populations in the Susitna drainage, except to make the average size of pike smaller. The pike have been here for 30+ years even with unlimited limits and a 15 year long campaign to eradicate them, what has come of it? Crappy pike fishing and no more salmon and trout.

At this point poison is the only way to go, and given our state's political climate, there is no way in hell the department is gonna have the funds to do the job (we're talking tens of millions of dollars)

So why not make the best of a bad situation and try to grow some fish bigger than 10 inches long?

Personally I'd like to see some tiger muskies put into play... I'd say a few hundred 50" tigers would do some damage to the hammer handle population

ak: You can't have it both ways - you say "Sport fishermen have almost NO impact on the pike populations in the Susitna drainage, except to make the average size of pike smaller." Making the average size smaller sounds like an impact to me. If you are indicating anglers will not be able to remove pike from targeted watersheds through sport fishing, I agree; that just "ain't a gonna happen"!

You are aware there is pretty solid evidence tiger musky can and will back cross with their parental species and produce fertile offspring. I am not sure where the management concept of keeping a lot of large pike in a system to control the smaller pike comes from, but it is not a concept I am aware of that is used anywhere in the lower 48 that actively manages a fishery for a balanced sport fish population.

Colorado has had some success stocking tiger musky in smaller trout reservoirs to control white suckers (that compete with the trout). These reservoirs offer a controlled environment and when the amount of white sucker control is achieved some (most) of the tiger musky can be removed.

I am sure you realize the logistics of obtaining 50 inch tiger musky for stocking is nearly beyond comprehension. It would be nearly impossible to find a hatchery that would be willing to raise tiger musky that large.

It is unfortuante pike have found their way (either on their own or illegally introduced) into watersheds where they are not wanted. Even with an unlimited budget to purchase rotenone, this method of eliminating pike would be extremely difficult and bordering on impossible.

ClearCreek

[ak_powder_monkey]

ak: You can't have it both ways - you say "Sport fishermen have almost NO impact on the pike populations in the Susitna drainage, except to make the average size of pike smaller." Making the average size smaller sounds like an impact to me. If you are indicating anglers will not be able to remove pike from targeted watersheds through sport fishing, I agree; that just "ain't a gonna happen"!

Yeah almost no impact... I'd say that making the average size of pike smaller can only hurt the salmon and trout population too, small pike eat small salmon just as much as big pike do if not more, at least big pike eat small pike. Stunted predator populations really suck IMO

I've never heard of tigers reproducing with pike or muskies and producing fertile offspring... interesting... Obviously you don't put a 50" fish in there you stock a bunch of little ones and let them grow big... Obviously its a pipe dream but **** I'd like to catch a 50" freshwater fish... hahaha

[fishNphysician]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI71Hsy_PaU

[Mark Collett]

What in the world did he just say ? Can someone say that in English ?

[redleader]

We have a lake in Colo.- Williams fork reservoir that has a good population of large pike due to a slot limit, this lake does not have a hammer handle or a sucker problem like most of the other waters do and is also one of the brood lakes for kokanee salmon, Powder monkey is right with more larger pike the overall pike population will be lower, kinda bassackwards philosophy that is proven to work. Tiger musky are hybrids and cannot reproduce but are hard to find a source for.

[scott_rn]

We have a lake in Colo.- Williams fork reservoir that has a good population of large pike due to a slot limit, this lake does not have a hammer handle or a sucker problem like most of the other waters do and is also one of the brood lakes for kokanee salmon, Powder monkey is right with more larger pike the overall pike population will be lower, kinda bassackwards philosophy that is proven to work. Tiger musky are hybrids and cannot reproduce but are hard to find a source for.

That's comparing apples to oranges, from my point of view.

I ran into a adf&g guy at a scout-o-rama recently who said they found the big pike were killing a lot more salmon than they previously thought. It would be interesting to see the data. Actually, I bet it is a boring read.