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| This has been said before--and removed--but it bears saying again.
The northern pike is a valuable gamefish to us ordinary anglers. They are pursued ruthlessly; and too many are killed, especially under ice. We don't have more 30" pike because many of them don't get a chance to reach their growth potential before thay are killed.
The season on pike should close by December 1. Creel limits should be reduced to two fish per day. Size limits should be increased--where applicable--to 24". |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Pike are managed for harvest on most waters in Wisconsin. Want trophy Pike? There are plenty of opportunities out there, just look around a little. If the DNR feels harvest on any water is too high, they will adjust the limits accordingly and actually already have to some degree. An experiment on a lake north of here to manage for trophy potential in Pike didn't work despite a 1 fish bag for several years; this fish simply rarely achieved over 30 " in that water no matter.
I eat Pike and will continue to. I have seen an actual improvement in the Pike fishing up here in the last few years in numbers and size. By the way, it's been a very long time since I kept my 'limit'.
AND, this was not said before, what was said is 'leave the pike alone', which advocated an anti-icefishing stance, and is ridiculous. You might have noticed...we have an icefishing site that is very popular. |
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| Although I never fished LOTW until a few years ago I have heard stories about how the pike there used to run very small, just like Northern WI. Then they put a slot limit up there and the size of the pike exploded, not pike over 35 inches are common.
I'm just wondering if that would work here in Northern WI.
Another thought, I grew up fishing the Mississippi River and it's many back waters, the pike there get hit just as hard as they do here, yet I remember the pike being much larger over there.
I know pike are managed for harvest, but it would be nice to see some more fish over 30 inches here in No. WI.
John |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Take a look at the recent program that was in place for Franklin, John.
I'm sure if trophy fish were the goal here on waters in WI, the management is handled differently. In some water, the DNR wants pike removed no matter the size, others the bag is 2, others 5, some with no size limit, others with.
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | Most of the lakes around my area that manage for pike have protected slots such as 24"-36" must be released and only one over 36" and it seems to be working well on those lakes. A lake has to be managed for preditor/prey ratio which means removing smaller pike in most cases. Not all lakes can support this type of fishery either; not just forage but also water temps and O2 throughout the season. I'm sorry but there just isn't a 'one size fits all' management strategy out there and the DNR does a good job keeping tabs on what is happening in the fisheries and what best fits each individual lake. Like Steve said if you want trophy pike go to a lake that can support it.
I personally like some of the lakes that are loaded with hammer handles. It's great fun for my kids and they get to keep a few fish for the pan.
Edited by Targa01 1/22/2009 9:19 AM
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I'm going to go out and break in my new R2 Tec Frabill tomorrow, rip a few pike, beat them senseless, and eat them later. The violence of it all.... |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | I've fished the LOTWs for around 45 years and as far as I can remember the pike have alway been pretty big.
Biggest differance on the LOTWs as far as pike size has been the elimation of commercial fishing.
Doug Johnson |
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