11-09-2013, 04:06 PM
I think that study is flawed. Who goes to Henry's to harvest? It's a trophy fishery.
There are just as many fish caught on the ice if you go by FPH( fish per hour).
The average angler would catch more fish on the ice than they would any other time of the year minus opening week(s)or Oct-early November if they can take the weather.
Henry's isn't a harvest fishery. The problem is I think the F$G wants it to be.
It is supposedly a blue ribbon fishery. People don't think of Henry's as a put and take fishery. I see more fish kept by the ice fisherman and on average they are bigger fish.
I've only seen a few people keep fish there on all my trips. I can't speak to the opener as I avoid the zoo.
I feel the mortality rate is much higher for fish pulled out of the water, flopping around on the ice, finally corralled with ice and snow all over them.....picture taken and then released than caught & released fish on the opener.( Good fish handling all being equal)
For the majority of anglers the fishing is too hard from early June until later in September.
There are two times each year that the fish are extremely vulnerable(Opening week(s)and Ice Fishing)
On ice fishing: This is a true case of 10% of the fisherman catching 90% of the bigger fish on the hard deck. The bigger fish have never been easier to catch.
I work on the East side and know people who ice fish and they have never caught big fish there until ice fishing was opened.
I've seen the fish they catch on the ice. They catch more fish and keep the bigger fish. IMHO too many of the bigger fish can be targeted on the ice and caught.
It's showing in the quality of the fish caught since ice fishing was allowed.
Sorry but that's how I see it.
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There are just as many fish caught on the ice if you go by FPH( fish per hour).
The average angler would catch more fish on the ice than they would any other time of the year minus opening week(s)or Oct-early November if they can take the weather.
Henry's isn't a harvest fishery. The problem is I think the F$G wants it to be.
It is supposedly a blue ribbon fishery. People don't think of Henry's as a put and take fishery. I see more fish kept by the ice fisherman and on average they are bigger fish.
I've only seen a few people keep fish there on all my trips. I can't speak to the opener as I avoid the zoo.
I feel the mortality rate is much higher for fish pulled out of the water, flopping around on the ice, finally corralled with ice and snow all over them.....picture taken and then released than caught & released fish on the opener.( Good fish handling all being equal)
For the majority of anglers the fishing is too hard from early June until later in September.
There are two times each year that the fish are extremely vulnerable(Opening week(s)and Ice Fishing)
On ice fishing: This is a true case of 10% of the fisherman catching 90% of the bigger fish on the hard deck. The bigger fish have never been easier to catch.
I work on the East side and know people who ice fish and they have never caught big fish there until ice fishing was opened.
I've seen the fish they catch on the ice. They catch more fish and keep the bigger fish. IMHO too many of the bigger fish can be targeted on the ice and caught.
It's showing in the quality of the fish caught since ice fishing was allowed.
Sorry but that's how I see it.
[signature]