Lucerne 6/20-23

[smokepoles]

Au contrair, mon ami; there is an over abundance of scientific knowledge expounding on the very high mortality of C&R of kokanee salmon. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. thumbsup

I understand that there is a mortality associated with C&R greater than found with other fish. My question was impact on the overall fishery. For example, why have such a small creel limit that tends to encourage C&R rather than a mandatory keep with a greater limit that might discourage releasing small ones and encourage simply quitting for the day once limit is reached?

I'll be honest here. I take a couple days off of work, travel 6 hrs to the Gorge, and let a few small ones go so to have three nice ones to take home. I try to balance the mortality thing using single hooks, wise netting and releases, keep any small hurt ones for dinners at camp, etc.

On the other hand, there are the derby's and a prior forum where there was a good deal of bragging about 60 fish days over the course of the week. Not for me.

 

[dubob]

Koke tournament folks and C&R for Kokes tends to lean on, "they are going to die anyway" as reasoning for such events and actions.

I have no tolerance for that faulty logic. Every living thing dies 'anyway.' That is not a valid argument for wasting a resource IMHO.

 

[dubob]

I'll be honest here. I take a couple days off of work, travel 6 hrs to the Gorge, and let a few small ones go so to have three nice ones to take home. I try to balance the mortality thing using single hooks, wise netting and releases, keep any small hurt ones for dinners at camp, etc.

On the other hand, there are the derby's and a prior forum where there was a good deal of bragging about 60 fish days over the course of the week. Not for me.

I have no problem at all with your process (letting a few small ones go). I do have to disagree with those that consistently strive for large catch numbers each and every day they fish. A couple years ago I met an angler that bragged about the 60 fish days he and his child were having at Strawberry. They never kept over their limit while there. They were completely legal in what they did. I bit my tongue and said nothing so as not to embarrass him in front of his child. But I certainly didn't (and don't) condone that mind set.

And I strongly feel the tournaments you speak of are doing us all a disservice. That's my two cents worth of opinion.

 

[mtncat1]

i've fished the du derby since it's inception ,it's limited to 200 teams , and never has sold out . they don't don't promote c&r on kokes . they have a large fish prize for all species in the lake except lake trout .they only count the largest laker up to 28 inches (usually a 10 lbs fish wins )so no more impact than other day on the lake .

 

[smokepoles]

Then again, relevant to this discscussion on kokanee, rules state:
2. Length Qualification: All Trout or Kokanee Salmon must be 18” (inches) or longer. Guess competitors will be keeping those under 18", right?


And per the May derby:
Trophy Lake Trout: Fish must be freshly caught, be a minimum length of 36” (inches) for entry eligibility.

Anyway, I am sure there are good intentions withe the DU derby. I'd probably do it it for fun and a good cause, but not not for competition.

 

[mtncat1]

Then again, relevant to this discscussion on kokanee, rules state:
2. Length Qualification: All Trout or Kokanee Salmon must be 18” (inches) or longer. Guess competitors will be keeping those under 18", right?


And per the May derby:
Trophy Lake Trout: Fish must be freshly caught, be a minimum length of 36” (inches) for entry eligibility.

Anyway, I am sure there are good intentions withe the DU derby. I'd probably do it it for fun and a good cause, but not not for competition.

it looks like you are talking about the may derby ,that is not the june 20th ducks unlimited derby
where did you get this from? i have never heard of these rules lake trout size is for sure locked in at 28 inches max fish over that size are not accepted for entry . kokanee bass rainbow and i think brown are accepted. i have never heard of the 18'" minimum size clause . i will be there this weekend and check . if they changed the regs this year but i doubt it .

 

[dubob]

2018 DU Derby Rules

I copied this from the DU website to show the rules with regard to fish species and size requirements for this years DU Derby.

Lake Trout, Kokanee Salmon, Trout*, and Carp
*Trout includes Browns, Rainbows, and Cutthroat. There will be one prize, and all 3 types of fish can be entered into the category.

First Place Cash Prize per fish species $1000
Second Place Cash Prize per fish species $500
Third Place Cash Prize per fish species $250

Prize Qualification Based on the Following:
1. Lake Trout: Fish must be freshly caught, a maximum length of 28” (inches) for entry eligibility.
Only one (1) Lake Trout may be in possession through the tournament.
2. Length Qualification: All Trout or Kokanee Salmon must be 18” (inches) or longer.
3. Carp has no limit.

There is no definition of freshly caught, but one might assume that means caught that day. The full set of this years rules can be seen at this link: DU Derby Rules.

 

[gorgehunter]

Koke tournament folks and C&R for Kokes tends to lean on, "they are going to die anyway" as reasoning for such events and actions.

And such an asinine mindset that would be, as it is the younger kokes that are being released and dying, not the larger mature kokes of spawning age that are going to "die anyway". Last year we were there the weekend of the DU derby and literally netted several 2+ pound kokes from the water that were still kicking on the surface and put them in the cooler. The derby's are inadvertently encouraging the killing of kokes that could have gone to feed people, but instead are going to the gulls and the crayfish. And had we entered we would have taken first place on Saturday and second place overall for the biggest single koke, without releasing any to die, see picture below.

 

[gorgehunter]

On a more positive note we are looking forward to great weather and seeing how my new prop performs.

 

[mtncat1]

i am very surprised by what you found because the really don't have many boats in that derby,( 80 teams this year) .on a lake that size you would be hard pressed to find someone from the derby out on the water . they strongly discourage release of kokanee also .

 

[oldguysrule]

I have no tolerance for that faulty logic. Every living thing dies 'anyway.' That is not a valid argument for wasting a resource IMHO.

I also agree bob there is no reason for that. That is a very poor argument for C&R