How To Catch The Same Trout Twice
Momentum is gaining for a one trout regulation change proposal in the NYS Great Lakes tributaries. And you would be hard pressed to convince any sporting angler, knowledgeable stakeholder or resource manager that a creel limit is a bad thing. Support for a 2004 regulation change proposal has been largely a grassroots effort which is a good illustration that those who will be most affected support it.
Take note that I have said a one trout regulation change proposal. Common reference to date has been to a one steelhead regulation change proposal. Should we elevate rainbows/steelhead to a higher degree of worthy protection without equal consideration for brown trout? That depends where you may hail east or west along the Lake Ontario shoreline, but surely all tributary trout migrations deserve equal consideration.
The one trout regulation change proposal has been an important topic of discussion at the NYSDEC informational meetings held lake wide this past season. It has been the single most commented on topic by visitors to the NYSDEC website and on angler opinion surveys conducted by NYSDEC. The Lake Ontario Sport Fishing Promotion Council (LOSPC) made up of seven lake shore counties supports it along with NYS Sea Grant, Seaway Trail, county tourism agencies and NYSDEC. Here in the Oak Orchard area where the one trout regulation change proposal at least partially originated, there is strong support.
Consider the fact that the current three fish daily limit is grossly more generous then nearly any migratory trout creel regulation nation wide. You will not find daily multi-fish trout limits in the Pacific Northwest or Alaska for example - only one fish, no fish or tagging limits. Some waterways even have daily changes in the regs that may go so far as to ban fishing for a particular species and/or disallow select methods or bait. Do we have it too good? Consider the real fact that as Great Lakes tributary anglers we have the possibility of hooking in a day what some anglers on the west coast might hook in a season! Beyond snagging regs, our choice of legal tackle and bait is largely unrestricted. Consumption advisories alone should be fair evidence for a reduction in creel limits.
So why reduce the daily creel limit on steelhead and brown trout to one fish? Because it can provide better fishing over the whole tributary season of fall, winter and spring. Quality fishing is extended if some trout do not go away dead from overland migrations. A creeled trout can't be caught on subsequent trips by any angler. Strong runs of fish remain strong runs of fish over a longer period of time rather then becoming fished out too quickly. There is the good chance at more natural reproduction and most assuredly repeat spawners. Second or even third time spawning fish mean more trophy sized fish. A one trout limit can help protect pen reared stocks, an area of substantial cooperative stakeholder and NYSDEC effort. And imagine if the angling impact where spread out because anglers know that good fishing will be on hand next week, next month or next calendar season. That means less crowding and allows for satisfying increased angling pressures amid same stocking levels and past years' poor average trout returns.
Okay, you say, than lake and boat anglers should also be subject to a trout limit. But trout in the lake are not nearly as vulnerable as when they are in the tributaries spawning. Cold water trib angling is conducive to low mortality catch and release angling after a one trout limit is reached whereas trollers can creel their existing limits and return to port without undo mortality on trout forced by regulation to be released. In nearly all instances, charter anglers prefer to target salmon so the easiest way to preserve trout numbers in the big lake is with good salmon numbers.
A one trout limit will surely give the fish a measure of protection and value that tributary anglers feel has been a long time coming. The one trout regulation change proposal mirrors evolving attitudes of a relatively young Great Lakes trout and salmon angling tradition. In the western NY Lake Ontario tribs where brown trout are such a popular species, they should be afforded the same protection that steelhead may get. This author's efforts show overwhelming support for a one trout limit regulation change proposal. I can count on two hands the number of dissuaded opinions versus hundreds of instances of positive feedback for a trout creel limit. In Jefferson County where there is an existing one steelhead limit, most report increased satisfaction and better fishing. Lee Wulff said that "a trout is too valuable a game fish to be caught only once."I for one agree.
Ron Bierstine from Orleans Outdoor on the Oak Orchard River and WNY believes steelhead AND brown trout deserve the respect of a one trout limit. A one trout limit will preserve and enhance an already great fishery.
