packrat
Well-Known Member
for those who have fished the Kawartha Lakes "https://jamieschmale.ca/walleye/LarrysReport.pdf"-----fished Pigeon Lake many moons ago and even back then noticed the decline in the fishery
Off Topic interesting read
- Thread starter packrat
- Start date
Save the Walleye | Restore & conserve the Kawartha Lakes walleye fishery
Buy your Ontario fishing licence, then add your support to the Save the Walleye campaign for Kawartha Lakes Zone 17. Help us restore & conserve walleye.
savethewalleye.ca
Everyone should read it and email the Trent Severn, and the MNRF and the other clown …I sent emails to all of them but so far only TSW emailed back. And they only will talk to me about water levels, completely refusing to adress the hydrolic dam design that’s destroying the fishery.
One reply so far:
Dear Brandon,
Thank you for taking the time to write to my office. Sincerest of apologies for the delay in responding to your message.
Effective communication between constituents and their elected officials is crucial for a thriving democracy, and your engagement helps ensure that your voice is heard, and your needs are considered.
I have been trying for two terms to get the Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNRF) and the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) to acknowledge that the walleye fishery and lake levels need improvement.
The two are closely tied.
At the federal level, I continue to pressure the TSW to direct spring water over the spawning beds on the north side of the Bobcaygeon River in March/April. Current operations use only two hydraulic gates on the far side of the river that divert water away from the historic spawning area.
It would seem manual logs aren’t as easy to operate as push-button gates! The TSW requires an expensive study spanning several years before they consider my request on behalf of the Save the Walleye committee. This red tape answer is compounded by an unwillingness to fund this study.
Kawartha Conservation has offered to take on these studies and try to secure funding.
Provincially, the MNRF shrugs its shoulders and says, “things aren’t that bad.” Not bad compared to what? The fishery has experienced a steady downhill trend for decades, something the MNRF is quick to pin on fishing pressure. But fishing pressure is lower than it’s been in decades, given how difficult it is now to catch one due to annual reproduction failure. And if the MNRF holds fast to pressure, why run an unenforced winter fishery? It’s a money grab that facilitates poaching. The MNRF’s final crutch statement is that they don’t control the water, pushing blame up the ladder.
Getting different levels of government, and their respective agencies, to cooperate has been difficult.
Save the Walleye proposed using Bobcaygeon and Lindsay as two pilot project areas for what I hope will be a system-wide change.
I will support this campaign and I’ll do what I can to pressure the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change for Canada (MOE) and the provincial Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry to do the right thing.
The biggest problems: lack of winter water, ecologically harmful water levels and flows, and worn-out spawning areas. If we fix these things, we will better support the spawn, realize higher hatch rates, and see an increase in walleye recruitment over the next 5 years and beyond. It is my hope that future generations will know the fishery and our waterway as it once was—healthy and thriving.
I encourage you to call local agencies and add your voice. Thank you for your support!
Please accept my best wishes.
Again, thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Jamie Schmale
Member of Parliament
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
Dear Brandon,
Thank you for taking the time to write to my office. Sincerest of apologies for the delay in responding to your message.
Effective communication between constituents and their elected officials is crucial for a thriving democracy, and your engagement helps ensure that your voice is heard, and your needs are considered.
I have been trying for two terms to get the Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNRF) and the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) to acknowledge that the walleye fishery and lake levels need improvement.
The two are closely tied.
At the federal level, I continue to pressure the TSW to direct spring water over the spawning beds on the north side of the Bobcaygeon River in March/April. Current operations use only two hydraulic gates on the far side of the river that divert water away from the historic spawning area.
It would seem manual logs aren’t as easy to operate as push-button gates! The TSW requires an expensive study spanning several years before they consider my request on behalf of the Save the Walleye committee. This red tape answer is compounded by an unwillingness to fund this study.
Kawartha Conservation has offered to take on these studies and try to secure funding.
Provincially, the MNRF shrugs its shoulders and says, “things aren’t that bad.” Not bad compared to what? The fishery has experienced a steady downhill trend for decades, something the MNRF is quick to pin on fishing pressure. But fishing pressure is lower than it’s been in decades, given how difficult it is now to catch one due to annual reproduction failure. And if the MNRF holds fast to pressure, why run an unenforced winter fishery? It’s a money grab that facilitates poaching. The MNRF’s final crutch statement is that they don’t control the water, pushing blame up the ladder.
Getting different levels of government, and their respective agencies, to cooperate has been difficult.
Save the Walleye proposed using Bobcaygeon and Lindsay as two pilot project areas for what I hope will be a system-wide change.
I will support this campaign and I’ll do what I can to pressure the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change for Canada (MOE) and the provincial Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry to do the right thing.
The biggest problems: lack of winter water, ecologically harmful water levels and flows, and worn-out spawning areas. If we fix these things, we will better support the spawn, realize higher hatch rates, and see an increase in walleye recruitment over the next 5 years and beyond. It is my hope that future generations will know the fishery and our waterway as it once was—healthy and thriving.
I encourage you to call local agencies and add your voice. Thank you for your support!
Please accept my best wishes.
Again, thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Jamie Schmale
Member of Parliament
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
@packrat and @live2fish I'd suggest maybe bringing your concerns up with someone at the OFAH. They may have more ability to get to the right set of ears. Just a suggestion...Hope it helps!
Ofah has now been sent an email. However the more ppl that send emails to these guys in office the better imo.
The ofah reply: (once again, I believe the more ppl that pressure the mnrf l, and other politicians involved the better. The Ofah can’t fix it themselves)
Hello Brandon,
Thanks for reaching out to the OFAH. There are quite a few moving parts in your message. Yes, we have been aware of the Save the Walleye campaign/webpage for a number of years now and, I agree, I think TSW could do a better job in managing water flows at certain times of the year. I also read Larry’s report years ago. I’m not here to try and convince you to become a member, nor do I think the OFAH alone can “fix this” but if you’d like to discuss things further over the phone, you can contact me at 705-740-3251. Chat soon and take care.
Yours In Conservation,
Adam Weir
Fisheries Biologist
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
4601 Guthrie Drive
Peterborough, Ontario K9J 8L5
P: 705-775-8120 x. 208
Email: adam_weir@ofah.org