Slot Limits

[sbfpa_Mike]

I am not big on starting new topics,  but after reading Grump's story of his Walleye trip,  I started to wonder what everyone thought about these slot limits?  I like and dislike slots;  how is that for committing?   The biggest thing I dislike about the slots is the mass killing of fish.  If you gut hook a fish,  but can't keep it,  there is a good chance the fish is going to die.  I will cut the line every time this happens,  but I can't speak for others and especially large party launches.  The great thing abut these slots is the improvement of large fish and the restriction it places on what an angler can keep.

     I am on the fence about this issue,  but I wanted to know what everyone else thought.

[camo_fish]

I'm agreeing with you, SBFPA-MIKE, slot limits help the prime breeders to breed only which is a good thing. And for gut hooking, I cut the line every time, unless I'm got to keep it. I've caught several cats with leader hanging out of there mouths, so there are a few out there that do the right thing.

[USMC130FE]

Slot Limits are good if for no other reason is it allows an age class to mature to a specific size before harvesting.  If a fish is gut hooked and the line is cut and its released, it sure has a lot better chance to survive than if placed on the dinner plate.   Look at a lake in your area that has a "slot" on a species.  Probably has good fishing, even though your mostly catch and release but still manage to catch a few keepers.  Better that than having a slow fishing day.  If people would limit their own catch numbers instead of having to keep their limit might help also

My view......keep the slot limit when needed

Steve
 

[grumpymoe]

nice topic!....i personally like and dislike slots as well.....on the pro side.....it ensures a sustained fishery for future anglers......on the anti side.....some fisheries are negated by aboriginals who seem to sit back and wait.......then net like crazy until confronted by sports anglers and resort operators.....as far as releasing gut hooked fish??? i've only had one....and that was yesterday.....even though we fish barbless....i was not willing to take the chance and remove the hook....snipped off the line....and released the fish.....it will survive.....oh....and while we were cleaning our keeper fish....in a public place provided for this..... a couple cleaning oversize walleye.....darn!!!! some people just dont want to release nice fish.......grump

[Esox]

I like slots. I think we should have more of them. IMO...Saying you don't like slot limits because of gut hooked fish, is like saying you don't like minimum limits for the same reason. Like USMC said...they have a better chance of survival if released then if you keep them. The other hot item is "wasted fish". Nothing is nature is ever wasted. On the rare occasion that you gut hook a fish and it dies...the crayfish or something else will eat it and the circle of life continues.

Slot limits do far more good for a fishery then bad. I think for walleye it's a must. VERY few people that fish for walleye practice catch and release...at least around here. If it were not for the slot limit on one of the lakes I fish, it would be fished out in a few years. Actually, it was fished out when I was a kid. Since they put the slot limit in, it has become the best walleye fishery in the state.

JMHO.

[big walleye]

The slot limit is the best thing since sliced bread. It has brought back many lakes. Like grump stated the netting must stop but besides that I have no ill feelingstowards releasing the over the slot walleye. hey if these walleye were dying after releasing we would see them floating just like dead carp. I must say however that every 5-8 years special netting should take place buy the conservation officers to see if there are to many oversized fish. They can takea toll on the young in the slot walleye. This is a rare case but it does happen. Just my two cents worth. Great topic.

[sbfpa_Mike]

You guys are right of course.  There is specific lake in MN that I think about when talking about this topic;  Lake Mille Lacs.  The last I was there,  the slot was keep 3 between 14 and 18"  and 1 over 28.  There was a maximum summer harvest of 550,00 lbs.  The fish that were released and died counted against this weight and had reached almost 50,000lbs  (this is a low estimate because of my poor memory,  I want to say it was 100,00lbs).  Of course,  the Indians also got there 200,00 lbs,  so what are the sporting anglers left with?

     After a couple years,  it was very hard to catch a fish in the slot.  The sizes were great,  but the top end was getting full.  The resorts were losing money because nobody wanted to fish a lake where you didn't have a good chance to get a meal.

     IMO, this slot needed to be adjusted to alleviate some of the larger fish and make the anglers happy.  The Indians are a different topic entirely.

PS     If you are a Native American (Indian) and offended by anything I have said,  I am sorry and you can PM me and tell me what you think.

[fozsey]

I keep a pretty close eye on Mille Lacs lake as I do tend to do some fishing up there. That lake in particular is very mis managed and the local economy as well as the walleye population has suffered greatly. I am not going to go into the specific reasons as to why Mille Lacs is such a failure, but do some research and you will discover some very interesting and very destructive things taking place there which have noting to do with slot limits one of which sbfpa_Mike touched on.

As far as slot limits I am definitely in favor as long as the slot is imposed for the right reason and the people making decisions regarding the slots are doing so based on accurate biological information and not because someone just used the IGUESSSO method. They also must be monitored very closely in order to maintain the entire population of fish and not just the ones that are targeted for the slot. Slot limits can and do work in the right situation.

[bayonne]

the way infisherman shows millac it a great walleye factory i guess its a matter of opinion

[sbfpa_Mike]

Factories are good at mass producing things,  but they don't always produce quality.

[TroutFishingBear]

Slot limits are good, especially for walleye. I have seen them do harm for bass, though, in a few lakes here in colorado. The slot limit was too high (in inches) for the largemouth, and people kept keeping way too many adults, and the lake couldn't replenish itself because it is so small. Now, it is ruined.

But yes, slot limits generally are good, but it depends on the fishery. For the one I was speaking of, one should never have been imposed.