winni may be waking up

[ishoot308]

Just wanted to say, 5 year old salmon would be 5 to 6 pounds and last year in the salmon nets there was 1-5 year old salmon netted, so I would say that they are actually pretty dang rare. 4 year olds are rare enough.
Also as others have stated Winni is in no direction of becoming a trophy salmon fishery... I don't know which bio said that but there is no way Winni would ever become a trophy fishery given how hard it gets hit at all times of the year.

Not sure where you got your information from but I am looking at last years netting results and the average weight of a 5 year old in Winni is 3.3 lbs... Not 5 or 6 lbs??... Average length of a 5 year old is 21.4".  Out of the 835 netted, 10 were 5 year olds and 1 was a 6 year old.

I personally have caught at least 6 salmon this year that had or bettered the average 3.3 lb and 21.4" spec as noted and had no fin clip which confirms the age as 5 years. I also know many other fishermen who caught more than that (though they fish almost every day! )

I also agree that Winni will never be  a "trophy" fishery...that's why I never said it...

If you want a copy of the 2015 actual netting results let me know and i will forward it to you...

Tight lines;

Dan

[BrookieSlayer99]

Well what I failed to state was that the majority of the older age class of fish are shorter and thinner due to hook wounding. And yes, in good conditions a 5 or 6 year old salmon would in fact be 5 or 6 pounds. Definatly not Winni, but they must be at least 4.5lbs without hook wounds. I have seen it myself. Almost all of the 5 year old salmon last year had multiple hook wounds and were in poor body condition, hence the average length of 21.4". In Big Squam a healthy 5 or 6 year old salmon ranges from 6-9lbs so I'm not that far off.

[ishoot308]

Below is the 2015 fall netting results from NHF&G.  The health factor of the 5 year olds netted were rated at 3.3 which is considered robust. These fish were not in poor health nor did they have stunted growth due to hook wounding.  Yes 27% of the fish netted had some form of hook wound as the chart below shows.  Fish are smaller in Winni for many reasons not just hook wounding. Fishing pressure I believe being the biggest culprit. While catch and release is a good thing it still affects a fish's growth  rate even if not hook wounded. Another issue is lack of tributaries for females to spawn and drop their eggs. According to biologist John Viar, while winni is a large lake it is very short on suitable tributaries for spawning. Many females will hold their eggs as evident by the ones caught in the spring that still have eggs in their body. The stress associated with the eggs decomposing and being reabsorbed in the body minimizes any substantial further growth. Any females caught in the spring still holding eggs should be culled from the lake and taken home for eating.

Anyway below are the netting results. I hope it formats correctly.

Dan



New Hampshire Lakes Region - Landlocked Salmon Netting Summary - Fall 2015



Lake                              Number Processed   Hook Wounded (%)   Average   Min - Max      Average   Min - Max
Big Squam                           24                                    4     25.1   19.4 – 29.1      6.4   3.0 – 10.0
Sunapee                                    3                                    0     23.8   23.7 – 24.0      5.0   4.9 – 5.1
Winnipesaukee (Two Net Sites)   835                                  27     19.9   15.3 – 24.7      2.8   1.0 -4.7

Percent Catch >                 3,          4,        5 lb
Lake                             % >3 lb   % >4 lb   % >5 lb
Big Squam                    100        83   75
Sunapee                            100      100   67
Winnipesaukee                       35         2            0

Mean Length (in) by Age
Lake   Age                      1^   2   3   4   5   6   7
Big Squam               *          21.3   24.2   25.3   26.4   25.9   *
Sunapee                       *           *   *   *   23.8   *   *
Winnipesaukee               *          18.3   20.1   20.8   21.4   21.3   *

Mean Weight (lb) by Age
Lake   Age                      1^   2   3   4   5   6   7
Big Squam               *           3.8   6.5   6.7   7.4   6.4   *
Sunapee                       *           *   *   *   5.0   *   *
Winnipesaukee               *           2.2   2.9   3.0   3.3   3.1   *

Condition Factor (C) by Age
(3.3+ = robust body condition)
Lake   Age                      1^   2   3   4   5   6   7
Big Squam               *         3.9   4.6   4.1   4.0   3.6   *
Sunapee                       *           *   *   *   3.7   *   *
Winnipesaukee               *         3.5   3.6   3.3   3.4   3.3   *

Trap Net Catch (%) by Age@
Lake   Age                      1^   2   3   4   5   6   7
Big Squam               *         17   4   17   33   29   *
Sunapee                       *          *   *   *   100   *   *
Winnipesaukee               *         23   60   7   10   1   *

^=age-1 salmon immature, infrequently captured
*= none sampled
@=rounded to nearest whole number; may not equal exactly 100%

[zwiggles]

Thanks for posting those results! I also think it is quite interesting you mentioned the females who hold eggs don't do nearly as well. I will try to keep that in mind next spring. Where these results available online?

Am I reading the results correctly for sunappee? In that the netting Performed last year only had 5yo fish? I knew that lake was in bad shape, because of the rock bass, but I heard it was coming around a bit this year.

[ishoot308]

Thanks for posting those results! I also think it is quite interesting you mentioned the females who hold eggs don't do nearly as well. I will try to keep that in mind next spring. Where these results available online?

Am I reading the results correctly for sunappee? In that the netting Performed last year only had 5yo fish? I knew that lake was in bad shape, because of the rock bass, but I heard it was coming around a bit this year.

Your welcome!

Only 3 fish were netted in Sunapee all 5 year olds.  P.M. me your email and i will send you the results.

Dan

[Seahunt]

Yes, thanks for the netting results Dan.

I've witnessed spring hens holding eggs.
Did not know the cause or the growth issues, but it makes total sense.
Thanks for the info!

[gorilla head]

Very nice. You also have a much better looking fishing partner than the one I have. Just sayin. LOL.