Bass introduced into Calabogie trout lake

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Todd B.
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Bass introduced into Calabogie trout lake

Post by Todd B. »

As an avid trout fisherman it was disturbing to hear that bass have been introducted to at least one of the Calabogie stocked lakes (Shiner L.) Word of mouth has it that bait fisherman have been using "minnows" trapped from Black Donald L., and subsequently releasing live bait into the lake at the end of the day. A confirmed bass catch was made this past weekend.

Personally, the only way to protect the trout lakes would be to designate then as artifical lures only, but without an increased CO enforcement it's unlikely such a designation would adhered to.

Just a reminder of the regulations:
Bait-fish
In most areas of Ontario, only the following fish may be used
as bait:
• Minnow family (except carp, goldfish, cutlip minnow, redside
dace, lake chubsucker, and gravel chub)
• Mudminnows, white sucker, sticklebacks, darters (except
eastern sand darter), trout-perch and sculpins
• Lake herring
• Crayfish.

Release of Bait
Anglers must NOT release live bait into waters other than the
waterbody where the bait was originally captured.

Moving Live Fish
Many new populations of non-native fish species have
been established through unauthorized stocking or
release. This practice is illegal and can cause great harm
to existing fisheries and aquatic ecosystems.
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valley_boy
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Post by valley_boy »

Bass are not the only problem in Shiner Lake. I fished it early May last year had a large pike follow a rainbow I had on up to the boat. Later that day I went back to the bait shop in Calabogie and the owner said that a few years ago some locals let a couple of pike go in the lake! They were doing very well being feed stocked rainbows!
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tombiosis
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Post by tombiosis »

Shiner connects to Scully lake, which is FULL of smallmouth bass. When the water level is high they can go back and forth no problem.
I can also confirm that there are indeed some very large northern pike in Shiner lake.
The major problem with both these lakes is the idiots who leave their garbage all over the place!
It is a shame, really, because they are beautiful places to fish.
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Todd B.
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Post by Todd B. »

Yes pike are a known problem at Shiner. Last season one of the guys hooked into a 10lb pike. What's frustrating is that a few irresponsible individuals can ruin the fishing for the all of the other responsible fisherman. Given the current MNR underfunding, if the lake becomes overrun with bass and pike, I could see Shiner being taken off the stocking list, rather than erradicating the invasive fish and restocking it.
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Post by Cyber »

I'm gonna chime in here & have to agree with Tombiosis. I went into Wabun Lake this summer and was disgusted :P with the amount of crap left behind by ignorant morons. :twisted: :shock: There were also a couple o' piles o' crap near the launch into the Upper Mad. (on the same road) :( :roll:

It sure is a sad state of affairs when people have so little respect for the beauty of nature!! :cry: :cry: If only you knew who left all that s**t there, you could bag it up & take it to their house and spread it all over their yard!!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Thanx fer the vent!!! I feel much better!! :oops: :oops: Cyber Out!! 8) 8)
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Todd B.
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Post by Todd B. »

I agree that there is a garbage problem as well but that is not the focus of this thread. Besides the topic of garbage has been posted multiple times. There's no point in beating a dead dog. It's safe to assume that all of the FH members are respectible fisherman. Either bring a garbage bag with you next time and haul some of it out, or report any violators. The worst lakes (such as Shiner) have "No Littering" signs posted.

While littering is unsightly, it is far less damaging than the introduction of invasive species.
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Post by Pepe »

I didn't realize pike and smallmouth/largemouth bass were considered invasive species in Ontario :?: :?:

Gobies ............. zebra mussels ............... etc ................
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Post by Fishboy »

While it is possible, I'm not so convinced that bass have been entering Shiner from Scully. This is a recent report (2007) of bass catches in Shiner and water levels in the region have been dropping over the past few years. It seems unlikely that, given the declining water levels, bass have swum over from Scully.

If they were swimming over from Scully, why weren't bass reported in Shiner in previous years? This is something that would be more likely had water levels been higher.

The more plausible cause is live bait transported from neighbouring lakes and rivers.
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Fishboy
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Post by Fishboy »

Pepe wrote:I didn't realize pike and smallmouth/largemouth bass were considered invasive species in Ontario :?: :?:

Gobies ............. zebra mussels ............... etc ................
When a species does not naturally occur in a given body of water and it is introduced to that body of water, it can be considered invasive.
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Pepe
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Post by Pepe »

How did the "stocked trout" end up there :?: :?:

Sorry Brian, just some friendly ribbing :wink: . Your correct with your description, however, I believe the invasive term generally is aimed at nuisance or ravenous species that sway their numbers to one side with drastic changes to the other side i.e. zebra mussels and gobies.

Another thing some people forget is that mother nature sometimes influences some of these transplanted fish. For example, spring flooding creating runoff to usually unaccessible waterways or birds carrying fish and dropping them away from their capture point. These have been talked about by the MNR in past years.

I'm quite sure that there are people out there who have stocked "their" secret ponds with out understanding it's effects.

I have to agree though that those pike sure are getting a treat of rainbows :lol: :lol:
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Post by troutnmuskiehunter »

I'm trying to understand the issue between bass and trout in the same lake.....can someone explain????

Some of you have fished Limestone...this lake is full of bass and has been full of bass since I first fished it in the late 70's....the lake still produces trout...???????
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katch moore
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Post by katch moore »

you're right about the lake with bass in it. there are alot of trout in that lake. but you wont catch them from shore. you need to troll for them in that lake.

but yeah bass in shiner?? news to me. i've been only fishing it for a couple years now. and i've never caught a bass. but i have seen those monster pike that swim there. one of them must of been over 10 pounds.
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Post by troutnmuskiehunter »

Katch Moore wrote:you're right about the lake with bass in it. there are alot of trout in that lake. but you wont catch them from shore. you need to troll for them in that lake.
.
and??????....I'm not sure if I understand what you're trying to say....

Are you saying that the trout are surviving with bass because you need to troll for trout in that lake :shock: :shock: :shock:
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katch moore
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Post by katch moore »

what i'm saying is that i agree with you for limestone. bass, rainbows and lakers survive well in that lake. well not really the lakers any more.


all it was a statement!!! not trying to stir things up. just saying that in limestone lake you'll still catch bows. and big ones too. even though their is a bass population.


do you understand now... or a drawing is needed??? :P :P :P

hopefully this clears things up for you. if not let me know.

matt
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Post by Fishboy »

The point is that the MNR tried to offer a diversified fishery in Ontario by designating certain bodies of water in which to stock trout. Some of these waters already had warm water species like bass in them, while others didn't.

In those lakes where there were no bass or pike, the trout fishing was decent. Add bass and/or pike and the trout fishing is negatively affected, sometimes severely so. Adding bass to a lake like Shiner will not enhance the trout fishery.

If the bass are in there due to irresponsible anglers dumping their bait, then we all lose. They will have wasted our tax dollars dedicated to stocking programs. Furthermore, their actions only serve to diminish the diversity of angling opportunities in our backyard.
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