The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It's fall time and the trout are up and spawning, an easy catch for us sporting sportsmen. Now if the Game Branch (gov't.) would allow us to fish for pickerel when they are spawning we sportsmen and ladies would really have it made. Why fish a sports fish species when they are trying to reproduce? Two years or so ago it was rumoured that Big Athapap was going to become a management lake with a limit of one trout per fishing licence. Back in the early 1970s we (the fishermen) lobbied the government to stop fishing lake trout when they are trying to reproduce and allow their species to do as they have done for thousands of years. The government responded and closed Big Athapap off for fishing for lake trout during spawning season. Lodge owners lobbied the government to open half of the Big Lake. The government again responded and opened the north side (half) of the Big Lake to allow for fishing lake trout when they are spawning. They might as well opened the whole lake, because most of the spawning grounds are on the north side (check out the map). This does not sound like government conservation. We fishermen are using more and more sophisticated technology equipment making it much easier to catch lake trout than ever before. Common sense tells us that we should not be fishing a game fish while they are spawning. Keep it up and we will probably have Big Athapap become a management lake for sure. Also, for those who think it is just the big trout over 26 inches spawning, very seldom do we catch anything much over 25 inches on these reefs. It is mostly the smaller ones spawning right now, the bigger ones are much later. Remember, it was first brought to your attention here the importance of protecting the game fish while they are spawning. ? Trout Lover and Sportsman
