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2009 Fishing Report: "Catch Release" by Scott Henry

Hello Findley Lake Residents

As the new board member, I have volunteered for, and have been assigned to oversee our fishery. At 58 years old, I have spent way too many hours, according to my wife, studying this subject! I can, hopefully, bring some of the knowledge I have accumulated over all of those hours to help those of you that are interested in catching more and larger fish. I would like to make it per­fectly clear, howeverthat I do not claim to be "The Guru of Fishing" and I'm sure there are many of you who know more about and who are more successful at fishing than I am. But I have met a number of people on the lake who could definitely use some help, so I will attempt to do that!

My primary objective as a board member will not only be to he you catch more fish but also to make sure that we all knowand pay attention to, the laws and regulations for fishing in Findley Lake and the State of NYFirst of all, you do not catch and release 90% of your fish, with the exception of pan fish, Perch and Crappie, then I, personally hope that you have no luck at all fishing in our lake! It is legal to eat any fish that meets the NY State size limitsbut if too many of us make a practice of eating any legal fish we catchwe will not be able to enjoy fishing in our lake to it's fullest for years to come. As mentioned above, due to the fact that pan fish, (Blue Gill and Sun Fish), Crappieand Perch all grow so fast and have such a high rate of reproduction, eating what you catch is accepable. Furthermore, the "meat" that you get off of these types of fish is, in my opinionfar superior in taste than the taste of a Bass, Pike or Musky. The only other fish comparable in taste to those smaller species would be Walleye. We do have Walleye in our lake and as hard as they are to catch, they are abundant and are stocked in large numbers by the State of NY every year.

With regards to "catch and release", there is no better way to improve the fishing in any body of water. My family has been doing annual trips to Canada for one week every summer since I was 7 years old and what Canada has done to their fish­ery over those SO years is well worth noting. I remember, and have Dad's photos and slides to verify it, that when I was in pri­mary school, we used to catch many very large pike and walleye in Ontario. Then, from about 1975 to almost 2000, the quality of fishing took a nose dive. Since a large part of Ontario's economy depends on visitors and fishing, Ontario installed new fish­ing regulations called "The Slot System" to try to bring back the fishery. Strictly as a fisherman, I noticed that this new "Slot System" took about a dozen or so years, but my three boys can tell you that Ontario fishing is back, and it's all due to that Slot System.

The slot system allows fisherman to keep only certain sizes of each species of fish. For instance, if you catch a Walleye between IS" and 25" long, in Ontario, you must release it. Anything above or below that size can be kept for dinner. They base what's considered a "keeper" on which sizes are most responsible for reproduction in that species. This is the system that has brought Ontario's fishing back. This is an example of how man can control the "joy of fishing", even when working with an area the size of Ontario! If we work together, think what we can do with our little 300 acre lake.

In months ahead, I will write an article in each issue on various Findley Lake fishing topics, from the regulations that we need to be aware of, to how to help improve your fishing luck for various types of fish. As you can see from the picture of my youngest son, Milo, fishing Findley Lake can be a blast! Especially when you catch your first big one!!!
Scott Henry

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