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Fish & Game Commission seeking input on new fishing rules Posted: Friday, Nov 09, 2007 - 09:41:20 am PST By KEITH KINNAIRD News editor
SANDPOINT -- The Idaho Fish & Game Commission will be touring the Panhandle next week and gathering input from local sportsmen and sportswomen. The board will tour Farragut State Park on Wednesday before stopping in Sandpoint later that day to conduct a public hearing. The hearing is set for 7 p.m. at the Lehman Wildlife Building at the Bonner County Fairgrounds on North Boyer Avenue.Hunters and anglers are invited to share their thoughts on whatever topic they wish, said Chip Corsi, Fish & Game's Panhandle region supervisor. "The commission's there to listen," said Corsi.
The meeting is being held at the East Bonner County Library at Division and Cedar in Sandpoint. The public is encouraged to attend, although the commission will not be taking any public comment or testimony. A number of rule changes are proposed in the Panhandle for the 2007-08 season: • Moyie River -- The department wants to expand angling opportunities on this Boundary County river by opening it up to year-round fishing. • Pend Oreille Basin -- The state proposes prohibiting the harvest of west slope cutthroat trout in order to bolster its numbers. The fish are sensitive to habitat changes, over-harvest and hybridization with rainbow trout. "They've, to one degree or another, faced all of those things in the Pend Oreille Basin." Corsi said. The current rule allows for the harvest of two cutthroat provided they are 16 inches long or bigger. The new rule would allow only for catch-and-release angling of cutthroat. A daily bag limit of six fish is being proposed for bass in Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River and other Panhandle waters. Under the new rule only two bass could be largemouth, none of which can be under 16 inches. "There's a proposal for pretty much all of the North Idaho to go with a six-fish limit on bass and then have exceptions in a number of waters to protect largemouth bass," said Corsi. • Bonner Lake -- Despite efforts to remove stunted, warm-water fish from this lake east of Bonners Ferry, they continue to dominate at the expense of trout. Fish & Game proposes to cease managing the lake for trout trout. Corsi said the department has abandoned a proposal to manage Bonner County's Mirror Lake as a trophy fishery by prohibiting the harvest of trout under 16 inches. "We got a lot of feedback on it, but the majority of it was to just to leave it the way it is," said Corsi. "The public said, 'Don't go there,' so we're not going to go there." Commissioners on Thursday will also be updated on efforts to rebuild Lake Pend Oreille's kokanee population. Corsi said the good news is netting and incentives for harvesting lake trout are allowing the state to get a handle on the predator population. However, kokanee survival is at an all-time low. "We're optimistic in a couple of years that will translated into higher kokanee survival," Corsi said of the predator-control efforts. "Unfortunately, right now, we really have kind of bottomed out on kokanee survival, so we're hoping we going to turn the corner there, too." mark wrote on Nov 10, 2007 8:21 PM: " It seems alot of money has been put up by the electric companies (Avista Maybe?), and all is to try and put the attention where it belongs when it comes to the Kokanee populations. Is everyone out there for sale or is someone finally going to look at one of the biggest reasons our Kokanee are not surviving. If we regulated the lake level to be beneficial to the fishery we are trying to save and develop, and not have the shore spawners beds be exposed from the draw-down and "greed" for more money to line the pockets of the electric companies, the Kokanee might have a chance. Before the "$" factor this lake had a thriving Kokanee population able to support commercial fisheries, and schools miles long and wide to be seen from the air. What are we talking about here, money or the Kokanee? " Keep F & G Out wrote on Nov 10, 2007 8:20 PM: " Let's keep Fish and Game off our lake and mismanaging our waters. Leave the lake alone. " mike wrote on Nov 10, 2007 1:12 PM: " IFG spends thousands to eradicate the only decent fish population Pend Oreille now has in favor of a species that has not and cannot be restored to sufficient numbers to be considered a sport fish for the average angler.
This Bass story also sounds like the purpose is job security for IFG.
Get the nets out of the lake,stop spending money to re-juvenate the lost kokanee or remove the dams and let the lake return its natural self.
" Martin Hernandez wrote on Nov 10, 2007 9:47 AM: " Come on Chip Corsi, what are you thinking????? ONLY A SIX FISH LIMIT ON SMALLIES in the Big Pond!!!!!!!!! Bass, especially smallies, are voracious eaters, as noted with all stats provided by your department. You should be putting a bounty on them as they will eradicate the kootenai population quicker then a kam or mack! GET A HANDLE ON THIS PROBLEM AND STOP DESTROYING ONE OF THE GREATEST LAKES IN THE ENTIRE NORTHWEST! " POST YOUR OPINION
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Bonner County Daily Bee
P.O. Box 159 / Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 / 208-263-9534
Bonner County Daily Bee Online is updated at 10am PST.
Jane Fritz wrote on Nov 15, 2007 12:51 AM: