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hawkeyes
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Anyone want to talk pikeminnow. Who's getting ready
hawkeyes said:Anyone want to talk pikeminnow. Who's getting ready
pinstriper said:What does one do with these, besides kill them to save salmon ? Do they eat well ?
ChezJfrey said:Well, call me an infidel, but I just release them.
bass said:I am a fellow infidel. They are a native species and have survived alongside salmon and steelhead since the dawn of time.
rogerdodger said:exactly, the dams on the Columbia resulted in a higher population and larger sizes which is why there is a 'pay to catch' program there (funded by BPA) to reduce the numbers and especially get the largest ones out. most locations, pikeminnows are just a native species doing their thing, I let them be;
now smallmouth bass are non-native and if you want to help our anadromous fish, bass should be harvested whenever legal to the limit from salmon/steelhead waterways.
bass said:Yep, I see "PERHAPS enhancing, rather than limiting, pikeminnow population growth and productivity" and "LIKELY contributed to increased abundance and production of pikeminnow ". So they have studied the crap out of it but do not seem to have a conclusive answer.
I believe that what they are saying is probably true but I am not completely convinced. I wish I could see number on pikieminnows per mile for the Willamette, lower Columbia and the pools on the Columbia. What is average increase in fish per mile caused by the dams? How many pikieminnows are in the river to predate on smolt? How much can they eat in a day?
These are the questions I can't seem to find an answer to. Certainly any time you funnel prey through a small opening you will increase the predation during that event. However, a few weeks of feasting on smolts can't sustain a population for an entire year. What do pikieninnows eat for most of they year? Are the prey they normally consume competitors of salmon smolts? Is it possible they offer a net benefit to the system?
I always get the feeling that a lot of the pikieminnow hate exists to form a smokescreen for the more dire issues that salmon and steelhead face.
rogerdodger said:Bass- note the link and quote are from a chapter from what I assume is a text book on fish, so the wording you point out would be expected since this isn't a single technical paper or study. what you are looking for is basically a doctorate level thesis that pulls together all the data and evidence, adds to it, and draws supportable conclusions from it. not having that at our fingertips at this moment doesn't mean it doesn't exist...:thumb:
bass said:I always get the feeling that a lot of the pikieminnow hate exists to form a smokescreen for the more dire issues that salmon and steelhead face.
kingfish said:Caught some dandys in the willy not too long ago didn't know what to do with them
why is it the guy that can't catch any makes derogatory remarks about the program.like scapegoat,DrTheopolis said:Pretty much my thoughts. The pikeminnow are a scapegoat, which was sold quite well by the BPA.
I actually registered one day before fishing the C, and of course didn't catch any. It's my understanding that the fishing is much better either immediately above or below the dams. Pretty much sucks in the Portland area.