Moving the opener to July 1st.

[Tony Scime]

We've been here before. It's like living in the past. I published the following in the March 2005 newsletter when we were debating whether or not to move the opener to July 1. I think much of what I said is still appropriate to the current discussion regarding a season change. You can view other opinions on the subject by checking out the March 2005 newsletter. But here's what I said then and I still believe today. Incidentally, I would aggresively and enthusiastically support moving the season to a July 1 to December 15 date, and I have reason to believe that such would be supported by the NYSDEC. I was obviously in the minority back in 2005 (we didn't support moving back the opener).

Statement in support of moving back opening day of Musky Season. – Submitted by Tony Scimé

The Niagara Musky Association is in the process of formulating a strategy to rehabilitate the upper Niagara River and Buffalo Harbor musky fisheries. We have a consensus that more needs to be done to protect and enhance the musky fishery. There is also agreement that the genesis of the problem lies with the decline in the forage base caused by the decreased fertility of the ecosystem caused by the zebra mussel, as well as a notable lack of successful recruitment (reproduction). Our members have also expressed concern regarding the possible negative effects of Cormorant predation on YOY (young-of-year) of all species, as well as the mortality of YOY caused by the Small Boat Harbor and Erie Basin Marina weed-cutters.

To address these concerns we have agreed to the following: the effects of cormorant predation and weed-cutter mortality must be studied, we must continue pursuing habitat improvement projects - especially for improved spawning and nursery areas, we need a YOY study, we need a telemetry study, we need to study the impact of gobies, and we need to augment the Buffalo Harbor fishery by stocking.

One suggestion which has generated significant debate, however, is moving the season opener back to either the fourth Saturday of June or to July 1st.

The balance of this essay will support the need to move back the opener, which currently is set at the 3rd Saturday in June, as a necessary component of a holistic approach to rehabilitating, preserving, and enhancing our musky fishery. My focus will be on the Buffalo Harbor where the lack of reproductive success has been most evident and opening week fishing pressure is intense and concentrated.

When it comes to the upper Niagara River and Buffalo Harbor musky fishery, we know the following with a reasonable degree of certainty:

We KNOW that the Buffalo Harbor and upper Niagara River musky fisheries are wild fisheries dependent on successful spawns.

We KNOW that recruitment in the Buffalo Harbor has been exceptionally poor for well over a decade. The last YOY studies in the Buffalo Harbor were conducted from 1994 to 1996. Those studies used electro-shocking to find YOY in known or expected spawning and nursery areas. The best areas in the harbor raised 6 YOY per hour. In comparison, the prime spawning areas in the upper river during the same time span raised 30 to 60 YOY per hour.

We KNOW that there has not been a strong year class in the Buffalo Harbor since the early 1980s. All our catch and release data, as well as our Angler Diary Studies, point to an exceptional year class from the early 1980s which fueled the exceptional harbor fishery through the 1990s. It is important to note that there was no known musky fishing pressure on opening week at that time. Those year classes have mostly died out and no strong year classes have replaced them.

Although there may be sufficient recruitment success to maintain a marginal fishery, it is a low population fishery exposed to concentrated fishing pressure during peak periods when the remaining fish are most vulnerable. The muskies are most concentrated and the fishing pressure is most intense on opening day. It may not be coincidental that a strong year class has not occurred since significant angling pressure on spawning fish commenced in the late 1980s.

We KNOW that the poor recruitment is not a cyclical event. We have substantial documentation that the decline in the Buffalo Harbor fishery has been a long-term problem. It has been a steady decline with no significant upswing. We cannot depend and hope for an upturn, because there has been none and there is no reason to believe that there will be unless Buffalo harbor muskies are allowed to spawn without harassment.

We KNOW that the only reason muskies are present in the harbor on opening week is to spawn. The fish we catch are either immediate post-spawn, as evidenced by spawning injuries and scars, or pre-spawn, as evidenced by the fact that they are still filled with eggs. Immediately after spawning they leave near-shore areas to the open lake.

We KNOW that on opening week Buffalo Harbor muskies are subject to intense and concentrated fishing pressure. It is unlikely that any other wild musky fishery exists in which the spawning fish are as easily targeted and exposed to such intense angling pressure.

We KNOW that not all the fish we catch and release survive. Some succumb to post-release mortality, sometimes weeks after the event.

Accordingly, we KNOW that fishing the spawn has a negative effect on recruitment. Since they are already injured, weakened, and stressed by the spawning event, it is likely that immediate post-spawn muskies are more susceptible to post-release mortality than at any other time of the year. By fishing the current opening week, we are killing a percentage of the spawning fish. This happens every year and has a cumulative, snowballing, effect.

Each year we are killing a percentage of a declining population. The long-term cumulative effect of our opening week angling is a probable contributor, and is likely a significant contributor, to the decline in the Buffalo Harbor musky population.

We KNOW that to give this fishery its best chance at long-term rehabilitation, in combination with other initiatives, we must stop fishing the spawn. This means that the current opening day must be moved back to a period when in most years most muskies are finished spawning. I believe that this date should be July 1st. A reasonable compromise may be the 4th Saturday in June. Continuing to fish the current opening day in the Buffalo Harbor, when we know that the fish are there only to spawn, is detrimental to the long-term maintenance of the fishery, and perhaps more significantly, belies are purported dedication to its preservation and enhancement.

I’ve fished opening day on the 3rd Saturday in June for the past 25 years and I don’t lightly support the initiative to move back this date, but I believe it is necessary if we are serious in our intent to rehabilitate this fishery. I look forward to discussing these issues at the March meeting.

[John Pensyl]

I need an applause button. I'm all for it, slide it back! It seems like a simple solution for the harbor, but what are your thoughts on the River? The reason I support a unified season on the Niagara is to avoid everyone being crammed to one spot. If we went to July 1st without Canada everyone that normally spread throughout the harbor and east river could still hammer away at the west river. I'd really love to see the harbor treated as a special reg zone and the rest of the great lakes waters unified, USA and Ontario on the same page.

[Tony Scime]

The idea of moving the opener to July 1 originated with Muskies Canada - we met to discuss the possibility of having  a common season - July 1 to November 30. The February 2005 newsletter will give you the plan. First step was for us to approve delaying the opener to July 1, the Canadians would then work to have their closing date returned to November 30th.  Our membership never approved the move to July 1.

I'm not really enthusiastic about following Ontario's lead in the river. I'm sure they believe that the muskies are done spawning by the 3rd Saturday. With warmer springs, maybe they're right. Although recovering, I don't believe the river is totally healthy relative to its history, and I don't think the time is right to expand the season. I'm still concerned about many of the challenges facing the ecosystem that Mike Wilkinson outlined. But I'm all for shifting the opener and closing. Also, I think the DEC might be more amenable if an extension is mitigated by a delay in the opener.

I'm not sure common dates will take much pressure off the triangle in the summer. The east is tough to fish in the summer, so most of the pressure will be concentrated in the west river, anyhow. Always has been. We'll have to do the best we can at helping our side of the fishery, while the Canadians work at theirs.

But I would wait to hear the thoughts of other members before I take a definitive position. That is if they express those thoughts.

Tony   

[Stephen Glassic]

Some other things that might be good to do to reduce pressure.

1) Only have monthly tournaments from Sept. till season close.

2) Same thing for monthly catch and release prizes.

3) If we continue to have 'Top Ten", same thing, only for fish caught after Sept 1st.

4) Maybe have some sort of recognition for fish caught in inland waters, St. Larry and out of state waters.  Maybe this can take the place of June, July and August catch and release prizes.

The only thing is we may need to be careful about putting too much pressure on any particular body of water.  The locals might not like it.  They can be pretty protective of their home waters.  Ha Ha LOL...

Another thought might be to have a yearly prize for catching and releasing at least one musky (any size) from as many different waters as possible.  The member with the most waters with success wins the prize. This could also include the Upper and lower Niagara and Buffalo Harbor but these waters will only be eligible from Sept till season close.  This could possibly become the biggest and most respected award to achieve, since it requires success in multiple waters.  Including tigers would increase the number of waters possibilities.

[John Pensyl]

Its tough for me to support delaying the opener in the river. Everything is so dependent on water temperatures that a July opener on a year with warm temps like last season could do more harm than good. We had surface temps in the mid 70s the second week of July. During a year like that will anglers be as willing to give up fishing as water temps get high as they were when the season opened mid June? That leaves the weekend fisherman with as little as 4 fishable days before its potentially unsafe for the fish all over again. Then again during a year where the lake is ice covered until April water temps could still be in the 50s. On a year like that I'd definitely support a July opener. I really believe additional education so anglers can make the right choices in these situations is the answer. It's the angler mindset that has the greatest potential to help the fishery, not regulation. Do any of us only release fish because it would be illegal to keep them? Do we do our best to quick release fish with minimal handling because of a law? Doubt it, its because of the mindset of todays angler. In the past low water temps on the opener would have had Niagara and harbor musky anglers chomping at the bit. How do we begin to change that mindset just as we have with keeping and handling these fish?

[Tony Scime]

I think we've been constantly changing the mindset. It takes time, but it has always been happening. And it's something we have to keep working at.

I still think that the immediate spawn and post-spawn time is worse for the survival of muskies than warmer water temps, which only rarely reach 80 degrees (more mid-70s in recent years). Also, we have a lot of influence with our members, but there are a lot of anglers out there who think they know better, or really don't want to be told what to do. Also, we're more likely to catch the bigger females post-spawn than in the heat of the summer - and those are the fish which need the most protection. So I think we need to avoid inconsistency in our positions in order to maintain our credibility. The argument for treating the harbor differently than the river is that the harbor is more severely stressed. But I think the DEC will point out, with plenty of studies, that the river is still stressed, just not as severely as the harbor. Although the river has rebounded significantly, it may not take much to see it decline again. It's already happened a couple times in the past ten years or so.

I think the best we can do in these warm water periods, other than not fishing, is simply to not take the fish out of the water. I never took the fish out of the water once it exceeded 70 degrees last year, and they always took off immediately. No delay whatsoever. Actually, not taking the fish out of the water is the best choice at any time of the year. A lot of bad things can happen with a fish out of water.