Upper Niagara River Angler Diary Study (1995 to 2013) and NMA Upper Niagara River Catch Data (1994 to 2013) posted.

[Tony Scime]

I've posted two documents to the site - the 1995 to 2013 Upper Niagara River Angler Diary Report and the NMA Upper Niagara River Catch Data 1994 to 2013. The ADS can be found under the ADS Analysis tab, and the NMA Catch Data under the Release Reports tab. They can also be accessed here:

1995 to 2013 Upper Niagara River Angler Diary Report

1994 to 2013 Upper Niagara Catch Data

I believe that the information contained in these documents are much more significant (and interesting) in our understanding of our musky fishery than data bases listing lures, colors, (things which at times make me a bit nauseous)  and even weather and solar lunar phases. It's easy to get the right equipment. It's easy to learn how to fish for muskies. It's easy to fish for muskies. And it's easy to catch muskies if you put in the time on a healthy musky fishery. Maintaining a healthy fishery (and what is a healthy fishery, anyway?) is much more challenging. At any rate, the most important thing we need to catch muskies is a healthy musky fishery. You can always buy another lure, rod, or reel, but it's hard to buy another Niagara River musky fishery.

This is what we're about - the search for knowledge and understanding of our fishery, which hopefully will help us preserve and enhance it.

I've made a few comments in the Upper Niagara Catch Data report. Feel free to respond or ask any questions on this forum. I take criticism well (or so says I).

I'll be posting updated Buffalo Harbor reports soon.

Tony

[Scott McKee]

How well do you take compliments, Tony?  The day you release this information is always one of my favorites each year.  As always, great job, and thank you.

As far as your nausea to lures and lure colors goes... As a recovering compulsive lure junkie and one-time true believer of color mattering, I take a bit of offense to your lure induced stomach problems.

Of our two annual reports - the ADS and Release Report - the ADS is certainly the better indicator of the health of the fishery, but the information provided in release reports is extremely valuable to our members, and more specifically to our newer members.

If you are new to musky fishing or new to the Niagara, comparing the two studies can provide a vivid how-to-catch-muskies blueprint for our favorite strait.  You state that musky fishing is easy, and I agree with you (fishing for them really easy, catching them isn't always), but for those new to the sport, musky fishing is often anything but easy.  Release reports provide a starting point for those interested in what tools they will need to catch muskies on the river.  While color doesn't matter to you, the right colors for different situations can instil confidence, and confidence is important.  What would the 2013 release report tell a new member?  If you want to catch a musky, jig UN2 with a black or green Monster Tube.  If you want to catch fish at night, troll black or brightly colored lures.  Casting jerkbats, bucktails and smaller crankbaits at shallow structure or trolling these areas yields smaller fish.   If you were to compare the dates and times of catches to a sol / lunar chart, catching larger fish was often dependent on moon major or minor phases.   Release reports also indicate how our members tend to fish.  Based on the 2013 release reports, an angler who wants to learn to jig may want to ask Cullen for advice.  For an angler who wants to learn how to troll the harbor, Larry may be the guy they want to talk to.  If you’d like to learn to troll the river at night, you may want to hitch a ride with Tom Reinhardt.

The ADS provides the best hard data and the release reports provides the color.  With some musky fishing experience, using them together is akin to piecing a baseball game together you didn’t watch by reading an extended box score.  A box score doesn’t replace the experience of watching the game, but if you know what to look for a box score can provide a very accurate account of what happened. 

[Tony Scime]

Scott:

In regards as to when, where, and how to fish, that is exactly what I mean. Easy to catch? I said if you put in your time in a healthy fishery (and I ask again, what is a healthy fishery?). When I say put in your time, I don't mean a few hours. At least a few days - and you should be able to catch a few fish. That's what I mean by easy to catch (everything is relative). If you're not willing to accept that commitment, then you should probably fish for bass.

I also believe, however, that the NMA catch data sans the lure, color, etc., is integral to our understanding of the fishery, including the health of the fishery. That is why I compile the Catch Data report. I eliminate much of the fishing info - lures, depths, weather, etc., because it does not help us monitor or understand the fishery. Fishing info does help us catch fish, except it cannot replace a healthy fishery. My point - you can have all the lures, all the knowledge, and the rods and reels, and all the time in the world to fish. But you still need a healthy fishery. And my question you avoided: what is a healthy fishery anyway? One where we catch half our fish from a small segment of the fishery? Maybe. But I'm not so sure. I really don't know the answer to that question.

Another question: are our members interested in more than when, where, and how to catch muskies? Are they interested in helping us understand and enhance the fishery? Based on the participation rate in the Angler Diary Study and in the Conservation Committee, I might have to say mostly no. Although the Conservation committee might take some extra effort, the Angler Diary Study takes very little. But I also would not minimize the value of the catch data info contained in the Catch and Release reports and I'm thankful that most of our members do take the time to submit that info.

I think I need to get more sleep.

Tony 

[Scott McKee]

I love this! Let's flush the brain a little more and procrastinate the start of the July issue...

I did not in any way avoid the question "what is a healthy fishery anyway?"  I didn't answer it because I wanted to address your dislike of lures and lure colors mattering. Like yourself, I don't think I know the answer to that question and I would bet the answer is relative to who is answering.  From a casual musky angler would the answer be a fishery where they could expect to catch a fish for every 8 to 10 hours of effort?  From a fisheries biologist' standpoint, would it be a fishery where spawning is regularly successful because a large portion of the musky population is sexually mature with the second largest portion just reaching sexual maturity?  From a trophy hunter, would it be a population of aging fish large enough to expect a chance at a 50+ inch fish with less than a month's worth of effort?  Ideally, would it be a fishery with a biomass to support muskies throughout the water's entirety?   What do I think makes a healthy fishery?  Perhaps it's a combination of all of these? (Thanks, Jojo.)

UN2 dominates our catch totals yearly and the reasons for this are obvious.  It is close to four boat launches.  Gas is expensive. Anglers with even just a few years under their belts and an Ontario license have at least some working knowledge of the area.  It holds the most fish.  It holds the most large fish.

I am as guilty of pounding UN2 as anyone. It is hard to get past UN2.  To fish the area as thoroughly as I'd like takes hours.  Most don't have as much time to fish as I do, and when they can get out they want to catch.  I have a very good knowledge of UN1,2,3,4,5,6,13,12 and 11, but a long day of fishing, even when I fish way down the west or east side, almost always starts and finishes in UN2.

Are there fish throughout the system?  I bet there are, we just don't fish there often enough.  Brett seems to do well way down the west side.  I caught fish in the day time from Staley's last year.  Your oft stated and self imposed river litmus test.

I think as anglers learn how to musky fish and come to love the river, there will be some that make their primary concern the health of the river. Their concern will start selfishly.  They will want the river fishery to improve so they can catch more fish, but hopefully for the river's sake, there will be a few younger members who become zealots in regards to the river's health and future.  We can certainly all do ourselves a favor by participating in the Angler Diary Study, and I encourage you all to do so.  It is easy and it is important.

As far as musky fishing being easy, the act of musky fishing is incredibly easy.  I'm not talking about learning fish habits, environmental conditions, and all of the little bits of knowledge that help us catch fish, I am talking about what it takes to actually physically musky fish.  What is so taxing about pulling a lure or two around, or casting a lure at a weed edge, or dragging a tube or lifting and dropping a Bondy?  Musky catching can seem really easy when the fish are active, when they aren't moving it can seem like there aren't any muskies in the entire system.  One can be perceived to be a good musky angler if they only connect with a musky every few trips or so.  How many bass, walleye, salmon, steelhead or panfish anglers would say that?

Take a nap once in awhile, according to Jackie, it changed John Ken...

[Tony Scime]

I know that the definition of a healthy fishery will differ with each fishery. What is deemed healthy, in terms of catch rates and size, are different for the Kawarthas vs Georgian Bay. But shouldn't we have some type of expectation for the Niagara River?  Some benchmarks of sorts? Perhaps a .08 catch rate (one fish for every 12.5 hours of effort) together with a mean size of 35 inches?

Of course, state of healthy changes. Year classes, aging, die-offs, population dynamics cycle through changes constantly. As long as we have spawning fish, fish recruitment, a mix of mature and juveniles, spawning and nursery habitat - maybe that's the definition of healthy for any fishery.