Kingme2Go

The tagging study actually showed most of the pen fish DO NOT return to Salmon River. Maybe 10% do.

Found these reports online at https://nysl.ptfs.com/#!/s?a=c&q=*&type=16&criteria=field11%3D889897048&b=0 Interesting information Summarizes pen study and talks about imprinting to pen sites and straying back to hatchery. Based on sampling at the hatchery and in the river during those years, straying was low, about 10%. 889897048_2016 (1) (1).pdf Shows proportions of fish caught at ports and tribs that were stocked there. Results showed good imprinting. Most straying to nearby sites. 889897048_2015 (1).pdf

I can't find it anywhere that says there is exemptions for anyone, other than charter operators and others who already need a captains license. Is it my reading that everyone operating a motorized watercraft needs to have the boat safety certificate. The certificate can be issued from some other state or province but all operators must have it, even out of state residents. Still looking, but maybe someone can point to a legit government source in writing that says otherwise. By the way, my 80 year old mother who's been operating her own boat for 30 years was denied a rental last year cause she didn't have one.

Good discussion. Above is the full series of age structure of Chinook in the hatchery referenced. Seems like proportion of age 2 kings has gone up and down in the hatchery in 5-10 year periods. Proportion of age 1 jacks is currently way down. Age 4s was up to about 10% in 2020. It's tough to make a case for a trend or evolution towards earlier maturity. Maybe other factors at play?

That post from dreamsteelie is mainly good except that King salmon in lake Ontario only remain in the streams for a few months after hatch, not one year.

Compare Michigan age 3 average size at weirs vs Lake Ontario at Salmon River hatchery weir found in their reports. Lake Ontario has been higher most years. Chinook in August in Lake Ontario are even larger. Lake Ontario in August Salmon River Lake michigan weirs

Section 1 of this report shows DEC stocking levels of domestic rainbow trout and steelhead in Lake Ontario and explains strain differences. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/2021ontarioreport.pdf Skamania Steelhead were last stocked in 2021, then discontinued. Domestic Rainbow were last stocked in 2019, then discontinued in Lake Ontario. Gambler is right- a rainbow is a rainbow for regulation purposes and harvest of all are limited to 25 inches in Lake Ontario streams downstream of designated locations that are spelled out in the 2023 regulations book.

minimum size for rainbow trout is 25 inches in most lake Ontario tributaries now. https://www.dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations/great-lakes-tributaries

Hatchery worker comment... I hope you are joking... Otherwise that's ridiculous.and insulting to the people who work hard to bring us the fish that we all enjoy.. I've been to the hatchery many times and literally, they have to individually sort every fish in the ladder. If they are there, they handle them, every one of them... one way or another.

That's not a blacknose dace.This link shows one If.you want an ID take it to your local DEC regional headquarters and get an ID from a biologist. Identification of minnows from a picture is difficult at best even if you take a good picture and know the characteristics. Maybe this is what you are getting at Goldfresh and you want to be responsible, but If you don't know what it is, DO NOT sell it. Below are the allowable baits for purchase in NY. Collection, transport and sale (and use) of an unidentified bait from Maine sounds risky and may.be illegal. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/fishguide.pdf From the regs guide... Greenlist Golden shiner • Emerald shiner • Common shiner • Spottail shiner • Banded killifsh • Fathead minnow • Bluntnose minnow • Eastern silvery minnow • Northern redbelly dace • Stonecat • Tadpole madtom Blacknose dace • Longnose dace • White sucker • Northern hogsucker • Creek chub • Fallfsh • Logperch • Margined madtom • Brindled madtom

.. According to DEC reports, effort in Tribs and Lake are about equal.. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/2019lakeontannualrep.pdf https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/lorpt16.pdf Lake Angler Hours last ten years Apr-Sep: 905,357 898,339 848,905 937,822 980,409 879,681 787,588 709,638, 922,527 820,695 All NY Lake Ontario Tributary Angler Hours including the Salmon River (Sep-May) 2005-6 2006-7 2011-12 2015-16 1,001,990 913,646 1,582,428 989,437 In 2018-2019, Salmon River Sept-May: 840,258 angler hours, 2nd highest ever. Seems eveyone has an equal stake.

Check sections 3 of the 2015 and 2016 DEC reports for that info. https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27068.html DEC tagged each port differently and tracked the straying back to the Salmon River hatchery and found low straying from other sites to the Salmon river or hatchery. They also looked at tags to track the source of what is caught at ports through the year and in streams in the fall.. Most strays went to streams nearby where they were stocked.