muskiedreams

I was just referring to anything beyond long nose pliers.

The only thing is, you can't expect a weekend angler fishing for bass to have those tools.

Yes, I think the pike populations, especially the larger size legal adults are diminishing. I think, just like most animals, the older ones tend to have stronger genetics and are more experienced and therefore they are probably more successful at spawning. Also, since they are not stocked (maybe with minor exceptions) in any NY waters, their spawning success becomes more critical. But if all the best breeding stock are removed, by anglers, I think that it in effect, reduces the best genes from the pool and therefore, slowly erodes the gene pool to further reduce the average size of the population. Some of those trophy fish must remain in order to maintain the longevity of the species. I know that ice fisherman take quite few adult fish through the ice. But I don't know if that is a big factor or not. Many waters have limited ice. Those waters would not be a big concern. I have heard of issues with some ice anglers commonly taking multiple daily limits. And there could be limited survival after release caused by excessive cold exposure during catch and release. So angler education and regulation enforcement could go a long way to improving the situation. Catch and release for Ice fishing tournaments could go a long way. The DEC could possibly work with tournament organizers to make that happen while at the same time, collect valuable data. On a side note, I am curious if an excessive number of small pike, which may not be as successful at producing offspring, are crowding out the larger more successful spawning veteran fish in the limited available spawning grounds. Therefore reducing the total offspring production. I also wonder about competition for viable spawning ground with other species such as walleye, carp and suckers that may overlap with each other and destroy each other's developing eggs. So continuing to restore and enhance more spawning grounds may be the most important action that can be taken. But also the most difficult and expensive. It seems to me that there are just too may obstacles against a pike growing to 36" or more. Reducing the creel limit may help but they probably need to do more since there is rarely just one action that is the total solution. On a final note. Pike are an important part of the food chain since they are at the top of the food chain and should be promoted as a trophy fish rather than being considered as any staple table fare. That is what perch and walleye are for.

As I said above, this is only my reasoning. I could be wrong. Everything is always more complicated than we think most of the time. Maybe there are others here with thoughts or ideas. Maybe they include Tigers to just avoid confusion and maybe because all these species occupy the same waters in the spring.

I think it makes sense. Here is my reasoning. Changing weather patterns affecting timing of the spawn. The peaks and dips in temperature and more severe changes in weather patterns can have a significant effect on spawning patterns and their success from year to year. So stretching out the window of protection will hopefully help offset that added stress on spawning success. It will help reduce the risk of angling pressure on top of this additional stress the species is facing. This may also allow for natural adaptation to occur more readily. Since all fish are most vulnerable before, during and after their spawning period, some of them need more protection during that time, especially from us. It is not a lot different than when a community is facing multiple stressors at the same time, such as rising cost of health insurance, food and shelter all at the same time.