Hey guys,
I found this nice site where a fellow posts reports/stories of his travels seeking trout on the fly in our area. So in reading his most recent report he mentions that a dead pike was found at Cold Springs... The ranger told him it might have been a prank. Let’s hope it was a prank.
Its up to us to keep vigilant and make sure that no bucket biologists ruin this awesome trout and bass fishery. Not sure what we can do except keep an eye out when we are up there, you know for anyone with buckets of pike , and make sure we educate folks on how these pike would destroy the fishery. And of course report to NDOW should we catch one. (In rumrunners case, if he finds a dead one). Check out the report and the details of his talk with the ranger at [url "http://www.fisherdad.com/2008/10/cold-springs-haymeadow-reservoirs-wayne.html"]http://www.fisherdad.com/...eservoirs-wayne.html[/url] It’s a pretty neat site all around, well written and nice photos.
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Any stupid SOB that would put pike in any of the Kirch ponds oughta be left just like the pike that was found at Cold Springs. If they ever do get introduced there it'll take a million bucks worth of rotenone to get the things wiped out.
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Why spend a million bucks to kill everything off? If the trout population suffers because of the pike, then maybe its time to take up pike fishing. Its not like they are carp, after all. There are tons of people up north that spend a lifetime in search of good pike fishing waters. Maybe we should be more optimistic about the things we cannot control. I'd take a fight with a big 36" pike over a 12" rainbow any day.
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Dunno how you'd do it but if you can learn what happened at Comins lake when pike were introduced back in the 70's it would enlighten you on why I'm so against putting them elsewhere. From memory, it happened something like this. They completely overwhelmed their forage base (chubs) and starved. A fortunate drought dried up the lake & wiped the pike out. The Nev. Fish & Game bought the 3C ranch which had the water rights to both Comins Lake & Steptoe Creek which is diverted to feed Comins. Now a constant lake level is maintained and a fantastic trout fishery got started. Then some clown went to Basset Lake, caught some pike & bucketed them to Comins. That stupid asinine act has about ruined the trout fishery. About all a trout stocking at Comins does now is feed that a--holes pet pike.
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I would love to tangle with a monster Pike myself. Just not at Sunnyside. Here is the problem, this is not Bass and Trout vs. a nice Pike fishery. Its an outstanding Bass and Trout fishery vs. a fishery full of 12 inch pike. The lakes up north are large enough and have a varied enough forage base (ciscos, shad, blugill, carp, perch etc.) to support nice healthy pike populations. What happens in lakes the size of the Kirch lakes(less than 200 acres) is that the Pike eat all the bass, and then the Pike eat all the trout, and then Mr. Pike turns on his own and eats them too, not necessarily in that order. So in theory the first few years classes could have some nice fish, but a few years down the line… the fish end up badly stunted, the lakes overpopulated and its no fun for anyone. Comins Lake is the perfect example and the same thing would happen here. But I do like the idea of trying to see the bright side of it… for the most part it is out of our control. I hope I don’t find myself in the market for wire leaders and Jakes (I heard these are awesome Pike baits) [laugh] oh and whizzle, the trout up there are not the lazy, sorry 12 inch stockers man...these are 5lb plus fish! I would never thought I would like trout fishing so much untill i tangled with these fish! The are powerful and have no quit in them, not like what you see at the local parks. Try it sometime, well worth the drive and perfect for a yak.
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[cool]I drove past Comins twice in early October this year and saw only one guy fishing both times. I have seen the pics of the big pike that were caught at the sporting goods store in Ely. However they are pretty much gone as they have eaten themselves out of ALL other fish. The NDOW is no longer stocking Comins. The only trout that might be there are a few big battle scarred fish. My opinion is it should be drained for six months then restocked, gated with cameras. From what I have heard it was the same guy that put the pike in TWICE!! When I first moved to Nevada, I was an avid trout fisherman and Comins was the top recommended lake to hit. By the time I was able to get up that way(during hunting season) one year it was going thru the pike iradication process. Let the state biologists take care of the lakes.My 2 cents.
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I love it! This is the type of information I like to get from a fishing forum.
What a shame, ruin a great trout lake because some moron does not like, or can't catch trout.
BaySport
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Well then, f*%# the pike...
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You summed it up, F*** the Pike! LOL. Thats a good one
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Same goes for that idiot bucket biologist. I gotta say this though. When the pike were first put in Basset Lake back in the late 60's I fished for them with a passion. They are fun to catch. Had a lot of fun with them in Comins too before they ate themselves out of house & home.
Problem with them in that area is that the warmer water & all the vegetation provides the perfect habitat for them and they reproduce like mad.
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It seems like this ol GEEZER is startin to let his memory slip so maybe i can set his story straight. The pike in Comins lake in the 70's didnt starve to death. In fact they did awesome! The native chum in the lake provided an ample supply of food, creating state record setting pike. Comins lake in the 70's was world famous as being the greatest pike fishery in the western united states and people came from all around the world catching 5 foot monsters. The lake would have stayed this way but the owner of the lake, a local rancher, was forced to sell out to the Nevada fish and game. And like everything else NDOW touches it went straight to s***. Some imported piss brained biologist decided it would be better to make Comins a trout fishery so ol GEEZERS can sit on their fat ass all day and watch a bobber. So they poisened the pike, poisened not starved. Im not sayin they should let pike in Sunnyside thats a completely different study. But Pike would do awesome in Comins as they have before, and would provide some diversity to state that has already been ran over by non-native rainbow trout. So before you believe the B.S. story from NDOW about the invasive pike taking over maybe you should go out on an early June morning and drag a 5 inch spoon behind your boat, and the first time a 3 foot pike hits your line Im bettin youll change your mind.
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Hey geezer,
Don't want to play the "moderator" card, but try to do what wizzle and others have done and edit your bad language. Just put some stars or symbols ($%^#&, etc.) after the first letter, instead of the actual word. Not that I'm a prude, but since it's a public forum, we gotta be a little careful, especially with those certain 4-letter words. I appreciate your understanding...
As far as the pike discussion, I grew up in the midwest and have seen my fair share of awesome pike waters. In fact I have a replica (I caught and released because it was over the slot limit) of a 13lb pike I caught on 6lb test when on a trip to Canada. Pike are mean, nasty, slimy fish and a complete blast to catch. I think the only thing stopping bass, trout, pike, carp, catfish, etc. having healthy populations in the same body of water is the management, and the angling. In those Canadian and upper midwest waters, people actually fish for pike a decent amount of time, and most times they keep and eat their limits, thus taking pike out of the lake. Also, the local DOW's have instituted slot limits. Because of this, there are plenty of other species of fish to catch as well. If more people here actually fished for pike, and kept a few smaller sized ones (they actually are pretty good eating), I think that would help control the population a little. Along with that is catching and releasing good sized trout (including females of any size full of eggs) and bass so they can reproduce to boost their population. I think there is an inherent problem in Nevada, at least down here, where some people think their limit of trout is a bucket full, no matter the size or condition...but I digress...There are thousands of lakes of all sizes in this country where pike, trout, walleye, smallmouth, bluegill, etc. all inhabit the same lake, and all at healthy population levels, with plenty of trophy fish to go around.
That being said, I DO NOT advocate any "bucket biologist" planting fish or otherwise altering the natural ecosystem of any body of water. They are not educated enough to understand what they're doing, and as you have mentioned above, the introduced species, with no natural enemy, no fishing pressure, and a lake full of smaller fish because everyone keeps the big ones they catch, tends to take over, especially if no one knows they're in there until its too late. Then they have to take drastic measures to control the population. Leave the wildlife management to NDOW (as hard as that may be), and write or call NDOW and voice your concerns. Tell them to institute slot limits, promote pike fishing, and actually enforce the limits...anything to avoid poisoning a whole lake.
My 2 cents...
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Hello Everyone,
I also grew up in the midwest and have fished for pike for over 20 years. I think on smaller lakes they would eat themselves out of house and home. But i wish NDOW would consider or do a study on Lake Mead.
Either Pike or a Tiger Muskie in Mead would be Great. With the introduction of The Gizzard Shad that we now have in the lake. And the numerous amount of 1 to 1.5lb stripers. I think it would help control the stripers and gizzard shad populations.
I am not a biologist I just like to fish and Hook up to something that gives a good fight. But I also like to eat them. The smaller ones most of the time usually taste the best. Just wish the m%$@$ out on Mead would let the big ones Back and stop showing them off. Often by the the time they clean them the meat went bad.
CPR-CATCH-PHOTO=RELEASE.
Stripercraze
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Just FYI, I was born & raised in Ely and still consider myself a Nevadan & always will. Now, back to the pike thing @ Comins. I was thrilled when I learned pike were introduced to Comins the first time as I love to fish for the things having gotten hooked on them when they were first introduced to Basset lake in the mid - late 60's. I remember when Comins contained nothing but CHUBS and the very very rare giant brown. The pike did flourish there for a few years before they cleaned out the chubs but the fishery was seriously declining when the drought hit & dried the lake up.
You really don't know what you're talking about when you say the pike fishery there could sustain itself. It's already proved that it can't. Chubs are very prolific but they didn't have a chance. That lake is just too conducive to pike and they multiply like rabbits there unlike how they do in colder waters in their native area. I kinda think the NDOW people have a better idea what will or won't work than we laymen despite what some people think. The yoyo that re-introduced pike to Comins did nothing but wreck a fine trout fishery.
One other item. Your crack about me sittin' on my fat butt is clear off base. I might be 70 but am still very active and don't park on the bank much. In fact, if we ever meet face to face we can discuss this further.
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Here's a couple Commins Pike Pics, we caught them on larger jerk baits, bass style spinner baits, and sacraficed a couple soft swim baits trying to find really big pike. The bass in Commins were nailing brush hogs, larger gitzits and 7-8" worms, it seemed they prefered darker colors watermelon, black, camo etc. and were all fat footballs around 2-2.5 lbs just big enough to avoid the smaller pike.
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[quote jakegonefishin]Here's a couple Commins Pike Pics, we caught them on larger jerk baits, bass style spinner baits, and sacraficed a couple soft swim baits trying to find really big pike. The bass in Commins were nailing brush hogs, larger gitzits and 7-8" worms, it seemed they prefered darker colors watermelon, black, camo etc. and were all fat footballs around 2-2.5 lbs just big enough to avoid the smaller pike.[/quote]
When were these pictures taken?? Comins, even a year and a half ago still was good pike and trout fishing. As of late it seems dead. We spent 2 days fishing it this last October and only caught 1 skinny and I mean SKINNY pike. Fishing it back in '07 and '08 you could still pull really big trout and pike out of there. Even while talking to the locals up there these days, they say that you might catch one or two pike in a full day of trolling and the trout are non existent anymore.
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last year, I doubt there are any trout in the lake other than those that drift downstream from cave lake, we fished late as you can tell. We didn't notice the sign saying the lake was closed "after dark," until it was after dark. We fished for pike as if we were fishing for bass constantly casting and switching baits until we found those that worked. Even sight fished a couple little pike around reed/weed edges. The bass held very tight to cover, undoubtedly avoiding the pike.
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I hate to keep up the arguement with ya GEEZER but the whole idea of Comins not being able to support pike is nothin but a bunch of B.S.
It is frustrating to see NDOW continously make false claims and then everyone just accepts them like its straight out of the bible. Last time I checked the four year biologist degree which I hold is the same degree that everyone else has in NDOW. So dont try to tell me they know best.
Pike have already proven they can survive in basset lake, one which is much smaller and has higher water tempatures than Comins, so that shoots your theory straight to heck.
Pike would do well in Comins if proper time and management was applied, and the trout and bass could also co exist. The apparent spike in population everyone is so worried about is a natural cycle. Its called a predator-prey oscillation. After a year or two they will bounce right back along with bass and trout. The reason we dont see this cycle in trout is because they are constantly transplanted into the lake every year. If NDOW would put the time and effort into it Comins would make an excellent pike fishery offering Nevadans a unique and different oppurtunity. A pike fishery would also be self suffiecent once started meaning they wouldnt have to be planted every year like your little trout are, saving thousands of tax dollars.
Screw NDOW keep the Pike in Comins
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I understand what your saying. But nonetheless, whoever put the pike back in there, did so illegally. In doing so wrecked the fishery that NDOW was managing. You cannot justify random a** people going around and throwing pike into any lake they feel like because they "think" that they will do well there. I enjoy pike fishing as much as the next person but we should respect the waters managed by NDOW instead of treating them like our own personal science project.
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You got it all figured out. I give up.
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