12-30-2009, 11:31 AM
I know we are talking about ice fishing, but I had to get this off my chest. I started canoeing into and fishing on Yellowstone Lake in 1982. Back then the license was free and the fish were plentiful. You could catch beautiful cuts in the 15-20" range on almost every cast. You could keep 2 a day under 13", and it would take you all day to catch two that small. We would fry them up on shore, pink flesh, fresh and clean, the best trout I have ever eaten.
I have been in there a dozen times over the past 25 years and have seen the fishing steadily decline. In 1997 we took a group of scouts in there for a week and had a little contest to see who could catch the most fish in a week, the winner caught 14. Even in 1999 and 2000 it was not too bad, you could catch a 1/2 dozen fish in an evening off a rocky point without too much trouble.
The last time I was in there was the summer of 2006, with me and my two boys, another week long scout trip. This time you had to pay $20 for a license, and it was all catch and release. So I shelled out the $60, and in six days of fishing for the three of us, I caught one fish, the only fish caught. The Osprey and Bald eagles are gone, 20 years ago their nests would line the shores. You could see them take fish right out of the water.
If you get on the NPS Yellowstone website you can see all the wonderful things they are supposed to be doing to get the Lake trout out of there, or at least keep them at bay, nothing seems to be working. I wish I was a Bill Gates type person and I would offer a $50 million dollar prize to anyone who could figure out how to restore the Cutthroats to that lake. It has been a sight to see, I love that lake.
[signature]
I have been in there a dozen times over the past 25 years and have seen the fishing steadily decline. In 1997 we took a group of scouts in there for a week and had a little contest to see who could catch the most fish in a week, the winner caught 14. Even in 1999 and 2000 it was not too bad, you could catch a 1/2 dozen fish in an evening off a rocky point without too much trouble.
The last time I was in there was the summer of 2006, with me and my two boys, another week long scout trip. This time you had to pay $20 for a license, and it was all catch and release. So I shelled out the $60, and in six days of fishing for the three of us, I caught one fish, the only fish caught. The Osprey and Bald eagles are gone, 20 years ago their nests would line the shores. You could see them take fish right out of the water.
If you get on the NPS Yellowstone website you can see all the wonderful things they are supposed to be doing to get the Lake trout out of there, or at least keep them at bay, nothing seems to be working. I wish I was a Bill Gates type person and I would offer a $50 million dollar prize to anyone who could figure out how to restore the Cutthroats to that lake. It has been a sight to see, I love that lake.
[signature]