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[Rodney]

Article: http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fishy_news/070130_1.html

Photos: http://www.fishingwithrod.com/member/gallery/2007-jan-cultus

Cultus Lake recovery website: http://www-sci.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/mehsd/projects/cultus_sockeye_e.htm

[keithr]

from your write up:  "The northern pikeminnow can only be found in BC and parts of Washington."  Er . . .  we also have them in Oregon.  I've also caught them in Idaho, and the "sardina" we have in the Urique river in Mexico sure looks like a northern pike minnow (squaw fish) to me.

[Rodney]

Hi Keith, you're right, the range of northern pikeminnow does extend to parts of Oregon (better make an update). Most likely the species you encounter in Mexico is not a northern pikeminnow as the range ends way more north than there. There are other pikeminnow species as well (Umpqua pikeminnow and Colorado pikeminnow).

[troutbreath]

"The largest minnow in North America and one of the largest in the world, the Colorado pikeminnow at one time may have lived 50 or more years, growing to nearly 6 feet long and weights of up to 80 pounds."
 
*that was from this site*

http://www.r6.fws.gov/coloradoriver/Crcsq.htm

*also more info on other sites in how to cash in on them*

HOW TO SAVE A SALMON
(AND MAKE MONEY DOING IT)

http://www.pikeminnow.org/info.html

Bring on the derby

[kingpin]

i wonder if the dfo has thought of the consequences on killing off the pike minnows in cultus? organisms depend on each other in the food chain, if something disappears than the species counting on it to live die and so on. if they put half the amount of time trying to stop illegal netting and poaching they would be going somewhere

[Rodney]

Thanks Kingpin, that post somewhat restores my faith, tells me that some will be clearheaded and think rationally before actions are taken. I am very certain that population analysis and modelling have been done by DFO biologists to make sure this is carried out with minimal amount of errors involved.

What I am concerned about is the general misconception that continues to grow in the angling community on native non-sportfish species. Northern pikeminnow is one of them, and has been around as long as other postglacial species, including pacific salmonids. As you mentioned, they are part of the natural food web. Even though its short population doubling time and predatory behaviour continue to pose a threat on the Cultus Lake sockeye salmon, it does not mean they are pests in other systems. Such misconception usually leads to anglers killing them at places where they are indeed not a threat, or killing of species that resemble a northern pikeminnow. There are species that fall in the same family as northern pikeminnow that are in fact endangered. Nooksack dace and salish sucker are two of them. I feel that more emphasis needs to be put on all endangered species instead of just on those species that we have a financial or recreational interest on.

There were talks about having the same northern pikeminnow bounty hunt in Washington carried out here. Personally I feel that should ever happen. Whenever a dollar is put on a fish, people will carry out activities at all costs to catch them. If a bounty fishery is hosted on a specific system, some may bring the killed fish from another system to make money from it. There is also the problem with misidentification as I mentioned in the previous paragraph. I feel that fishery management should be done by trained professionals who have the scientific background and researched information to carry out what needs to be done, not by anglers who have specific interests which may lead to terrible consequences. That being said, an event where volunteer anglers are lead by trained staff such as the one carried out last Saturday should be encouraged. The volunteers are there solely for the purpose of making a difference and to gain new knowledge at the same time.

Regarding the earlier question on why these fish were tagged but not killed, the last portion of the article explains it. The fish are tagged so DFO staff can track their movements over a long period to learn where the populations may inhabit throughout the year. With this knowledge, they can cull more effectively if needed. It was not a culling outing, but a scientific project.

[Rodney]

The objective is not to get rid of as many as possible, which reflects what I was trying to emphasize in the first two paragraphs of my previous reply. By tagging them and studying their migratory patterns, if there are any, you gain a better understanding on how the population of northern pikeminnow impacts the Cultus Lake sockeye salmon population. Northern pikeminnows, after all, are also native to the Chilliwack River watershed. The objective would be to bring down the population to a reasonable number so the predatory factor on the Cultus Lake sockeye salmon is minimized. If we are to get rid of as many as possible as if they are completely unwanted, then the consequences maybe unpredictable as there are also other existing relationships between northern pikeminnows and other living organisms.

[troutbreath]

There seems to be oodles of info on pikeminnows already. I've heard through the grapevine they are one of the most studied (and loathed) fish around. Not my opinion BTW. What I really wanted to say, is if it didn't stress them out too much, they could maybe use a stomach pump when they catch them and look for Sockeye fry etc. Sounds cheap enough.

Bring on the Derby, I can probably do better than 44cm.


Have you hugged a Pikey lately

[Old Black Dog]

   
 


Pikeminnow project may help dwindling sockeye

 
   
   
Volunteer anglers, from left, Gwyn Joiner, George Noordegraaf, Frank Kwok and Dean Werk try to catch pikeminnow on Cultus Lake to be tagged as part of a tracking program Saturday morning. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
 
 
By Jennifer Feinberg
The Progress
Jan 30 2007


A biologist at the local salmon research lab is embarking on an ambitious plan to learn more about the habits of the northern pikeminnow in Cultus Lake.

DFO biologist Christine Tovey said a new acoustic tagging project kicked off Saturday with the help of some local sport fishermen.

The voracious and plentiful pikeminnow is a fish species thought to be preying on young endangered Cultus Lake sockeye. It’s become an issue because the lake-spawning sockeye have been whittled down to critically low numbers in recent years, and part of the problem is thought to be predation.

“We’re really excited about the community members getting involved with the tagging project — especially at this time of year when it’s not particularly conducive to fishing or being out on the lake in general,” Tovey said.

The pikeminnow tagging project is being funded as part of the Cultus sockeye recovery plan under the Species At Risk Act, even though the lake-spawning population didn’t get officially listed under SARA.

“We want to know about the winter habits of the pikeminnow, as well as what’s happening during the transition to their summer spawning and feeding sites,” said Tovey.

Anglers with the Fraser Valley Salmon Society headed out onto the water Saturday to catch pikeminnow from boats in the lake, said society president Frank Kwak.

Why were a dozen or so locals ready to volunteer their time this way?

“We are very definitely concerned with the conservation and survival of the Cultus sockeye, which is being impacted by the north pikeminnow,” Kwak said.

The volunteer anglers were throwing lines from four power boats on Saturday to see if they could catch 25 pikeminnow, with minimum size requirements in mind. They’re cognizant it might be challenging since the species tends to be lethargic and not particularly hungry in colder weather, making them tougher to catch.

Tovey said DFO staff’s initial efforts to catch pikeminnow with a fishing rod “proved to be quite a challenge,” only netting them three fish after five hours of fishing.

“We had a fairly low catch rate,” she said. “The idea for Saturday was that experienced fishers would be putting concerted effort into catching these fish. It’s hard to say how many we’ll catch, but we’ll be adding more tags as we go.”

Once caught, the fish were surgically implanted with acoustic tags by DFO staff. Acoustic receivers in the lake will allow the biologist to monitor and record the depths of the tagged pikeminnow round the clock. The sockeye are also over-wintering in the lake at the same time.

“We want to see if there’s an overlap in the distribution of the two species, which might enable the pikeminnow to be a potential predator of sockeye,” she said. “We’ll be able to confirm the pikeminnow distribution — where are they in the lake and what depths they’re found at.”

There are two types of acoustic tags being used, one has depth sensors for monitoring offshore distribution and the other type, recognized by a faster “ping rate” will be employed later this summer to follow their movements.
 

[fisherwithrod]

I fish Cultus Lake every time I go camping there in the summer.

It is mainly a way to spend time with my son, nephews and nieces.

We have been fishing from the shore, going deep with worm or powerbait, and catching mainly northern pike minnow.

It is not a great eat, but it is fun for the kids as the fish would bite very hard and quite often.

I once caught a fish with a tag on it. I called the phone number on the tag and that's how I found out for the first time that it was a northern pike minnow, and I learned a bit about the conservation project going on in the lake. Very interesting stuff.

Perhaps I will post some pics with the fish caught there.

Cheers,
C.

[bentrod]

The USACE has been doing a bounty on Pikeminnow for years now on the Lower Columbia river.  From what I've seen, the program is not being abused and pikeminnow populations still thrive.  In a place like the columbia or Fraser, I don't think you can catch enough pikeminnow. 

[CALI 2 B.C.]

not sure  but i think ive caught a few in the sacramento river system back home...

[mmmroe]

Hey Rod,

You should move to the states, you'd make a killing out there lol ($4-8) per sqaw!!!

[adriaticum]

Cultus Lake Northern Pikeminnow snaggin'

Sorry Rodney just felt like a good rhyme.