Huge North Shore Lake Trout Article

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/outdoors/fishing/3770605-angler-has-big-lake-trout-day-near-superiors-shore

I found this article quite concerning. The motivation behind keeping these monsters seems irrational.

The DNR has spent massive amounts of time and money trying to restore lake trout to Lake Superior over the past 50+ years. To kill one of these rare (regarding size) fish for the benefit of an exotic species doesn’t sit well with me.

I’ll NEVER see that fish replaced in my lifetime. Removing a fish of that age from the system for a few fish that can be replaced in one year tells me that the kamloops project may not be worth the effort anymore.

Saving the rainbows is a convenient excuse on keeping them. Wonder what he does with the rainbows when he catches em?

But at the same time if the fishery is doing that well, why not? Forage fish fleeing the lowering water ain’t nothing new for making hot spots for predator fish. Who’s to say they wouldn’t be surviving as well as they are without the bows?

I’d be concerned with eating that big of fish. You’d think one fish have enough mercury in it to make a dozen thermometers.

WI has Superior at 37″ for Lake Trout, 6 meals per YEAR!

I can tell you that Ross Pearson is an active advocate for the kamloops stocking. I believe that the quotes about why they are keeping them is true.

Im sure that the bows as forage aren’t contributing much to the lake trout success.

Legal as it may be, the motivation really grinds my gears.

It is an odd article. I wasn’t aware the Kamloops had any spawning success. Isn’t it a pure put and take fishery? Steelhead have some spawning success but they’re a different strain of rainbow. Some of those earliest steelhead were McCloud River stockings from the late 1800s.

I’m 100% convinced if anything is going to mess up a fishery it’s not going to be the Lake Trout.

I’ve caught some really large trout on the breakwater at Two harbors over the years. The biggest for me ever was larger than his 44, but mine went back. I have kept a couple on different occasions that had been deep hooked and were bleeding badly, and both were in the 15 – 18 pound range. If the lakers are hitting well and running in the 5-8 pound range I might keep a couple, but having to haul the extra weight off that breakwater isn’t much fun. I generally will take one off the wall at a time, but I do see people [local regulars] who take their 3 every day when they can and sometimes more than once a day they’ll be out there when the trout are in.

The comments regarding the plants and young of the year are very true though. I can’t count how many times I have had 5-8″ lake trout fry or looper fry hit my lures and hook up, then have the dinks get nailed by a ten pound trout while reeling them in. There are times those small fish can be annoying.

People use all kinds of excuses to justify their questionable behaviors. Sadly, the article will probably give a few additional people an excuse to kill lakers on Superior when they might have otherwise released them.