The line tightens and the drag is set. The rod bends and a wall-hanger northern pike breaks the surface of the water. Fighting to reel in the monster, you ask yourself: should I keep it or release it?
There’s controversy around catch and release in Saskatchewan. If there’s no law ensuring the mandatory release of a larger fish, local anglers aren’t obligated to put it back in the water.
Throughout the last decade, though, Robert Schulz, business owner and outfitter at G&S Marina, says he’s seen a steady decrease in the numbers of trophy size fish on Last Mountain Lake, notably, northern pike and walleye.
“Anglers that fish a lot aren’t our problem. It’s the extremely recreational angler that only fishes once or twice or three times a year that seem to be the biggest problem. You know, they don’t fish a lot, so what they do catch - they kill,” Schulz, whose operation is located at Rowan's Ravine Provincial Park, explains.
According to the 2014 Saskatchewan Angler’s Guide, five northern pike and only one exceeding about 30 inches can be kept, and four walleye with only one exceeding about 22 inches can be kept. Schulz says his business has been talking to government officials, and are in the process of sending letters to individuals in the fisheries.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. Tobin Lake already has regulations that’s protecting those bigger fish. Even if we look at going something like Tobin, that’s going to help,” says the business owner.
In the late 1980s, Tobin Lake was in a similar situation as Last Mountain. The northern Saskatchewan hotspot showed signs of decreasing fish population because of its reputation of producing trophy catches.
“What happened with Tobin was it was not ready to be, discovered, and people came from all over North America - probably all over the world - to catch their wall-hanger. And they did. And they took a lot,” says Jeff Matity, who is a fisheries professional with a pair of post-secondary degrees, one being a bachelor of science in biology.
Matity says he heard about 1,000 fish were being caught at Tobin per week during peak fall trophy season. He stresses that “no fishery can handle that kind of exhausting assault.”
“When you’re removing the top fish that are your brood stock to reproduce the following year, you are really taking the legs out of the bottom of the population,” says Matity.
"People think of animals like ourselves. We are born, grow, reproduce, plateau, decline, and die. We tend to think big fish are old fish that are past their prime. Wrong. Cold blooded animals, like fish, grow their entire lives and reproduce their entire lives. In fact, the fecundity, which is the ability of a fish's egg to accept a sperm and become fertilized, increases with age and growth."
Matity adds that a mature female walleye produces around 2,500 eggs per pound of body weight. Therefore, a 10 pound walleye produces 250,000 eggs that are of superior quality when compared to a younger three to four pounder. For pike, walleye, and other fish in extreme prairie ecosystems, it's these long-lived fish that can survive a decade of drought, with nearly no recruitment of young fish into the population, only to release "the motherload" of superior quality eggs when ideal spawning conditions return.
Vince Walcer, manager at Tobin Lake Resort, says in the mid-1990s, an advisory group pushed the Government of Saskatchewan to increase slot limits on Tobin to protect walleye and northern pike. According to the manager, the slot limits for walleye were about 22 to 28 inches, while northern pike was around 30 to 42 inches. The limits were eventually changed to 22 to 34 inches for walleye, and 30 to 46 inches for northern pike. As a result, the lake has rebounded considerably.
“We’re seeing a lot more fish coming out on the top end because they are protected and you’re seeing a lot in between too. That’s a good sign because that means they’re reproducing,” says Walcer.
Matity agrees with Schulz and says it's "vital" that Last Mountain Lake's slot limits are increased to protect northern pike and walleye.
The government sees a different situation, though.
“Right now, based on the numbers through test netting, the population seems to be doing fairly well,” says Murray Koob, fisheries biologist with the Government of Saskatchewan.
“I have heard, anecdotally, of a few fishermen - especially a lot of the tournament fishermen - who have suggested that a slot limit on Last Mountain might be the right thing to do. But until we can really see that from our biological point of view through our population assessments, we’re probably not going to go that route yet.”
Koob says the lake's status was last studied in 2010. If the government considers increasing slot limits on Last Mountain, they will first reassess the population. If the condition of the lake shows indication that changes need to be made, they will then consult public feedback through the angler’s guide.
In the meantime, Schulz, who has fished on the lake for close to 50 years, has been doing his part as a local guide to protect the trophy catches by implementing his own law to ensure all northern pike over 30 inches and all walleye over 22 inches are released. His strategy comes with zero backlash from anglers, but he wants to see his limits apply to the entire lake.
“We are trying to let people know that this has to stop or we’re going to lose our trophy fishery,” Schulz says.
“A fishery is something you can’t see has a problem until it’s almost too late.”
