Some Old Guy 968 Report post Posted January 26, 2017 Attention Anglers - Squeers Lake Winter Fishery Cancellation The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has conducted an annual experimental winter angling fishery for lake trout on Squeers Lake for the past 30 years. The purpose of this fishery was to determine the allowable harvest of lake trout from plankton-feeding lake trout communities similar to SqueersLake. Given that we have answered the question of sustainability (Squeers Lake can sustainably allow lake trout harvest of about 2 kg/ha) and because we can no longer attract enough anglers to meet the harvest target there will no longer be an annual winter fishery on Squeers Lake. MNRF will maintain the year round sanctuary status of the lake (no fishing) and plans to monitor lake trout population recoveryin the absence of fishing activity. This will be done in part by conducting a winter fishery once every five years instead of annually. The Squeers Lake winter fishery was an excellent partnership between MNRF and anglers that helped us to better understand lake trout populations throughout Ontario. Thanks to the thousands of anglers that participated, we couldn’t have done it without you! Should you require more information please contact Mike Friday with the Northwest Biodiversity and Monitoring Unit at 939 2501 or Mike.Friday@Ontario.ca. Quote R.T.R. Respect the resource! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foozer 194 Report post Posted January 26, 2017 Aw Christ - that'll put me in my 40's before I apply for an opening Saturday again. LOL! I bet that opening Saturday in 2021 or 2022 will be quite the party. Hopefully we get our group pulled. Quote Since we can not call female anglers "fisherman" We should just call 'em hookers..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WalleyeWayne 137 Report post Posted January 26, 2017 I think they made a knee-jerk decision! Participation was diminishing over the last several years due to several factors, trail & ice conditions being the top 2 I would bet. We've had a few mild winters that created either rotted ice conditions or tons of slush that many people did not want to slog through. So instead of changing the frequency of fishing the lake to possibly every 5 years, why didn't they at least experiment with moving the week forward to maybe the end of February for one year to then assess participation. Lake and trail conditions would certainly have been better at the end of February and I'm certain that would have boosted participation. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Some Old Guy 968 Report post Posted January 26, 2017 Also note that back in the day lake trout season was closed and squeers ran and was an extra opportunity for lake trout fishing. More people went. Roger Quote R.T.R. Respect the resource! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clewis 25 Report post Posted January 26, 2017 I'm trying to think about the pros of this, Think about how good the fishing will be in 5 years Lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naden 136 Report post Posted January 27, 2017 I agree with Roger I think the attendance dropped when the trout season was extended. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foozer 194 Report post Posted January 27, 2017 I haven't been since they extended lakers to the end of March. For me it's too much effort for those 14" lake trout. Personally, Id rather put the effort into a couple larger fish on a lake that's not a zoo, in gorgeous late March weather. However, I'd be excited to get back to squeers after 5 years being closed. The novelty of the selective fishery would be better. Quote Since we can not call female anglers "fisherman" We should just call 'em hookers..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinker7 114 Report post Posted January 27, 2017 Truly disappointed and bummed out to see this fishery come to an end. Five years is going to feel like a lifetime between trips to this lake. Started fishing Squeers back in 1989 when I was in my teens and was hooked ever since. Caught my first laker through the ice there. Have some awesome memories of fishing that lake over the years. One of the best memories is from the early 90's when a buddy and I went in on the Friday. It was a warm overcast day with no wind and very light drizzle....the trout were going nuts. We were cutting the minnows in half or into three pieces because of fear of running out of bait. By the end of the day the two of us landed 59 trout. It was insane. Most of the fish we caught then were in the 12-15" but the 6 fish we brought home were all 17-18". We were not doing anything special just the right place at the right time. Last year we were fortunate to fish 4 out of the 5 allowable days. We caught some of the biggest trout ever and in numbers. One day was fantastic with numbers and average size. Two of the days were considered good and one day we managed our limit but that was it. Truly a unique fishery and looking forward to the next time we can drop a line there!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildcat 21 Report post Posted March 3, 2017 Heard a rumor today that squeers lake may open up for 2 weekends in march this year, anyone here anything? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Some Old Guy 968 Report post Posted March 3, 2017 I haven't....... Roger Quote R.T.R. Respect the resource! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
