Quinte Fishing

I found another article on the BOQ from an Angler & Hunter Magazine from March 1982

I have typed it out as I couldn't get the scan to work right.


Looking for other articles to post up from that era.

David aka Superdad


Angler & Hunter Magazine - March 1982 'Update' by Ron Truman

There's a crisis in the walleye population in the Bay of Quinte. The ONT MNR has already acted. They've cut the bag limit from six fish to four per day, cut the commercial fishermen's poundage limit to zero. To help control poaching, they've declared the Trent Rivera fish sanctuary for the month of April.

Now crisis doesn't mean the population is declining. The word simply means that a dramatic change is likely to take place. In this case, the crisis may well turn out to have a happy ending.

Events have been building to the spring of 1982 for more than a decade. A little more than 10 years ago the Bay of Quinte was one of the most polluted bodies of water to be found. The pollution was not of the pesticides and heavy metals that nag us these days, but enrichment. The bay was choking on the amount of fertilizer being dumped into it. It was a rich, green body of slimy water in mid-summer, with disastrous effects on the fish.

Trash fish dominated the water. You could hardly wet a worm before a white perch nibbled it away. Gizzard shad, a form of life that would take the prize for uselessness anywhere, were actually more common than the pesky white perch.

Now, after the big and expensive clean-up of the waters, the waters are teeming with walleye and the anglers have been having a field day.

Unfortunately, the walleye population explosion is narrowly based. Almost all of the fish being taken are members of the group that hatched in 1978. That was the year that the pollution controls had their big effect. That was also the season that the populations of the trash fish collapsed.

This spring is the critical time. The hens from the class of 78 are mature. They will spawn in April. The spawning success of those fish is incredibly importance. Hence, the crisis.

If the weather is favourable, if the water levels are just right, if the hen fish from the class of 78 arrive in stupendous numbers... the the future of the walleye fishery in the Bay of Quinte will be secured for years to come.

Before the fish in the class of '78 started heading for the frying pans, the numbers of fish were so enormous that it looked like even a half-successful spawning in 1982 would ensure there would be plenty if walleye of decent size in 1984 and very respectable size in 1985.

That was before the slaughter started. The figures were unimaginable. So many fish were taken by both commercial and anglers as one-pounders and bigger that the MNR had to step in and cut the harvest.

Once the spawning run is over in April, the pressure should ease. If the remaining fish in the class of '78 have a good time on the beds, then the future of walleye should look good for the remainder of the decade. Two or three good runs could make the Bay of Quinte THE place to fish for those delightful fillets of walleye.

That's a really good read. Thanks for posting. It looks like the Bay has recovered fully from all that pollution thanks to the MNR stepping in. Cheers to the Bay of Quinte, the greatest Walleye fishery on the face of the planet!

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QuintEssential

Great article, thanks!!

Just how's to show you the fishery we have took work and should not be taken for granted!

Thanks David

Great article

I really enjoy learning about the history of Lake Ontario, its bays, rivers and tributaries.

This article clearly shows how fragile our fisheries are and the need for proper management of these resources.

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No Politics...........Just fish!

Great read, Thanks!!!

I started my Quinte fishing experience back in those days. My first trip to Quinte was probably in 82. I fished out of Desreronto around Forester's Is. You could catch a fish on literally every cast. They were all about the same size, roughly 12 inchers. My father and I fished that morning for about 3 hours and caught more than 40 fish. The occasional larger fish was caught but they were few and far between. In the years to come up until about the mid 1990's the fishing only got better. The number of fish wer still there but the quality of the fish improved every year. At that point I would say Quinte was probably one of the top walleye fisheries in world. It had huge numbers of fish and quality trophy class fish in large numbers.

The invasion of the zerbra mussles was the beginning of the end for the fishery at that level. Within a few years the fishery had sprirled so much that I didn't personally didn't fish in the bay for about 3 years. Then I started to hear reports that the fish were coming back. I started to make trips back to Quinte in spring, summer, and winter. Fall is hunting season for me. The bay has become a fairly reliable fishery. You can usuaally count on catching a few fish every trip and in the fall and winter, trophy fish are still there for the taking. Unfortunately I don't think we will ever see a return to the fishery as it was in those 10-12 years. I'm thankful though that I got to experience it from the beginning in the early 80's. I believe I experienced some of the best walleye fishing in the world. I am sure some northen lakes do have numbers and some have numbers and size but I doubt that many of them have the combination of numbers and sizes that Quinte did in those days.

We still need to keep working on cleaning it up, less fertilizer and phostphates in the water would definitely help!

Awesome article, I like reading the history as well!

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O2BFSHIN