The argument that continues in regard to killing off Pike as also specified in the regulations baffles me and is quite sickening. There are hundreds of places in AZ to catch trout. Many of these are a stones throw from Lake Mary and all hold the stereotypical pan sized Arizona trout that exist in all these cookie cutter lakes. Don’t get me wrong, I love trout fishing and was raised in a Wyoming where the fishing for trout is truly incredible. Trout are still my favorite freshwater game fish and I have thousands of dollars in custom fly rods, tackle and memories to prove it. There are however different types of trout fisherman; those who love to sit on the shore, toss out bait and eat a good dinner; this can happen at any of the lakes in AZ. There are yet others who like to target trophy trout and take a different approach. This is where it is important not to just throw acreage at a species and believe all your management ills will be resolved on a project destined to fail as similar to any other lake surrounding it.

I believe what you should be trying to accomplish is to get a higher quality management program of the existing lakes you have. It has been proven that trophy fisheries can occur when managed correctly; inclusive of size restrictions, catch and release, etc. Take some examples from other states. Please work on that rather than removing Pike from a lake in a feeble and unproven theory they will make way for a trophy fishery that will compete with the White Mountains. Stop throwing darts at a board and make attempts at managing some of the other lakes and leave another option on the table for ANOTHER proven true and valued sport fish being Pike. There are those of us who love to fish for both. For those who don’t like Pike; 98% of our other lakes in AZ hold fish you. Seems quite reasonable to me… And BTW, there are many lakes in other states that carry quality Pike and Trout. Their habitat is different and given a lake has this varying habitat; both species can thrive.

Finally, Pike have been in huge numbers in Lake Mary since at least the 70’s. Why would it even be considered to change this now? Wait, I know; because AZ will be complete with just one more trout lake. Come on guys, you can do better than this…

Trout opportunities in this state are EVERYWHERE.

If a person wants to target trout, the state is FULL of options. From Happy Jack you have over a half a dozen options within 45 minutes at your disposal.

If you feel the need to have more than 4# line on your reel, your options are very, very limited.

I understand that Long Lake no longer has Pike, but has trout. My first thought, “one more place to go catch trout…”

Keep the diversity and don’t kill the FEW pike opportunities exist.

By the way, many, many anglers currently go to Upper Lake Mary specifically for the PIKE. The shoreline is full of people who know that they can not only catch fish over 14″ but they might tie into a 32 pound, 49″ fish.

I have heard several times that the days of having Pike are limited and an argument for “another good trout fishery” just does not add up to me.

I assume you are referring to pike in Lake Mary?

With the lake this full, doing a treatment to remove pike would be difficult at best. But here there are things we have to consider in the future if and when an opportunity arises when the lake is low (hopefully that won’t be any time soon if we can keep getting snow pack). While there are some who enjoy fishing for northern pike, including myself, prior to the influx of pike, Lake Mary was a wonderful trout fishery that provided lots of angling opportunities. It truly vied with Big Lake in the White Mountains for top trout fishing honors in the state.

Lake Mary has the potential once again become a premier trout fishing lake that provides fishing opportunities for the multitudes. And while it may seem like there are lots of trout fishing opportunities, we have a burgeoning human population desiring expanded fishing opportunities, and trout are at the top of the hit parade for most anglers.

There are those times we can manage for the few, and where we can, we probably should. But there are also those other times when as managers, we should manage for the greater good or to be more precise, for the multitudes.

By the way, these are my observations knowing the resource, so I offer them to you and others for consideration. At some point, our fisheries managers will have to grapple with making a determination, but I am pretty confident that the points I brought out will go into the decision-making process.

Rory

Enjoying the variety!

Troy

There is a consumption advisory currently on Upper Lake Mary. By the way, mercury can be naturally occurring in the environment, so there may not necessary be a point source of “pollution” to find.

Anyway, as I understand it, fish removal is just one possible option that could be pursued sometime in the future. From a fishery management perspective, removing northern pike from Upper Lake Mary might provide a secondary benefit of allowing us to turn the lake back into a robust trout fishery. I find that an intriguing idea. I used to fish for trout there back in the early 70s before the pike became so prevalent. Goes to show that management options are often more complex than they seem at first blush I guess.

Rory