Conference wahoo::fishing

    
    	I understand that you should be careful with Walleyes from
    Champlain.  The state just reported that they contain high levels
    of Mercury and it may be unsafe to eat them.  Anyone got any more
    info on this??
    
    - Rob

    
    	Rob, I read an article in Yesterdays Worcester paper and it stated
    	that an adult should limit themselves to one meal per month [if
    	I remember correctly]  Pregnant women and children should not
    	eat any at all.
    
    	It seems that the natural items [rocks...etc] in the lake coupled
    	with the acid rain have over the course of many years brought the
    	level up to an "unsafe" level, since mercury breaks down very
    	slowly.
    
    	Certainly doesn't seem fair............is that an understatement
    	or what?!
    
    	Gitzit'
    

    
    	Hi Gitzit'  
    
    	I seem to have missed you when you've been up in the BTO area,
    Kevin tells me that he's talked to you a bit.   That's pretty wild
    about the Acid rain if that's what you've read in the paper.  I
    have some information on Vermont waters and acid rain that was 
    provided by the State, and Lake Champlain is a non-sensitive lake.
    It has one of the (if not THE) highest acid buffering capability
    of any lake in the region.  The whole area around the lake is
    limstone in fact, and there are Marble quarries throughout the 
    whole Champlain Valley.  If I remember correctly the water is 
    even on the Basic side, PH ~ 8.0 ...
    
    - Rob
    

    
    	Hey Rob....brought the article in today.  I will send it to you so
    	you can read the whole thing but the first paragraphs is...
    
    	"An analysis of walleyes taken from rivers in the Lake Champlain
    basin recently revealed that the mercury levels in the fish continue to
    rise.  That has prompted Vermont Health commissioner Jan Carney to
    issue an advisory on limiting consumption of the fish."
    
    	The article goes on to state how they gathered the numbers and
    	where they are surmising that it is coming from.
    
    	Anybody up there that you can call.........
    
    	Gitzit'
    
    

    
    	Hmmmmmph, I'll bet a million to one, "rivers" means the Poultney
    river!  There was a thermometer factory in Poultney for many years that
    I believe was closed down recently.  Many of the workers there
    complained of unsafe working conditions, i.e.  Mercury was everywhere!
    The State had to even go into some of these peoples' homes and clean
    them up because these people were carrying the mercury everywhere.
    It wouldn't surprise me to see that some of it ended up in the river.
    I'm interested to see what they'll find...
    
    Thanks, Rob
    

    They really had a big splash on the news the night before opening day
    about limiting the number of walleye you eat on monthly basis because
    of the Mercury content. I figured, hey I only catch a few a year so I
    paid no more attention to it than that. I also heard Memphramagog
    Walleyes had the same problem but I can't verify that for sure, that
    could blow the thermometer theory. We did eat the fish and it tasted
    great - though we were kind of left with a "heavy stomach" after our
    dinner ;>)
    
    Don

    The Ontario government publishes a "Guide to eating Ontario Sport
    Fish". Regardless of what body of water your fishing in, it appears as
    if Pickeral is the worst species for retention of contaminants. Any
    size Pike is edible but pickeral starts getting unsafe (women of child
    bearing age and children should limit consumption) at anything over 14
    inches. It's really a bummer as I find Pickeral probably one of the
    best eating fish available.
    
    There still fun to catch!
    Mike

    I made several inquires to NY State a couple o' months
ago when I first heard about more restrictive consumption
warnings being issued. NY F&W read me some extract over
the phone - as I recall; In referance to ALL GAME FISH
SPECIES from ANY Great Lake there was a max. of one meal
a month with NO CONSUMPTION by children or women of child
bearing age and NO CONSUMPTION of specific species above
a certain length. My impression of the lengths associated
with the given species was that they (the lengths) were
indicitave of the size a fish of that species would obtain
within two to three years.

    Myself - I'm gona keep the charter dates I have this
August, I'm gona keep the BIG King Salmon I catch and I'm
gona eat um! As always I'm gona throw away the belly flesh,
clean the fat off the backbone and lateral line and I'm
gone ENJOY EVERY BITE! (Pun intended!)

JW-FwtWMtWBtWIH(MA)

Ref -7

	Hey Mike, I didn't know you know what fishing was???When I made all
those trips to kanata you never said a thing about fishing for walleyes.
You must have known they were my favorite. How things going???By the way,
I had a bet with Bob Barr on the Capitals vs Bruins series, I bet 3 lobsters
against 5 lbs of walleye..Maybe the payoff isn't as good as I thought.

Take Care,

Bruce

    
    	Gitzit'
    		Thanks for the article, I just got it today.  They do
    mention the Poultney and Great Chazy that N.Y. has tested, and 
    the Lamoille and Missisquoi....  It looks like the levels are
    just above what the FDA says is ok.  FDA says 1.0 PPM and the worst
    fish were at 1.1 PPM.  I won't worry about it too much, there's
    probably more crap in the junk food I've eaten!   
    
    - Rob                                         

    12 years ago there was a mercury scare, blame was laid to the 
    Medical Center of VT.  Seems the ones responsible said they 
    didn't think there'd be any harm since mercury is heavy and 
    drops to the bottom.   

    I'm unfamiliar with Champlain but will be on Willsboro Bay at the end
    of August.  What kind of fish should I look for where are they in
    that area?  Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
    

    
    	Willsboro Bay is on the New York side of Lake Champlain.  Indeed,
    it is part of Lake Champlain.  Mostly lake trout in that area which
    will be quite deep now....  Sorry I can't supply more, maybe someone
    who's been to Willsboro can
    

    Hi, I was on the Lake again a couple of weeks ago. I've never fished
    the NY side but have fished out of Vergennes (Otter RIver) and from
    South Hero Island (Lemoille River). We have caught Bass, Walleye, Pike,
    Sheeps head, etc. etc. THe last time we were there (about 3 weeks ago)
    I caught a 3&3/4 lb. walleye off of a buoy using a white spinner bait. We
    caught about 7 or 8 smallies (all over 2 lbs) using gitzits; we must
    have caught at least 50 rock bass (red-eyes); a couple of decent pike
    (one 24"). We usually look for points, buoys, docks and even boats
    anchored in bays. We were letting our bait hit bottom then kept reeling
    the line in slowly but not enough to let it drag the bottom - then WOW
    
    HAVE FUN !!!!!!!!    Don