Fish Species

[Hiddlins]

Hey there! For fun I was trying to zero in on where the game takes place based on your selection of fish... and what I find is that it doesn't really make sense. If this were to be BC you wouldn't likely find much in the way of coho salmon in the winter in a lake. There is a chance for kokanee, a type of freshwater salmon, depending on where you are. There is a better chance for coho if you are nearer the great lakes in Ontario, and that is also where smallmouth bass are likely to be common. In BC the bass are an invasive species and the further north you go the less likely you are to find them in land locked lakes.

I've also been trying to figure out the location based on the balance of the seasons... Southern parts of BC aren't likely to offer ice fishing too early on in the year, so you'd have to move north or up to higher reaches. That would again affect some of the fish you'd find. From what I've come across in character bios in the Wikis this seems to be happening in BC, so as a helpful suggestion I decided to look up a few sites that offer ideas of what fish you'd find:

http://icefishbc.com/

http://www.mackenziebc.com/fishing/?id=26

http://gofishbc.com/news-and-events/new ... ce-fishing

http://www.springvalleyfarm.ca/index.ph ... er-fishing

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/sport_fish/

Something that would make it even harsher for people would be to implement times of day that are more effective for fish... maybe even potential variety baits. Mini fishing game within the sandbox? If I've learned anything about games it's that too many people love to get hooked on fishing, and what could be better than having the bonus of aggressive wildlife and harsh freezing weather conditions to worry about?

In the end of course it is just a game and so it isn't really the end of the world to me if you stick with what you've got... It's got maddened, killer wolves and the lake IS mysterious after all. I just appreciate extra touches of realism and research. I'm loving what I've seen so far.

[toebar]

I think you're spot on.. I haven't done much fishing in game yet, so I'm not familiar with the full suite of species offered (and I'm not going to google to avoid spoilers . But, I have caught bass so far (and this is not a typical ice fishing species here in BC). Coho salmon is just not going to happen in reality.

Typically in the north (I live in Fort St. James--not really north north, but close), the most commonly ice fished species are rainbow trout, lake trout/char, bull trout, brook trout (where they have been stocked), burbot, whitefish, and potentially northern pike (in the northeast region mostly). Northern pikeminnow is a common coarse fish that is caught, but in a survival situation, that would be still a keeper.

This brings up another interesting idea for in game food collection-- setting overnight lines. It would work similarly to the snares. It's a common way to catch burbot here.

You may already be familiar with it, but here is another good tool for finding which fish are known to occur where in BC:

http://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/sv/habwiz