Just wondering what Bear lake will be like when there are no lake trout left in the lake. I for one hope they get over this and realize that the lake trout dont just eat cuts and that cuts dont eat just cisco ive caught several cuts this year that are full of the states 3 and 4 inch cuts that were planted.
[signature]
Welcome to the site Takurkidsfishn.
Idaho is planting lake trout and a few of the lake trout that aren't sterile are still spawning, so it will be a few years before there are no more mack at Bear lake. What do you hope "they" will get over? Do you know something we don't? WH2
[signature]
it just seems to me that lake trout are a hated fish there has been lake trout planted since the 1930 s why all at once the fear of reproduction I know that it is a new era but what answers do they give us about 11 years ago I talked to Scott T. the now biologist about a fish I had caught and released he was very interested because of the size since then there has been alot of information on how and where to catch these fish when they come in to spawn which they say is an infertile type of spawn wouldnt you want to preserve what is already there. to me it seems like i am the one who caused this and I hope my kids have the chance to catch what I did. not just hope to catch 16 inch cuts that cant even tell they are there .
[signature]
I agree. I hate to see the lake trout phased out. They are so much funner to catch than the wimpy cutts. Im curious, how big was your fish?
[signature]
It was 32lbs and the biggest mistake I ever did was put it in a photo contest, for that reason I will only take pictures for my own looking pleasure
[signature]
Nice fish. That is very rare and the largest I have ever heard of on the bear.
[signature]
I was told it was the largest. But you hear lots of stories doesnt matter it would be a good fish anywhere. no big deal I just keep fishing it every weekend hopefully I get one bigger but no one will ever know but me. I love to fish the lake but if it got to where all there was in there was little cutts I would have to go a little further to fix my habit.
[signature]
Wow, that is a monster mack for the big blue lake, it is the largest mack I've ever hear being caught there also. Sure would be nice to see the picture of that big old fish but I totally understand your reason for keeping it private. One thing that I have noticed since they have started planting the sterile macks and that is they are growing a lot faster than their non sterile brothers. In the past it was not unusual to see big headed macks but the ones we have caught in the last year or so have smaller heads and bigger bodies. Hear is a picture of one of those fish. WH2
[inline curtsmac.JPG]
[signature]
That would be nice to have a faster growth rate up there I know alot of people around the area that go to yearly meetings and say that ID. is having a hard time getting the numbers of sterile macks havent seen any numbers myself but at least they are trying to promote a multi sport fish in the lake. I have not seen any of the macks like in your pic.
[signature]
Just wanted to interject a few points regarding lake trout at Bear Lake. They have been stocked into the lake since 1911 (some records indicate as early as the late 1890's!), but there are records that show 1911 as the earliest "documented" stocking.
There is no plan for terminating lake trout stocking in Bear Lake. The current goal of the stocking lake trout calls for 50,000 lake trout over a three year moving period. Yes, all lake trout stocked since 2002 have been sterile fish. There has been very little documented "recruitment" of lake trout which is a good thing. Idaho, and some other western states have had some terrible examples of where lake trout can ruin a fishery with native fish. However, after stocking lake trout for nearly a 100 years we feel that it is unlikely that would happen even if fertile fish were stocked. However, we need to be extremely cautious when stocking a 'non-native' fish on top of a lake with 4 endemic and many other indigenous (native species). Lake trout do provide a unique trophy component to the Bear Lake fishery and we, as biologists, recognize this fact. Stocking sterile fish ensures that we can maintain this lake trout fishery without subjecting the endemics to a threat of the non-native lake trout taking over.
[#ff4040]Stay tuned for a public meeting to be held in Garden City, we hope in mid-July, to discuss and receive input from the public on the direction of a cooperative fisheries managment plan being developed proposed for Bear Lake by both the UDWR and IDF&G. As soon as the dates for the public meeting are finalized between the agencies, I will be sure to post that date. We want to hear from you! Please don't write what you want in this forum, but PLEASE come to the meeting and give us your input. We hope to present the data we have and the direction we think we need to go, but we are also looking for a critique and input into this plan. As I said STAY TUNED![/#ff4040]
[signature]
thanks for the info Scott I fish the the lake alot and want it to be a great fishery not just for me but everyone. can you say how many of the sterile macks have been planted and will this continue after the three years.
[signature]