Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]Several of us on Utah BFT regularly attend meetings and get togethers on Utah Lake. As one of those, I received the following. Thought maybe others might be interested. Car pooling etc.[/#0000ff]
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Hello Fish Forum members, there are several upcoming events I wanted to bring to your attention including the Utah Lake Festival and a Fishing Open House (more info below). I also would like to have a Forum meeting in July to present an update on June sucker monitoring, Carp Removal efforts, and discuss a potential change to allow the commercial fishermen on Utah Lake to collect black bullhead catfish. Are there any other topics/issues you'd like to discuss at the July meeting? Let me know your thoughts.

Upcoming Events:

6th Annual Utah Lake Festival
June 4, 2011
Utah Lake State Park
4400 West Center Street, Provo, UT 84604
Hours of Operation: 10:00am - 2:00pm
Price: Free

AND

Central Region UDWR Fishing Open House
What is an open house? An open house provides an opportunity to speak with a fisheries biologist one on one to ask questions, make suggestions, and discuss issues important to you. There will be biologists on hand with expertise in sport fish management, sensitive fish and amphibian species, community fisheries, aquatic invasive species, etc. The Division will also be presenting potential regulation changes for 2012 and would like your suggestions and ideas. We will provide more information as the date approaches.
Where and When:
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
1115 N. Main Street. Springville, UT
Central Region Conference Center (CRCC)
Tuesday June 14, 2011 at 7pm

AND

Fish Forum Meeting
Date TBA (July)



Chris Crockett
Native Aquatics Project Leader
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
(801) 491-5655
[url "wlmailhtml:{61D7A269-CB08-4213-8924-C9BEFF1ADBB3}mid://00000008/!x-usc:mailto:chriscrockett@utah.gov"]chriscrockett@utah.gov[/url]
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Interesting! What exactly does the Utah lake Festival entail?
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[cool][#0000ff]Haven't seen a current flyer on this year's event yet. But here is one from last year.[/#0000ff]
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Just curious as to whether or not it's easy for a commercial fisherman to distinguish between the bullhead catfish and the channel cat, and I suppose more importantly does it matter to the channel catfish fishery?
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[cool][#0000ff]Most experienced anglers can quickly and easily distinguish between bullheads and channel cats at a glance. Size is the most immediate difference. The average bullhead is going to be less than 12 inches. The average channel cat is going to be much larger...and a completely different shape and color.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The guys operating the nets have many years experience on Utah Lake and will have no problem in separating out the bullheads from channel cats.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are abundant channel cats and overabundant bullheads. A few of each removed by the netting operation will not adversely affect Utah Lake. There is not enough good spawning habitat (rocks and reeds) for the channel cats right now so removing a few will increase the potential for successful spawning for those that are left. When cats have to settle for "sub-prime" spawning spots their eggs and fry are more susceptible to predation from all other species...like carp.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I suspect that bullheads are being okayed for mass harvest because they are more of a nuisance species than a prime angling target. Furthermore, they are bodacious predators on the eggs and young of more desirable species...like June suckers. The only favorable niche they fill is as food for large cats, walleyes and largemouths when there is a lesser supply of baby carp and white bass. Kind of a "Plan C" in the food chain.[/#0000ff]
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I guess that was part of my question. "What good for commercial fishermen would a bullhead be?"
It seems that they are too small to be worth any commercial table value but the channels obviously are big enough, so my question should have been.

"Will the harvesters, with this approval, harvest catfish in general or just the bullheads?"

Thanks for the explanation, that's what I was after.
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[cool][#0000ff]I think "commercial" is a confusing term too. In the past the carp were netted and sold to a variety of outlets...for human consumption as well as food for mink and other animals. But since the PCB advisory on carp there is little market for the carp. They are being netted by the same operation (The Loy Family) but they are being paid out of federal funds for the June Sucker Restoration Program. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In short, there are not harmful levels of PCBs in the bullheads but they probably still do not have enough commercial value to warrant separating them out and selling them. The main value in removing them is removing them. Ditto for white bass.[/#0000ff]
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