Fishing Forum

[quote mojorizing][quote brookieguy1]Ya big kamloops feed on Kokanee. Go ahead, stock 'em in Strawberry, Flaming gorge, Porcupine and Causey. Those salmon lovers would really go for that....not![/quote]
They're already in the Gorge.[/quote]Yup. and in that "Gem" Mountain lake up on the hill to the east! Now that's noice!
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[quote mojorizing][quote brookieguy1]Ya big kamloops feed on Kokanee. Go ahead, stock 'em in Strawberry, Flaming gorge, Porcupine and Causey. Those salmon lovers would really go for that....not![/quote]
They're already in the Gorge.[/quote]I've heard that, and that's fine by me! I feel I've caught a few of those jumpin', pullin', silver rockets from there in the last few years. Best fish in the Gorge IMO.
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My cousins tiger from the berry 19 inch. They are there Bored and have not read anyone elses posts here... just got picture happy
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i have caught a dozen or so out of the berry in the last year and only kept one for the ice fishing challenge just like to see them in better numbers
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[quote PBH]


Q6: are surplus tiger trout currently dumped in Strawberry? Is there any return to creel (do anglers currently catch those that are stocked?). One concern could be that those fish stocked may never show up on an anglers line. Tiger trout can play magician, and perform a disappearing act when stocked in larger reservoirs (Otter Creek, Piute, Minersville, Panguitch Lake, etc...). So, is there a real return-to-creel benefit?

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[quote duckdog1us]i have caught a dozen or so out of the berry in the last year and only kept one for the ice fishing challenge just like to see them in better numbers[/quote]

so, it appears that surplus tigers are already being stocked in Strawberry. So, now you need to find out what kind of return-to-creel they get out of those fish. Further, you need to find out if our hatchery production could produce enough tiger trout to consistently stock Strawberry with them.

You may find out that the DWR has already looked into this, and found that tiger trout are not a good option for Strawberry -- unless you start stealing tiger trout for other lakes.
It sounds as if the surplus stocking is giving people a few tiger trout anyway. So, I guess the real question is: why change anything?




Fshrmn -- you can give all the evidence in the world that Kamloops are nothing more than an over-hyped rainbow -- but people won't listen to you. Interestingly enough, British Columbia, home to the Kamloops region, doesn't even use "kamloops" rainbows in their stocking plans (http://www.gofishbc.com/documents/pdf/RA...TRAINS.pdf). They use Pennask in most of the waters in the Kamloops area.

People place too much emphasis on strain, when it isn't strain that typically limits the rainbow trout growth.
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Here's part of a write up the DWR posted concerning rainbow trout, and the threat of whirling disease at Strawberry. plus, the current strain of rainbow trout that are being stocked, and why. the link is below if you are interested in reading the entire article. this may help to answer at least part of the reason why Kamloops rainbows arent currently part of the management plan at Strawberry, or in utah as a whole.

i agree with you 100%, about the fact that unless properly managed it doesn't make a d*** bit of difference what strain of rainbow is used, if they are being taken as 12-14" planters. that's exactly the point i'm trying to make, and meant to answer my own questions as part of the post.

as a last side note. i've noticed catching many more rainbows in the berry the last couple of years(including the big dude in the pic we took through the ice this January).I 've heard that predation was a big problem in the past while stocking the 3" fingerlings. now that they are back to planting 8" bows, maybe we're starting to see positive results?? i dont know for sure, it's just an observation.

"Most of the rainbow and cutthroat trout currently stocked into Strawberry are a minimum of 8 inches long. "WD should not affect these fish," he says.
Most of the rainbows currently stocked into Strawberry are a WD-resistant strain known as the Harrison-Hofer strain. Because of the recent WD find, Wilson says the DWR will expand the use of this strain at Strawberry in the future. "Harrison-Hofer rainbows have been shown to develop much lower infection levels than other rainbow strains," Wilson says.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/news/42-uta...berry.html
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[quote duckdog1us]i have caught a dozen or so out of the berry in the last year and only kept one for the ice fishing challenge just like to see them in better numbers[/quote]

Quote:so, it appears that surplus tigers are already being stocked in Strawberry. So, now you need to find out what kind of return-to-creel they get out of those fish. Further, you need to find out if our hatchery production could produce enough tiger trout to consistently stock Strawberry with them.

You may find out that the DWR has already looked into this, and found that tiger trout are not a good option for Strawberry -- unless you start stealing tiger trout for other lakes.
It sounds as if the surplus stocking is giving people a few tiger trout anyway. So, I guess the real question is: why change anything?

These tigers may be washing in from Current Creek also. It would be interesting to find out where they have come from.
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Duckdog, why don't you post up the letter you received from the DWR on the subject? it will help answer some of the questions other folks are bringing up.
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[quote Tangled_not]I 've heard that predation was a big problem in the past while stocking the 3" fingerlings. now that they are back to planting 8" bows, maybe we're starting to see positive results?? i dont know for sure, it's just an observation. [url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/news/42-utah-wildlife-news/678-wd-at-strawberry.html[/quote]"][/quote][/url]

remember that predation can be more than just fish. Cormorants and pelicans can have a huge impact on fisheries and populations of fish. This is another place where strain can come into play. Consider whether or not the strain spawns in the spring, or fall. Now consider how large those fish will be when the cormorants and pelicans pass through. Those birds can wipe out an entire year-class of fish.

If you stocked Kamloops in a place like Minersville, it would be disasterous. Due to spawning timing, those young fish would "eatable" size in the spring when cormorants show up. You'd lose all those fish before anglers ever had a chance to catch them. So, you use a different strain (Sand Creek?) that spawns at a different time of year (spring vs. fall) so that the fish are large enough in the spring that the birds cannot eat them.

Attached is a nice article concerning bird predation (cormorants) on trout populations in southern Utah waters. Interesting stuff.
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[quote PBH]

Attached is a nice article concerning bird predation (cormorants) on trout populations in southern Utah waters. Interesting stuff.

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Informative material. Interesting that on at least Minersville the cormorants may consume more trout than anglers consume.
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Forget the tigers, put perch in instead. I cant name one lake in utah that perch and chubs live together in the same lake.
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[quote gmanhunter]

Forget the tigers, put perch in instead. I cant name one lake in utah that perch and chubs live together in the same lake.

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I can name one:

Jordanelle (at least for now)

IMO replacing the chubs with perch is not a solution, just a change (but I get minimal enjoyment out of catching perch, but they are tasty to eat). Better if they could just get rid of the chubs -- sorry bassrods, you don't have me convinced.
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Perch would be worthless in Strawberry. The Cutts would struggle to forage on perch. As PBH calls perch.... a scourge.

Getting rid of the chubs isn't the whole point. Keeping their numbers down to a reasonable level is.
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[quote gmanhunter]Forget the tigers, put perch in instead. I cant name one lake in utah that perch and chubs live together in the same lake.[/quote]

Starvation.
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[quote a_bow_nut][quote gmanhunter]Forget the tigers, put perch in instead. I cant name one lake in utah that perch and chubs live together in the same lake.[/quote]

Starvation.[/quote]Fish Lake
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Ok you got me there. I guess there are some lakes that have both in them. Put in some tiger trout and still cant keep them. They would put a size restriction on the tigers just like they did at scolfield. It still would be better than catching chubs.
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[cool][#0000ff]Lots of tigers in "scolfield"...but also still lots of chubs. Not a universal solution...just another means of trying to hold them in check.[/#0000ff]
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if tiger grow so fast in scolfield just think what they could be in the berry 20 even 25 pounds plus dont want tons but a few trophy's would be very nice to see
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[quote duckdog1us]

if tiger grow so fast in scolfield just think what they could be in the berry 20 even 25 pounds plus dont want tons but a few trophy's would be very nice to see

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Curious why you believe they would grow so much larger in Strawberry than they do in Scofield?
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[cool][#0000ff]Overall, the tigers do not seem to grow any faster or better than the cutts in Scofield. Both species has to find a way to survive and grow enough to reach the size where they can live on the chubs. That means that for the first part of their lives they are competing with chubs for the food to allow them to grow big enough to eat chubs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most anglers who fish Scofield regularly observe that most trout are somewhat small and skinny up to a point. Then, once they change their dining habits they can put on length and weight.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If a tiger makes the switch early enough in its life cycle it can put on some serious weight. However, tigers do not live as long as macks so there is probably an upward limit on the ultimate size they will attain before dieing of old age. We just had a new state record established. Let's see if that is going to be a regular thing...or if that fish was at the top of the heap.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't fish Strawberry as much as I used to in earlier years. Too many other places with other species I prefer. Sorry but I cain't abide fishing for mostly cutts. Like kissing your sister. No fun at all. I like the idea of catching more rainbows, but still not enough to get me to slow down on the way to Starvation. But I gotta admit that if there was a better chance of getting connected to some bodacious tigers I might be more tempted to plop down on Da Berry once in a while.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Tigers have proven that they will grow in excess of 10 pounds in suitable waters with plenty of chow. But to expect them to reach 20 pounds in any Utah pond might be dreamin'. Love to see it but not banking on it.[/#0000ff]
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