02-27-2013, 12:23 AM
Got this 2nd-handed off an Idaho BFT forum concerning
an effort to protect perch by their Fish & Game. Imagine that, working to protect perch. Good for them. Who'da thunk?
"Cascade Reservoir has a long and storied history, which I don’t know that well. But, I will try to summarize the more recent efforts. Yellow perch have been in Cascade since probably the 1920’s. Historically, there was excellent perch fishing, but it declined big time in the 1990’s. It was thought that the explosion of pikeminnow was the main culprit. Over the last decade, IDFG (McCall office) has put forth an immense effort to restore the perch fishery. The first major step was to reduce the pikeminnow population in the reservoir. This was accomplished by installing an electric weir barrier in the NF Payette River to block their spawning runs. Next, rotenone was applied to the river several times a year during pikeminnow spawning periods, for several years. Huge trap nets were set in the main lake to remove additional pikeminnow. After this immense effort to reduce pikeminnow numbers, IDFG then began the herculean effort to stock yellow perch back into the reservoir to jump start the perch. Over 2005 and 2006, about 865,000 perch were trapped at Horsethief, Lost Valley Reservoir and Pillips Reservoir (in Oregon) and transplanted to Cascade at the right time to take advantage of the low numbers of pikeminnow.
At this time, the large perch being caught out there are about 5-6 years old – progeny of the original 2005/06 transplants. I would say it’s a great success story, and quite remarkable, since it is very rare to hear about a complete turnaround of any fishery in a reservoir of that size."
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an effort to protect perch by their Fish & Game. Imagine that, working to protect perch. Good for them. Who'da thunk?
"Cascade Reservoir has a long and storied history, which I don’t know that well. But, I will try to summarize the more recent efforts. Yellow perch have been in Cascade since probably the 1920’s. Historically, there was excellent perch fishing, but it declined big time in the 1990’s. It was thought that the explosion of pikeminnow was the main culprit. Over the last decade, IDFG (McCall office) has put forth an immense effort to restore the perch fishery. The first major step was to reduce the pikeminnow population in the reservoir. This was accomplished by installing an electric weir barrier in the NF Payette River to block their spawning runs. Next, rotenone was applied to the river several times a year during pikeminnow spawning periods, for several years. Huge trap nets were set in the main lake to remove additional pikeminnow. After this immense effort to reduce pikeminnow numbers, IDFG then began the herculean effort to stock yellow perch back into the reservoir to jump start the perch. Over 2005 and 2006, about 865,000 perch were trapped at Horsethief, Lost Valley Reservoir and Pillips Reservoir (in Oregon) and transplanted to Cascade at the right time to take advantage of the low numbers of pikeminnow.
At this time, the large perch being caught out there are about 5-6 years old – progeny of the original 2005/06 transplants. I would say it’s a great success story, and quite remarkable, since it is very rare to hear about a complete turnaround of any fishery in a reservoir of that size."
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