Fish Lake

[wormandbobber]

A good study on Fish Lake...all who love this place should read it:
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[jamon_negro]

Great info! Thanks for posting.
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[doggonefishin]

Good read, Thanks for posting.

A couple questions/comments/highlights from the "recommendations" section.


1. From the paper "Stocking of other salmonids
that may be more effective predators on yellow perch, such as brown trout or tiger trout should be evaluated."

That could be awesome. I have caught one brown out of there before, but it was only 16 inches. Do the current resident population get very large? Also, a previous Fish Lake study stated that the splake utilize perch well for forage. This study suggested that few splake "make the jump" into piscivory and get large. Are they now thinking that the splake don't use perch much for food after all, ala the lakers?

2. "Encourage anglers to harvest lake trout. Currently very few lake trout are caught and
harvested at Fish Lake. Investigate the potential of holding seminars or fishing events
targeting lake trout and educating fishermen. Additionally, evaluate the possibility of
changing harvest regulations at Fish Lake that may encourage additional harvest."

Don't tell the Mack pack[] Are they recommending all sizes be harvested or just the abundant small ones?

3."With the
development of lake-spawning Kokanee salmon in Flaming George and Strawberry
reservoirs it may be possible to establish a population in Fish Lake, thus providing an
additional sportfish and forage fish for lake trout with only supplemental stocking

Some of you guys would like that.

4."Continue the annual stocking of 40,000 splake. The decrease in quotas implemented in
2006 has improved growth and condition of splake in Fish Lake"

It does seem that the quality of splake I catch has improved the past 3 years. Good to read what they said about splake.
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[Jacksonman]

If fish lake started planting tiger trout, browns, and kokanee, I think I would have to buy a cabin there because there would be very few other places that I would ever wan to fish.

I always wondered why kokanee weren't in Flaming Gorge. Sure the macks would eat some, but for the most part, it seems like the middle of the lake is as dead as can be. I would imagine kokanee would do very well in fish lake, and with burbot now at the gorge, another solid kokanee lake closer to the masses makes a lot of sense.

Tiger trout would probably do ok but only in the very rocky and structured shallow shoreline. They don't seem to be a great option for lakes without rocky structure. The same with the browns but I bet they would do fine in the weed beds chasing perch.

I would also like to see more tiger musky in Fish Lake, actually planted in fish lake. If they did that with adding browns, tigers and kokanee, I would buy a home within 45 min of fish lake. That would be a dream come true.

So how do we get this done?!
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[wormandbobber]

[quote doggonefishin]
That could be awesome. I have caught one brown out of there before, but it was only 16 inches. Do the current resident population get very large? [/quote]
Some get very large...Fish Lake is known to put out some monster browns..but they are difficult to catch and target because there aren't a lot.
[quote doggonefishin]
Also, a previous Fish Lake study stated that the splake utilize perch well for forage. This study suggested that few splake "make the jump" into piscivory and get large. Are they now thinking that the splake don't use perch much for food after all, ala the lakers? [/quote]

I think what the study is saying is that few splake make the jump into complete piscivory and rely totally on splake for their food. The really big fish in Fish Lake are meat-eaters and eat really nothing else. Very few splake or lake trout are making this jump...from aquatics completely over to forage fish.
[quote doggonefishin]
2. "Encourage anglers to harvest lake trout. Currently very few lake trout are caught and
harvested at Fish Lake. Investigate the potential of holding seminars or fishing events
targeting lake trout and educating fishermen. Additionally, evaluate the possibility of
changing harvest regulations at Fish Lake that may encourage additional harvest."

Don't tell the Mack pack[] Are they recommending all sizes be harvested or just the abundant small ones? [/quote]

I think they are really interested in harvesting some of the pups...the problem is that very few of the lake trout--like the splake--are getting to the trophy sizes. So, the DWR is wanting some of those lake trout utilized and harvested. Interestingly, a 24-25 inch lake trout can be either 20 years old or 5 years old...

[/quote]
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[doggonefishin]

W&B, thanks for the follow up. I usually release the pups and eagerly keep a limit of splake, because of their superb table quality. I might have to change that.

Jacksonman, I would think that, based on this report, the TM will be arriving soon enough, once the TM hatchery production can propagate them. FL is already my favorite ice fishing destination. It has it all, perch that my fussy kids love to eat, mind blowing fast fishing for splake and bows, and some biggun macks to try for.
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[PBH]

[quote doggonefishin
Jacksonman, I would think that, based on this report, the TM will be arriving soon enough, once the TM hatchery production can propagate them[/quote]

I'm not so sure. Sure, the tm's would probably help with the perch, but it would be a slow process to turn around the lake trout population. I'd rather see them implement a few of the other options, particularly the kokanee. Right now, Fish Lake has a large open-water niche that has no fish in it. Kokanee could utilize this area of the lake without having a large impact on other species. Lake trout would then have another open-water species to prey on. Win, win. Not a bad idea.

We're already stocking tm's in Fish Lake, sort of. Keep stocking Johnson, and Fish Lake will reap the benefits anyway.
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[Jacksonman]

But seriously, if they added large numbers of browns, tiger trout and kokanee AND added tiger muskie, fish lake would become the number 1 utilized fishery in Utah. The macks would get bigger feeding on kokes, there would some big trout (browns and tigers) by the perch instead of choosing if you just want to catch perch shallow or trout out deeper, there would probably be huge kokanee in there out on the middle, the bows and splake would also probably grow larger. The browns would be a tone of fun. The muskie would be cruising the shorelines and weedbeds. There would be trophy fishing galore.

The feeling I have right now is very familiar to the feeling when I walked my wife up to my honeymoon suite. Seriously. (not really but at least in the same ballpark).
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[gshorthair]

some of us old timers can remember catching kokanees at fish lake back in the 60's. It is too bad that they disappeared after a few years. gshorthair
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[DeadI]

I love the idea of Kokes at fishlake. Like already has been said they would reap the benifits of all the open water there. I also like the idea of the Tiger Trout being introduced. However keep the Tiger Muskies out, they are already moving in on there own from down stream, I don't think they need to plan them in there as well.

I have never heard that there use to be Kokes in that lake. Is this true, if so why did they disapear?
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[doggonefishin]

RE"I'm not so sure. Sure, the tm's would probably help with the perch, but it would be a slow process to turn around the lake trout population. I'd rather see them implement a few of the other options, particularly the kokanee. Right now, Fish Lake has a large open-water niche that has no fish in it. Kokanee could utilize this area of the lake without having a large impact on other species. Lake trout would then have another open-water species to prey on. Win, win. Not a bad idea."


I agree that the kokes sound like an excellent idea, but would also say that it isn't an either-or proposition either. They could easily do both. If they are really going to get after the perch overpopulation, the TM would probably be much more proven to do that as opposed to browns or tiger trout, and both species would provide a new "niche" for anglers that would bring more people there. Regardless, it sounds to me like exciting times may be ahead for FL.
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[PBH]

[quote DeadI]
I have never heard that there use to be Kokes in that lake. Is this true, if so why did they disapear?[/quote]

Nearly everything you can imagine has been put in Fish Lake. Largemouth bass, silver salmon, kokanee salmon...


The salmon struggle in Fish Lake due to spawning habitat. Twin Creeks is simply too cold for successful spawning of most salmon and trout. It does get some recruitment from brown trout, but the salmon never did make it.

However, there has been some successful lake-spawning strains of kokanee which could potentially work in Fish Lake with only supplemental stocking.


Personally, I don't want Fish Lake to turn into a tiger musky fishery. If they show up from downstream, fine. But I don't want to see stocking them in Fish Lake.
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