bear river system carp ingeneral

[jeremypeace]

I sent the IDFG a message with my studies on carp eradication hoping that they may use the info!!! now some people say that the F&G slack alot well that may be true to an extent but they cant be every where at once all the time so they need our help and frequent input to know what is going on!!!! so i told them about my findings that a few places back east and down south have been using for a few years now and there carp problems have slowly but steadily been going away and they are using flathead catfish!!! because the studies show when in the same watter a flathead will pray on carp as a main source of food!!! now i realize that cost is an issue however i think they could afford to not stock channel cats a couple years and instead put flathead's in there place!!!! here is the stocking report for the last 20 years for Alexander im using alexander due to it has a very very large carp problem!!!
ALEXANDER RESERVOIR
Historical fish stocking for CATFISH from 1991 through 2011:

Date Stocked Species Type Size Number
Stocked
07/21/10 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 14,250
07/22/09 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 20,000
07/16/08 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 19,588
07/10/07 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 20,113
07/20/06 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 20,162
08/10/05 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 7,771
07/07/04 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 5,888
08/22/03 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 6,264
09/05/02 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 3,885
08/26/02 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 14,100
09/21/99 Channel Catfish Fingerling (3-6 Inches) 10,039
10/10/97 Channel Catfish Fingerling (3-6 Inches) 5,576
07/29/93 Channel Catfish Fingerling (3-6 Inches) 16,500
09/13/91 Channel Catfish Fingerling (3-6 Inches) 10,000
that is 164,097 cats in the past 20 years now channel cats live for an average life of 20+ years the longes one has lived on record is 40 years now flatheads on the other hand grow at a much quicker rate and flatheads are benthic feeders and prefer live prey. They are voracious carnivores and feed primarily on other fish, insects, annelid worms and crustaceans. they have a shorter life span but are very harty fish!!! were as the oldes recorded flathead is 20 years old!!! and a nother plus is Spawning occurs in late June and early July, the nests made in areas with submerged logs and other debris. The males, who also build the nests, fiercely and tirelessly defend and fan the clutch. The size of the clutch varies proportionately to the size of the female; an average of 2,640 eggs per kilogram of fish are laid.which in terms mean lots of dead carp because what do carp do they raid nests and fan them around!!! and carp spawn at the same time as these cats!!!there preferred food such as river herring, shad, sunfish (such as bluegill), suckers," CARP", goldfish, drum, and bullheads ranging from 5–12 inches (13–30 cm) in lengthi think this should be somthing the fish and game should look into stocking!!!!!!! to help with the carp problem!!! what does every one else think
[signature]

[mbowman]

Getting rid of the carp may be a good thing, but I'd be interested to see just how big the cats could get in that water. They need close to 80 degree water for optimal growth and it could be years before you see them get big enough to really be effective against the carp.

Also seems from the list that they'll eat just about anything that moves - almost like we'd be replacing a plain old nuisance with a tasty nuisance, which would still be a positive...but would they be more of a predator than the carp would be the biggest question on my mind.
[signature]

[dma_ayotte]

I agree 100% we need to do something with these carp.. Is this the answer though? How deep of water do they like/need? I dont think Alexander is very deep? I would LOVE to see Idaho "START" to do something about our carp issue.. If only they would like they are this invasive snail problem, I think we could enjoy our fisheries much more.....
[signature]

[jeremypeace]

you seem to have the flathead's and channel cats mixed as it is the channel cats that need warm watter to grow and reproduce!!! they can in colder water but the reproduction is much slower with a higher mortality rate!!! the flathead catfish thrive in cooler waters as due the blue cats!!! and as for deep water needed this is not a necessity but a plus for flathead's as they thrive in both!!!! they do better in deeper cooler waters but can live in both!! and Alexander to my understanding is about 40' at the deepest which is perfect for flathead's go to say they spawn in shallow which Alexander has as well as eat but hide out in the deep water during the day so they would have everything needed to thrive in there!!!! back east and down south were they have been using flathead's as a carp eradication form they have noticed an increase in water quality as well as fish quality!!!! flathead catfish are the fastest growing catfish as well!!!! they only avg 16years in life longest lived on record being 20 years and a 17 year old flat head caught in elk city res was caught weighing in at 140+ pounds this year!!!! i know 17 year old thats old but it has reached a size 3 times that of a channel in a little more than half the time it takes a channel to reach 30+ pounds!!! when the avg channel only reaches 15 pounds that is the national avg and the flat head reaches much much larger avg of 90+lbs under 5 lbs on a flat head is still a Juvenal by the time a flat head reaches 10 years of age they are very capable of being 40+inches in length as there maximum length is 61 inches now this is a long term eradication program but i fell as if it would be the least harmful to the eco system and funnest for all sportsmen like how would you all like to have the possibility of hooking into a fish that could reach epic weights of 100 plus pounds other than a sturgeon in idaho??
[signature]

[jeremypeace]

corection i mixed the blue and flathed on weight up the flathead largest caught being 124 pounds 9 oz not 140+ my bad!!!
[signature]

[mbowman]

Alright. I just kind of assumed all cats were the same water temp wise. I did just read that they spawn when the water is between 75 and 80 though. I don't know how warm the water gets down south, but I know up here it doesn't venture into the 70s much at all.
[signature]