Big Blue 03/15/17

[wiperhunter2]

[quote Hazzy_Hazbourne]
When you get the tag information back, please share. It's always fun to see how old they are and where they've been.[/quote]

Here is that tag info:

14044 - Caught in the spawning trap at Swan Creek on 5/28/2014. It was 23.7" long. Female and had an adipose fin clip. This means it was stocked by UDWR in a previous year. It only grew about 1/4" in the last 2 years. It has not spawned in Swan Creek since 2014, but it could have used one of the other tributaries.

14291 - Caught in the spawning trap at Swan Creek on 4/29/2015. It was 20.8" long. Female and had an adipose fin clip. This means it was stocked by UDWR in a previous year. It grew about 3" in the last 2 years. It has not spawned in Swan Creek since 2015, but it could have used one of the other tributaries.
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[wiperhunter2]

Too bad you did not do better Jeff, can't say I've ever heard of anyone catching a cisco this long after they spawn. I always figured they headed back to deeper water by now.
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[Hazzy_Hazbourne]

Thanks for posting the tag info. The wannabe biologist in me is fascinated by this kind of stuff. Crazy, the different growth spurts that they have; the one fish growing 3" and another 1/4" in the same time period. Like teenagers vs. duffers; the young ones gain height and the old ones gain width.
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[PBH]

[quote Hazzy_HazbournCrazy, the different growth spurts that they have; the one fish growing 3" and another 1/4" in the same time period. Like teenagers vs. duffers; the young ones gain height and the old ones gain width.[/quote]

Remember, fish are not like mammals. They [fish] are "indeterminate" growers. Mammals are "determinate".

Fish are very "plastic". This is why we preach all the time the importance of having fish populations in the zone of maximum growth rate. Fast growth rate = bigger fish. When growth rates slow, due to population increases, average size fish go down. Some fish, like the first tagged fish, may experience periods of very slow growth rates followed by other periods of fast growth rates. That 1/4" growth over the last two years might change next year with 3 new inches, followed by another 3 inches the next year, followed by 0 inches for the next. The other fish (3") might have added that whole 3 inches in 1 year.

Fish are amazing.

Great pictures. That looks like fun. I wish Bear Lake wasn't a 6 hour tow!
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