DNR Bluegill Recovery Project

[fish_fanatic]

Hey everyone the DNR is asking for help Saturday and Sunday June 8th and 9th on Steineker Reservoir catching Bluegill and bass to be held in holding ponds until the Dam repair is finished. These fish will then be released back into Steineker. We have already caught 5000 in the last 2 days their goal is 14000 come out bring the kids and have some fun!!!
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[wiperhunter2]

You must be off on your dates. It's too bad Steineker is so far away, if it were closer to the wasatch front there would likely be tons of people that would be interested, as it is, I bet there are some folks in the Vernal area that will be willing to help. Thanks for the heads up. By the way, who is the person in both your pics?
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[fish_fanatic]

I forgot her name, nice young gal that was spearheading the project. Most all the Bluegill are going to holding ponds along the Wasatch front.

I am just getting ready to out out and catch some more bluegill, kind of feels like work at this point but a worthy cause. Next time I will give you all more of a heads up.
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[wiperhunter2]

Is she DWR? Wow, that seems like a long way to transport them, how long will they need to leave them in the holding ponds? Another thought is posting something about it on the board there with all the fishing pics at Sportsman's in Vernal.
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[fish_fanatic]

Yes she is with the DWR, not our local gal Natalie she had a funeral and this other gal was filling in for her.

They are leaving them in ponds for over a year until the Dam project is finished. That does seem to be an awful long time.

It seems that all of my local waters lately are being killed or drained kind of a bummer. First Red Fleet now Steineker and Pelican in the fall. I have complained about the DWR but lately I have been supporting them and trying to understand their position. I am starting to understand the damage that a bucket biologist can have on a water system. Our State DWR does not make certain decisions, they are forced by the Federal Government to do certain things, example killing Red Fleet. The feds wanted to protect endangered fish in the lower Green, Colorado Pikeminnow, Humpback chub, Razorback Sucker and the boneytail. I can honestly say I have never laid eyes on one of these fish. I really don't understand the value these species have on the rivers ecosystem but personally they have very little. Hopefully all of the money that is thrown their way is not a total waste but when I have asked questions the answer has been the same. Endangered species has been the answer not that any of the mentioned species have any Significant value to the ecosystem. I say save the money and spend dollars saved where it can actually make a difference but that's just my opinion.

So the the long and short of it I am going to support our DWR the best I can because working together is a lot better than complaining all of the time. They do the best they can and have to make some decisions based on several factors. I have fished all over the country and I must say Utah is pretty darn good so they must be doing something right.
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[fishnate]

Bluegill salvage dates were June 7 - 10 with a competition on the 9th. There were plenty of volunteers out there on the 9th. Unfortunately the wind was bad about 1:00 on Saturday and most of the day on Sunday. It'll be interesting to hear just how many they ended up with for the project. Unless I've misunderstood the DWR's intentions, I understand that many of these bluegill will stay at a local private pond for later restocking of both Pelican and Steinaker. Others are going to community ponds. Never heard about any being held in ponds on the W Front for restocking, but plans are constantly changing based on resources available and I'm sure they don't tell me everything either. I just know a bunch of the DWR folks and talk to them a lot.
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