Strawberry Walleye

[brooowntrout]

 I just heard a news report that a walleye has been caught at Strawberry! All that hard work and money spent creating a premiere trout fishery thrown away by one person with a bucket. 

Don't get me wrong, walleye are a great sport fish, but we already have several waters that produce large walleye in decent numbers. I hope they catch whoever did this and throw the book at them.

I know whoever did this is probably not reading this thread, but in case you are... You are not smarter than a wildlife biologist. You do not have the right to undue the hard work of the people we pay to manage these waters. You do not have the right to throw away the money we all spent to treat and stock that lake, or any other lake. You are a criminal and I hope someone has the courage to turn you in.

[Kent]

Well said and I couldn't agree more.

[gmwahl]

I just read about that. I'm surprised it took this long before one showed up there. Scumbags that think they know more than DWR biologists are just plain selfish. Strawberry is one of the best places to catch trophy kokanees and now that is possibly ruined!

Mike

[BYUHunter]

Speaking of biology;

How is it that Walleye, Musky, and Wiper can coexist with Trout in Scofield, at the DWRs own doing, yet this is a travesty of biblical proportions?

How is it that Trout, Walleye, Small Mouth, Kokanee, and various other species can coexist at Starvation, at the DWRs doing, but this is a tragedy?

How is it that almost every sportfish in the state of Utah can coexist in Jordanelle?

Bucket biology is wrong, no doubt, but so is the DWRs lack of creativity with Strawberry. No Brook Trout or Lake Trout like the old days, just millions of slot cutts.

[joshomaru]

That's easy, BYUHunter; Scofield is an experiment, and Strawberry is not. Scofield is a small fraction of the size of Strawberry. Strawberry is managed for the fish that are in it, and Scofield is managed for the fish that are in it. They are not the same.
If you don't like the fish that are managed for Strawberry, then don't fish there. It's as simple as that.
The coexistence of fishes in Jordanelle and Scofield is a short existence, and the true data of stated coexistence does not exist just yet.
Walleye found in Strawberry is an absolute shame; whether or not they would coexist and work well together is not the argument.

[TubeDude]

The sky is falling...the sky is falling.  The world is coming to an end.  Woe is us.

Always hate to see the aftermath of bucket biology bozos.  But it is not likely they are going to destroy the fishery.  There have been a few instances in Utah fishery history in which "unauthorized" species introductions have had either absolutely no impact on the fishery...or have even been more beneficial than detrimental.  But drought and other natural occurrences have messed up more fishing holes than bucket biology.  And who ya gonna blame for that?

Deer Creek is a good example.  Walleyes were never "officially" planted by DWR, but did show up and they grew and prospered.  Today they are probably more widely sought than the hatchery pet rainbows.  Then there were the bucket bozo intros of crappies, white bass and bullheads.  White bass have never shown up since.  Crappies are a welcome occasional catch...and grow to good sizes.  Bullheads are there but seldom caught.  In short, no real noticeable effect on the fishery.  Smallmouth...planted by DWR...are another story.  They took over the lake from the formerly good maintaining population of largemouths, mopped up all the crawdads and put a big hurting on the perch population by chowing down on perch in all sizes from newly hatched fry to several inches long.  Today the perch are only a fraction of their former numbers....and the smallmouth are stunted and not even very numerous.

Starvation is another example.  DWR planted smallmouths and walleyes to control the vast chub population.  They did too good of a job...quickly eating all but the biggest surviving chubs and then stunting themselves for lack of food.  DWR did not plant perch in Starvy, but someone did...and their population exploded.  Just in time to provide a forage base for the smallies and wallies.  The predators grew bigger and fatter quickly...until a winter kill on the perch in about 2014 almost wiped out the perch.  Since then, the perch have not been able to rebuild their populations and the smallies and wallies are mostly small and skinny.

There have been a few smallmouths show up in Strawberry.  And each time someone catches one the doom and gloomers weep and wail about how the fishery is going to be ruined.  In truth, Strawberry is just to the left of being hospitable to smallmouth propagation and survival, so we don't have to worry about that.

Echo is another lake where walleyes were illegally introduced.  But with a good healthy perch population there has been fairly rapid growth and reproduction.  And there is a growing contingent of anglers who now fish Echo that would never fish it if it only produced planted rainbows.  The walleyes are not likely to have much affect on the trout...since they are maintained by stocking catchable size fish, rather than fingerlings.  And if the walleyes reduce the perch population there will be more food for the trout.

I am the last one to defend illegal introductions.  But some of them turn out to be more beneficial than negative.  If the deed has been done we can lament it, but keep an open mind to the potential for a positive outcome.

[BYUHunter]

Love the attitude TubeDude. Bucket biology is wrong, but at this stage, the water is under the bridge. Nothing that crying about it is going to fix.

To your point about Smallies appearing and disappearing over the years at Strawberry, and not being particularly hospitable for their species - I wonder if the same will be said about Walleye. Strawberry does have some shallow mud flats, which Walleye enjoy, though they are extremely weedy. For the most part, Strawberry is much deeper than they prefer.

Time will tell.

[Kent]

"For Immediate Release

Jan. 3, 2024


DWR reminding public to not ‘ditch a fish’ after walleye illegally introduced at Strawberry Reservoir


SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is reminding the public that it is both illegal and harmful to introduce new fish species into a waterbody in response to an illegally released walleye recently caught at Strawberry Reservoir.


The DWR was contacted on Dec. 21, 2023 by an angler who reported catching a walleye at Strawberry Reservoir. The DWR verified the report and believes that someone illegally introduced the fish species recently. Only one walleye has been reported thus far.


In Utah, it is illegal to move live fish from one waterbody to another or to take them home alive. It is also illegal to dump unwanted aquarium fish into a waterbody. All of these actions can result in a class A misdemeanor.


When a fish is illegally introduced into a pond, stream or lake, it can have several negative effects on that fishery, including:


Illegal fish species can prey on and outcompete other fish species, including sportfish, native fish and endangered fish species.

The new fish can introduce disease because they weren't properly tested before being dumped into that waterbody.

The new fish can negatively impact water quality.


"It is very expensive and takes a very long time — often requiring rotenone treatments that kill all the fish — to restore a waterbody after fish have been illegally introduced," DWR Sportfish Coordinator Trina Hedrick said. "We are planning to begin extensive monitoring of the fishery in the spring, looking for walleye in potential spawning locations when they would likely be congregating. We don’t know whether any other walleye are currently at Strawberry Reservoir, so we are asking anglers to look for them where they would naturally be congregating and to report any walleye to us. Spring surveys and assistance from the anglers should help us understand the extent of the problem better. Please help our native fish species and maintain quality fishing in Utah by never dumping a fish or being a 'bucket biologist.'"


Strawberry Reservoir is a Blue Ribbon Fishery and provides some of Utah's most exceptional, high-quality fishing experiences. Each year, the DWR stocks cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon at Strawberry Reservoir.


“Walleye could easily disrupt our ability to manage the current trout and salmon populations at Strawberry Reservoir through competition and direct predation as a predator fish,” DWR Fisheries Biologist Alan Ward said. “We conduct extensive surveys, and 98% of anglers have provided feedback that they prefer the current trout and salmon that we provide over other species, including walleye. We are worried that the actions of one selfish angler could damage the years it took to build this fishery into something that the majority of the public want.”


Anglers who catch any additional walleye at Strawberry Reservoir should immediately kill them and report it to the DWR at 800-662-3337. Anglers should include a photo of the fish and the GPS coordinates of where it was caught. Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife are also offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever illegally introduced walleye into Strawberry Reservoir.


Utahns are encouraged to call 800-662-3337 to report any invasive fish they find, or if they see anyone illegally introducing fish into a waterbody or trying to relocate live fish. Utahns can also contact their nearest DWR office if they have an unwanted fish or if they have concerns about a fishery in Utah.


Learn more about the negative consequences of illegal fish introductions by visiting the "Don't Ditch a Fish" page on the DWR website.


###"

[Piscophilic]

I believe another significant difference with the Scofield experiment is that the walleye, muskie and wiper planted there are all sterile making their impact more manageable by those who try to manage it.

[brooowntrout]

Speaking of biology;

How is it that Walleye, Musky, and Wiper can coexist with Trout in Scofield, at the DWRs own doing, yet this is a travesty of biblical proportions?

How is it that Trout, Walleye, Small Mouth, Kokanee, and various other species can coexist at Starvation, at the DWRs doing, but this is a tragedy?

How is it that almost every sportfish in the state of Utah can coexist in Jordanelle?

Bucket biology is wrong, no doubt, but so is the DWRs lack of creativity with Strawberry. No Brook Trout or Lake Trout like the old days, just millions of slot cutts.

One of the great things about Utah is the diversity of different fisheries we have. The vast majority of fishermen do not want every lake to have all the different sport fish. The fact is that WE spent millions of dollars in an effort to create a great trout/kokanee fishery and someone decided to jeopardize all of that because they want to catch walleye in Strawberry instead of Starvation or Deer Creek. It is selfish and it is illegal.

Personally, I love the fact that there are "millions of slot cutts" at Strawberry. They are a blast to catch and I always land at least a couple of rainbows in case I want to keep one. There are also plenty of bigger cuts in there too if you are skilled/lucky enough to catch them.

Obviously it is not the end of the world, but it hurts for me because I am old enough to remember Strawberry before the treatments and the focus on trout/kokanee. I fished it then, and I fish it now. It is definitely better now. I hope these fools didn't ruin it, and I hope they are caught. I wish it were more than just a misdemeanor.

[catchinon]

Good points Brooowntrout. Recently, four teams of two people each associated with Utah fishing channels featured on YouTube held a 30 hour tournament amongst themselves. Among them all they caught 20 species of fish in that short time. They couldn't have gone too far afield. Yes, we have an impressive array of fishing opportunities within reach of all of us.

[Gone2Fish]

 I just heard a news report that a walleye has been caught at Strawberry! All that hard work and money spent creating a premiere trout fishery thrown away by one person with a bucket. 

Don't get me wrong, walleye are a great sport fish, but we already have several waters that produce large walleye in decent numbers. I hope they catch whoever did this and throw the book at them.

I know whoever did this is probably not reading this thread, but in case you are... You are not smarter than a wildlife biologist. You do not have the right to undue the hard work of the people we pay to manage these waters. You do not have the right to throw away the money we all spent to treat and stock that lake, or any other lake. You are a criminal and I hope someone has the courage to turn you in.

I might have to start fishing the berry now there are some fish in there worth catching.

[RockyRaab2]

I'm also a non-trouter. Have fished the Berry a few times in other men's boats, but never my own. I consider trout to be own personal trash fish. I realize that others feel differently, and that's perfectly fine. I keep away from trout lakes and maybe trouters will stay away from mine.

I'll echo what Pat said. Anyone who does any self-appointed fish management ought to be stopped.

[brooowntrout]

I'm also a non-trouter. Have fished the Berry a few times in other men's boats, but never my own. I consider trout to be own personal trash fish. I realize that others feel differently, and that's perfectly fine. I keep away from trout lakes and maybe trouters will stay away from mine.

I'll echo what Pat said. Anyone who does any self-appointed fish management ought to be stopped.

Well said, Rocky. The freedom to choose what type of fish you are going after is one of the beautiful things about fishing in Utah.

[MrShane]

I doubt any other lake has as many cameras being used in it than Strawberry.
If there was a sizable Walleye population in there, we would have seen multiple videos posted by now.

[Therapist]

I echo TD's sentiment on this!! If the BOZO who did this is caught, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, have their fishing privileges PERMANENTLY revoked, and required to pay for all the mitigation costs if further fish are found. Dealing with these illegal introductions that are so destructive and impair the ability of managers to manage properly. Look at Lake Powell and Zebra Mussels. What has that cost us ?? How about the introduction of Northern Pike into Utah Lake ?? The full extent of that is still being determined, but could result in some DRASTIC consequences if they impact the June Sucker recovery. To bad people can;t just enjoy the wonderful fisheries we have and not try and "enhance" them !!!

[TubeDude]

After seeing the video and weighing all the evidence (not much), my evaluation is that we have little to fear from walleyes taking over Strawberry.  In the absence of other walleye catches...and the apparent lack of young walleyes showing up...I'm guessing that the walleye was likely "bucketed" in as an adult and is not part of a growing and spawning population of that species.

Nevertheless, I suspect that DWR is going to be monitoring potential spawning tributaries in the spring for evidence of any other surviving adult walleyes.  

The sky may not be falling after all.

[Gone Forever]

After seeing the video and weighing all the evidence (not much), my evaluation is that we have little to fear from walleyes taking over Strawberry.  In the absence of other walleye catches...and the apparent lack of young walleyes showing up...I'm guessing that the walleye was likely "bucketed" in as an adult and is not part of a growing and spawning population of that species.

Nevertheless, I suspect that DWR is going to be monitoring potential spawning tributaries in the spring for evidence of any other surviving adult walleyes.  

The sky may not be falling after all.

This.  I agree an adult or mature fish.  It comes to how many buckets were put in.  With Starvation so near and having an over population of walleye I hope it wasn't many.  
I would also be pretty sure that the law breakers do not know how to sex a walleye so we don't know if they put enough of each to populate.
Time will tell.
They spawn at a much different time than Cutts, and with the hatchery on the main tributary it should not be to hard to determine if they are populating or not and control them if they are. Let them swim in just like the Cutts and then kill them. I do hope that they do not populate as much as Walleye are my favorite table fish.  Strawberry is the only place I have ever had a 50 trout day of 20"ers, my PB Cutt of 26" came from there and I fear what walleye would do to the crayfish.

---

After seeing the video and weighing all the evidence (not much), my evaluation is that we have little to fear from walleyes taking over Strawberry.  In the absence of other walleye catches...and the apparent lack of young walleyes showing up...I'm guessing that the walleye was likely "bucketed" in as an adult and is not part of a growing and spawning population of that species.

Nevertheless, I suspect that DWR is going to be monitoring potential spawning tributaries in the spring for evidence of any other surviving adult walleyes.  

The sky may not be falling after all.

This.  I agree an adult or mature fish.  It comes to how many buckets were put in.  With Starvation so near and having an over population of walleye I hope it wasn't many.  
I would also be pretty sure that the law breakers do not know how to sex a walleye so we don't know if they put enough of each to populate.
Time will tell.
They spawn at a much different time than Cutts, and with the hatchery on the main tributary it should not be to hard to determine if they are populating or not and control them if they are. Let them swim in just like the Cutts and then kill them. I do hope that they do not populate as much as Walleye are my favorite table fish.  Strawberry is the only place I have ever had a 50 trout day of 20"ers, my PB Cutt of 26" came from there and I fear what walleye would do to the crayfish.

[wiperhunter2]

Let them swim in just like the Cutts and then kill them. 

---

You got to remember that not all walleye spawn in rivers, some spawn around rocky shorelines. In Willard I 'd say over half of them spawn in the rocks around the dike.

[brooowntrout]

There is at least one underwater video on YouTube that appears to show a walleye in Strawberry. It didn't get much attention until this confirmed catch.

The future is all just speculation. We don't know how many walleye were introduced, what sex, how old, or if they will successfully reproduce. All of that is out of our hands as simple fishermen.

What bothers me is that someone was malicious or misinformed enough to do this. I thought we were better than that. Maybe the older guys like myself haven't done a good job teaching the younger ones good values like respect for the law and respect for others. We need to make it clear to everyone we can reach that this kind of thing is wrong, and help them understand why. I will personally make an effort to do that within my circle and I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same. That is some positive action that we can all take to help prevent it from happening in the future.