01-21-2021, 03:00 PM
BigSky -- thank you for your response. I feel that you put some thought into it. I appreciate that.
I would like to respond -- I hope that is OK. The reason? Because we all want things done differently, and have different points of view.
None of us like to see our fisheries exploited. But, again, it is really hard to keep good fishing a secret. Even before social media, we had the boards at Sportsman's warehouse, Anglers Inn, and Ace Hardware. That's a tough one to address. But you have options.
I don't care if "other states" do things differently, like restrict the number of people or days of the week certain people can fish. Canada does this with numerous rivers during the summer months when salmon are running. Certain days of the week allow for only residents to fish. I'm not a fan of this type of regulation, and I hope that Utah never falls into this trap. I am not a believer in "the grass is always greener". Just because another state is doing it, doesn't mean we should. Maybe the other states should look at how we do it?
My comment about restricting bird harvest was both tonque-in-cheek, as well as an honest comment. Birds are the reason why Minersville has special regulations. Birds are the reason why Minersville stocking is done the way it is. When Minersville was under general regulations allowing the state-wide harvest of trout, it was birds that took home all the fish. According to a study done by biologists (now retired), birds harvested 4 times as many trout from Minersville as anglers. The currently regulations do nothing to prevent birds from harvesting fish today. They continue to do it. As you are well aware, Minersville has a lot of pelicans and cormorants in the spring / summer. If anyone is responsible for removing all the fish from the reservoir, it's birds. The fish removed by anglers, whether legally or illegally, is insignificant compared to what the birds remove.
Now, shutting down the river, or changing it's regulations: bad idea. The DWR continues to fight to keep the special regulations on the reservoir. There are still a lot of people that would love to have those removed. The river provides an opportunity for anglers bait fish and harvest trout, if they desire. That's OK. We need those options too! Same with some of the other fisheries on the mountain -- we can't make all lakes "trophy" and manage for quality. Some fisheries need to be managed for quantity and opportunity vs. quality. We should not attempt to make all lakes "trophy". Further, not all could even support that type of plan. You have to have a biological reason to implement restrictive regulations -- they should never be done for social reasons. Just my two cents.
Secrets. Keeping secrets can backfire. When programs are designed to provide "trophy" fish, it's important for anglers to let people know when it works. If you never tell anyone about those big fish, then managers have no way to know that the program is working, and they eventually stop managing for those fish. Example: Johnson Reservoir. Many years ago the DWR started planting tiger musky in hopes that they could thrive. The DWR waited. They watched. They listened. They got nothing. No reports. No phone calls. Nothing. At all. So the DWR decided that the return for those tiger musky was not worth continued stocking. So they decided to stop the program. And that's when the phones started to ring. There were some anglers that were fishing the lake, and catching 40" tiger musky -- and they pleaded with the DWR to continue the program. Without receiving a return, through reports, managers can't manage - and they certainly cannot manage a fishery for only a select couple of anglers. Having a lake see some pressure because of good fishing is a good thing. Seeing the campground at Minersville full is a good thing. It means things are being done well. It's when that campground goes empty for an entire summer that we know things have gone wrong. I do not believe we are on that path because of anglers. If anything, it will be water.
Again - you have options. But you have to make decisions. You can have solitude simply by choosing to fish somewhere else. But you may not have the quality to go with it. Having both at the same time may require more work and effort.
Minersville is an awesome fishery. I love it. I'm also not worried about the pressure it is receiving right now. It will be just fine.
I would like to respond -- I hope that is OK. The reason? Because we all want things done differently, and have different points of view.
None of us like to see our fisheries exploited. But, again, it is really hard to keep good fishing a secret. Even before social media, we had the boards at Sportsman's warehouse, Anglers Inn, and Ace Hardware. That's a tough one to address. But you have options.
I don't care if "other states" do things differently, like restrict the number of people or days of the week certain people can fish. Canada does this with numerous rivers during the summer months when salmon are running. Certain days of the week allow for only residents to fish. I'm not a fan of this type of regulation, and I hope that Utah never falls into this trap. I am not a believer in "the grass is always greener". Just because another state is doing it, doesn't mean we should. Maybe the other states should look at how we do it?
My comment about restricting bird harvest was both tonque-in-cheek, as well as an honest comment. Birds are the reason why Minersville has special regulations. Birds are the reason why Minersville stocking is done the way it is. When Minersville was under general regulations allowing the state-wide harvest of trout, it was birds that took home all the fish. According to a study done by biologists (now retired), birds harvested 4 times as many trout from Minersville as anglers. The currently regulations do nothing to prevent birds from harvesting fish today. They continue to do it. As you are well aware, Minersville has a lot of pelicans and cormorants in the spring / summer. If anyone is responsible for removing all the fish from the reservoir, it's birds. The fish removed by anglers, whether legally or illegally, is insignificant compared to what the birds remove.
Now, shutting down the river, or changing it's regulations: bad idea. The DWR continues to fight to keep the special regulations on the reservoir. There are still a lot of people that would love to have those removed. The river provides an opportunity for anglers bait fish and harvest trout, if they desire. That's OK. We need those options too! Same with some of the other fisheries on the mountain -- we can't make all lakes "trophy" and manage for quality. Some fisheries need to be managed for quantity and opportunity vs. quality. We should not attempt to make all lakes "trophy". Further, not all could even support that type of plan. You have to have a biological reason to implement restrictive regulations -- they should never be done for social reasons. Just my two cents.
Secrets. Keeping secrets can backfire. When programs are designed to provide "trophy" fish, it's important for anglers to let people know when it works. If you never tell anyone about those big fish, then managers have no way to know that the program is working, and they eventually stop managing for those fish. Example: Johnson Reservoir. Many years ago the DWR started planting tiger musky in hopes that they could thrive. The DWR waited. They watched. They listened. They got nothing. No reports. No phone calls. Nothing. At all. So the DWR decided that the return for those tiger musky was not worth continued stocking. So they decided to stop the program. And that's when the phones started to ring. There were some anglers that were fishing the lake, and catching 40" tiger musky -- and they pleaded with the DWR to continue the program. Without receiving a return, through reports, managers can't manage - and they certainly cannot manage a fishery for only a select couple of anglers. Having a lake see some pressure because of good fishing is a good thing. Seeing the campground at Minersville full is a good thing. It means things are being done well. It's when that campground goes empty for an entire summer that we know things have gone wrong. I do not believe we are on that path because of anglers. If anything, it will be water.
Again - you have options. But you have to make decisions. You can have solitude simply by choosing to fish somewhere else. But you may not have the quality to go with it. Having both at the same time may require more work and effort.
Minersville is an awesome fishery. I love it. I'm also not worried about the pressure it is receiving right now. It will be just fine.