03-03-2022, 09:42 PM
I have heard the expression that any man who claims to have women figured out will lie about other things too. I suspect that we anglers who tend to overthink our sport might fall into the same category. With all of the variables of weather, water levels, food availability, spawning success rates, DWR stocking and management, angler harvest, so looney tables, etc...it is a miracle that any of us ever even has enough guts to go fishing.
Regarding Pineview, it has always been a water of cycles. Because of the great variations in water levels from year to year, some years provide better spawning conditions than others...for different species. Within a couple of years after a good spawn we see large numbers of small fish...perch or crappies specifically. But because of the larger numbers of mouths to feed...and a limited amount of available food...the fish do not grow quickly and we catch nothing but small ones for several years. But after that big year class has been thinned down...by angler harvest or natural attrition...and if there is a year or two of relative food abundance...then the numbers in our catch decrease but the size quality improves and we are happy again. At least until the next cycle kicks in.
Those of us who watch the fishing programs on TV...or a lot of videos...sometimes can't understand why our lakes in Utah do not produce the same ongoing quality of fishing as the lakes we see on the screen. The short answer is that our lakes are all relatively new dammed (not damned) impoundments...created for irrigation...and not centuries old natural lakes with constant inflow and outflow to maintain the levels and food availability. Our lakes are subject to wild fluctuations in water levels and water quality...not conducive to steady and consistent fish reproduction and growth.
I gotta feel some sympathy for DWR. They get blamed for everything and credit for very little. But you can't manage the unmanageable.
Regarding Pineview, it has always been a water of cycles. Because of the great variations in water levels from year to year, some years provide better spawning conditions than others...for different species. Within a couple of years after a good spawn we see large numbers of small fish...perch or crappies specifically. But because of the larger numbers of mouths to feed...and a limited amount of available food...the fish do not grow quickly and we catch nothing but small ones for several years. But after that big year class has been thinned down...by angler harvest or natural attrition...and if there is a year or two of relative food abundance...then the numbers in our catch decrease but the size quality improves and we are happy again. At least until the next cycle kicks in.
Those of us who watch the fishing programs on TV...or a lot of videos...sometimes can't understand why our lakes in Utah do not produce the same ongoing quality of fishing as the lakes we see on the screen. The short answer is that our lakes are all relatively new dammed (not damned) impoundments...created for irrigation...and not centuries old natural lakes with constant inflow and outflow to maintain the levels and food availability. Our lakes are subject to wild fluctuations in water levels and water quality...not conducive to steady and consistent fish reproduction and growth.
I gotta feel some sympathy for DWR. They get blamed for everything and credit for very little. But you can't manage the unmanageable.