11-02-2023, 10:33 PM
Kent,
Yes, I understand. Back in those days, the UDWR (and myself) made it very clear that the lake trout numbers were at an all time high (as a result of big stocking during the mid-late 1980's. The UDWR held several public meetings at that time and used the information to develop a bi-state fish managment plan. This plan shifted the emphasis of Bear Lake management to native cutthroat trout as well as closely monitoring the endemic sport fish species (two whitefish and the cisco). UDWR and IDFG spent a lot of money on improving irrigation systems, screening irrigation diversion, working with water managers to prioritize water for fish (mainly cutthroat trout), etc. The shift of the fishery leaves some longing for the day of high lake trout numbers. But the UDWR is responsible for all species, and when it comes to endemic fish (of which none are on any Threatened or Endangered lists) and native cutthroat, those take priority over non-native species. SO, what did the UDWR do for those die-hard laker fanatics? They developed ways to sterilize lake trout prior to stocking to ensure the lake trout would not have the opportunity to explode like they have on other western USA waters. They also carefully modeled what the Bear Lake ecosystem could support as far as numbers of fish and then agreed with IDF&G to resume stocking lake trout as a trophy fish in Bear Lake. The cutthroat population has responded favorably to less lake trout and now we are seeing 50% of the cutthroat population is now coming from natural recruitment! I never thought I'd see the day that UDWR could cut back on stocking cutthroat trout, but it has happened! In fact, it would be nice to see anglers havest more of the cutthroat population to ensure healthy cisco and other native fish populations. Catch and release is a good thing, but in some cases harvesting is a method that UDWR can use to manage the populations. Thus, the regulation on keepining non fin-clipped cutthroat was dropped so anglers could take a few more. But right now the harvest rate is only about 3%! Anyway, I'm straying off topic. I hope that answer your question but I'm sure it might not be what you wanted to hear when it comes to the lake trout?
Yes, I understand. Back in those days, the UDWR (and myself) made it very clear that the lake trout numbers were at an all time high (as a result of big stocking during the mid-late 1980's. The UDWR held several public meetings at that time and used the information to develop a bi-state fish managment plan. This plan shifted the emphasis of Bear Lake management to native cutthroat trout as well as closely monitoring the endemic sport fish species (two whitefish and the cisco). UDWR and IDFG spent a lot of money on improving irrigation systems, screening irrigation diversion, working with water managers to prioritize water for fish (mainly cutthroat trout), etc. The shift of the fishery leaves some longing for the day of high lake trout numbers. But the UDWR is responsible for all species, and when it comes to endemic fish (of which none are on any Threatened or Endangered lists) and native cutthroat, those take priority over non-native species. SO, what did the UDWR do for those die-hard laker fanatics? They developed ways to sterilize lake trout prior to stocking to ensure the lake trout would not have the opportunity to explode like they have on other western USA waters. They also carefully modeled what the Bear Lake ecosystem could support as far as numbers of fish and then agreed with IDF&G to resume stocking lake trout as a trophy fish in Bear Lake. The cutthroat population has responded favorably to less lake trout and now we are seeing 50% of the cutthroat population is now coming from natural recruitment! I never thought I'd see the day that UDWR could cut back on stocking cutthroat trout, but it has happened! In fact, it would be nice to see anglers havest more of the cutthroat population to ensure healthy cisco and other native fish populations. Catch and release is a good thing, but in some cases harvesting is a method that UDWR can use to manage the populations. Thus, the regulation on keepining non fin-clipped cutthroat was dropped so anglers could take a few more. But right now the harvest rate is only about 3%! Anyway, I'm straying off topic. I hope that answer your question but I'm sure it might not be what you wanted to hear when it comes to the lake trout?
![[Image: Scott-cisco-with-TDs-lure.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/Sc0QLy5/Scott-cisco-with-TDs-lure.jpg)