(07-13-2024, 10:04 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote:(07-13-2024, 05:26 PM)Saltslam Wrote: I'm not sure wipers at that elevation will do well enough to take any reasonable number out.
Just checked the elevation of the two lakes, Scofield is 7,733 ft Panguitch is 8,212 ft so less than 500 ft difference. Lots of folks said wipers would not survive in Scofield but they did, so I'd bet they would do well in Panguitch but who knows what the DWR will do.
Nobody said they wouldn't survive. We said they might not be effective at that elevation. Panguitch is higher, and SaltSlam's worries of whether wipers will work at Panguitch are valid.
Wipers have already been stocked in Panguitch. 2021 was the first stocking, which is close to when chubs showed up. They were also stocked in 2022 and 2023. In almost every lake wipers have been stocked (New Castle, Minersville, Otter Creek, Scofield, etc...) it takes about 5 years before they start doing any good. There is hope at Panguitch -- but, like with Scofield, this might be a "wait and see" situation.
Also, don't forget that chubs spawn in early summer, when water temps reach 60 - 70 degrees. Right now at Panguitch the chubs are VERY visible and concentrated. That doesn't mean that the situation isn't a bad situation -- but it also doesn't mean that it's a doom-and-gloom situation.
The bad part of this is just that people cannot keep themselves from doing stupid things, especially when big fish come into the equation. You throw big, trophy sized tiger trout into the equation, and you're going to have dummies that think they need to use live chubs to catch them. Next thing you know, a fishery ends up in the dumps.