01-20-2006, 01:29 PM
[cool] [font "Times New Roman"][#0000ff][size 3]I attended the meeting of the Stonefly Society last night, where Alan Ward (DWR) made a great presentation on Strawberry. He used some very visual charts, graphs and diagrams to help illustrate the results of the studies done on Da Berry from the “olden days” to the present.[/size][/#0000ff][/font]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]I did not take notes, so my reckymembry will have to do. Hope Dave and Alan will chip in to fill in any blanks or correct any errors in my points below.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]I am also attaching a table, provided by Alan Ward, from one of the slides presented last night. It shows a 2005 diet study on the cutts, and lists the types of items observed in post-mortems conducted on cutts taken in netting surveys. It also projects the total quantities/weight of each of those items, based on estimated cutthroat populations. [/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Amazingly, even the larger cutts (over 20”) still show a tendency to feed heavily on zooplankton, especially during times of the year when minnows, crawdads or other forage is less available. In the projections, it is estimated that the cutt population (large and small) consumes over 4,000 TONS of zooplankton from Strawberry each year. Overall, that is the single largest food item by weight.[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The invertebrates category includes heavy feeding on crawdads. As the chub and shiner population decreases, there are more and more small (under 3”) ‘dads showing up in the cutts. During the spring midge hatch, there are also a lot of midges in the stomach contents. Combined consumption of all invertebrates is estimated at almost 1,800 TONS last year.[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Next on the dietary “hit parade” is chubs. More on them later, but the chart shows that the cutts removed an estimated 63 million chubs from Da Berry last year, for a total weight of about 850 tons. Clearly the cutts are doing the job they were intended to do.[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The next step down on the chart is shiners. They are just about gone from Strawberry, from a massive population just three years ago. Even with a declining population, there were still quite a few found in the cutts, in netting surveys. Estimated 2005 consumption was about 48 tons, just over 8 million of the little morsels.[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Cutts are not discriminating. They do not know they are not supposed to eat “the good guys”. So, they also munch small rainbows, cutts and kokes. These are all included under the category of “salmonids”. DWR plants about 3 million a year and the cutts remove about 1.3 million, for a gross weight of about 62 tons. [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]“Debris” is a catchall term for all of the “non-food” items found in the fish. This includes sticks, stones, cigarette butts, plastic baits, etc. Much of this occurs during winter or early spring periods when normal food sources are scarce and the fish are foraging more aggressively…taking in whatever they can snarf, nutritious or not. Remember the chat on Yuba rainbows doing the same thing when the minnows moved out? Estimates for Strawberry cutts is that they ate over 300 tons of debris last year.[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The big surprise to some of us was the “mammals” category. Evidently, any mouse or potgut that goes for a swim in cutt-infested waters is just asking for trouble. They consumed over 80 tons of furry critters last year. I guess I will not go tubing with my hairy legs uncovered.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The following are some points made during the meeting that might be of general interest.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size] [ol] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The use of cutts to control rough fish is working. The shiners have been almost cleaned out and the chub population is WAY down. In fact, the routine spring sample nettings of chubs are turning up only the larger and older chubs. The little ones are being munched as fast as the bigguns can spawn a new batch.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]No need to hit the panic button. The cutt population will not crash if the chub numbers get lower. Cutts are opportunistic feeders and quickly change their diets to whatever else is available. It is already evident that crawdads are becoming a greater part of that diet.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The slot limit is working in several ways. There are more cutts reaching 3, 4 and 5 years old. That means bigger fish, for rough fish control, and more spawning fish. There were more big fish in the small tributaries last year than in recorded memory. Anglers are also enjoying more and bigger fish.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]There are no current plans to increase rainbow planting. Even with reduced competition from chubs, the rainbows still have a tough time making a living in Strawberry. There has been discussion of possibly introducing sterile hybrids, like splake or tiger trout, but there is already a problem with many anglers being able to distinguish between rainbows and cutts. DWR is not ready to support a new identification program, but they remain open. No tiger muskies are slated for planting at this time.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Pelicans have become a serious problem for spawning cutts. They mass in flocks across the mouths of spawning streams and either eat or chase off all the fish trying to get up the tiny trickles. In some cases they have been observed chasing all of the upstream fish clear out of the spawning creeks. Pelicans are capable of catching and swallowing cutts of 20” or more. DWR is likely to solicit volunteer help during the cutt spawn this spring to chase off the pelicans. They are federally protected and cannot be harmed, but they can be discouraged.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]There are currently cutts in Strawberry over 30 inches and 10 pounds. It is considered highly unlikely that they will develop a “super race” of huge fish, as some have wished. Their maximum age in Da Berry is projected as maybe 7 or 8 years. They enter the “slot” at about 2 years old, and those over the 22” inch slot are 3-4 year old fish. The reason for the slot was to get fish past the 18” size, which is about where they become more piscivorous (fish eating). The slot has made it possible to produce more of the larger fish.[/font][/size][/li][/ol]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]I did not take notes, so my reckymembry will have to do. Hope Dave and Alan will chip in to fill in any blanks or correct any errors in my points below.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]I am also attaching a table, provided by Alan Ward, from one of the slides presented last night. It shows a 2005 diet study on the cutts, and lists the types of items observed in post-mortems conducted on cutts taken in netting surveys. It also projects the total quantities/weight of each of those items, based on estimated cutthroat populations. [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Amazingly, even the larger cutts (over 20”) still show a tendency to feed heavily on zooplankton, especially during times of the year when minnows, crawdads or other forage is less available. In the projections, it is estimated that the cutt population (large and small) consumes over 4,000 TONS of zooplankton from Strawberry each year. Overall, that is the single largest food item by weight.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The invertebrates category includes heavy feeding on crawdads. As the chub and shiner population decreases, there are more and more small (under 3”) ‘dads showing up in the cutts. During the spring midge hatch, there are also a lot of midges in the stomach contents. Combined consumption of all invertebrates is estimated at almost 1,800 TONS last year.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Next on the dietary “hit parade” is chubs. More on them later, but the chart shows that the cutts removed an estimated 63 million chubs from Da Berry last year, for a total weight of about 850 tons. Clearly the cutts are doing the job they were intended to do.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The next step down on the chart is shiners. They are just about gone from Strawberry, from a massive population just three years ago. Even with a declining population, there were still quite a few found in the cutts, in netting surveys. Estimated 2005 consumption was about 48 tons, just over 8 million of the little morsels.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Cutts are not discriminating. They do not know they are not supposed to eat “the good guys”. So, they also munch small rainbows, cutts and kokes. These are all included under the category of “salmonids”. DWR plants about 3 million a year and the cutts remove about 1.3 million, for a gross weight of about 62 tons. [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]“Debris” is a catchall term for all of the “non-food” items found in the fish. This includes sticks, stones, cigarette butts, plastic baits, etc. Much of this occurs during winter or early spring periods when normal food sources are scarce and the fish are foraging more aggressively…taking in whatever they can snarf, nutritious or not. Remember the chat on Yuba rainbows doing the same thing when the minnows moved out? Estimates for Strawberry cutts is that they ate over 300 tons of debris last year.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The big surprise to some of us was the “mammals” category. Evidently, any mouse or potgut that goes for a swim in cutt-infested waters is just asking for trouble. They consumed over 80 tons of furry critters last year. I guess I will not go tubing with my hairy legs uncovered.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The following are some points made during the meeting that might be of general interest.[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size] [ol] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The use of cutts to control rough fish is working. The shiners have been almost cleaned out and the chub population is WAY down. In fact, the routine spring sample nettings of chubs are turning up only the larger and older chubs. The little ones are being munched as fast as the bigguns can spawn a new batch.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]No need to hit the panic button. The cutt population will not crash if the chub numbers get lower. Cutts are opportunistic feeders and quickly change their diets to whatever else is available. It is already evident that crawdads are becoming a greater part of that diet.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The slot limit is working in several ways. There are more cutts reaching 3, 4 and 5 years old. That means bigger fish, for rough fish control, and more spawning fish. There were more big fish in the small tributaries last year than in recorded memory. Anglers are also enjoying more and bigger fish.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]There are no current plans to increase rainbow planting. Even with reduced competition from chubs, the rainbows still have a tough time making a living in Strawberry. There has been discussion of possibly introducing sterile hybrids, like splake or tiger trout, but there is already a problem with many anglers being able to distinguish between rainbows and cutts. DWR is not ready to support a new identification program, but they remain open. No tiger muskies are slated for planting at this time.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Pelicans have become a serious problem for spawning cutts. They mass in flocks across the mouths of spawning streams and either eat or chase off all the fish trying to get up the tiny trickles. In some cases they have been observed chasing all of the upstream fish clear out of the spawning creeks. Pelicans are capable of catching and swallowing cutts of 20” or more. DWR is likely to solicit volunteer help during the cutt spawn this spring to chase off the pelicans. They are federally protected and cannot be harmed, but they can be discouraged.[/font][/size][/li] [li][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]There are currently cutts in Strawberry over 30 inches and 10 pounds. It is considered highly unlikely that they will develop a “super race” of huge fish, as some have wished. Their maximum age in Da Berry is projected as maybe 7 or 8 years. They enter the “slot” at about 2 years old, and those over the 22” inch slot are 3-4 year old fish. The reason for the slot was to get fish past the 18” size, which is about where they become more piscivorous (fish eating). The slot has made it possible to produce more of the larger fish.[/font][/size][/li][/ol]
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