Scofield Chubs Problem

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]You're liable to get the troutologists running for cover...holding their eyes and ears. When the first few smallmouths "strangely" showed up in Strawberry it was like Chicken Little..."The sky is falling." [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But, even though smallies can survive and grow, after they reach a certain age, they have a tough time with the long winter cold spell. Seems there is not enough for baby smallmouth to survive on during the lean months. So, even if the smallies spawn, the young have a tough time making it to a size big enough to feed on larger invertebrates and ultimately the chubs. The irony is that the chubs eat all the stuff the baby smallies need to survive. That is also why they outcompete rainbows in many waters. They clean up the table before the rainbow smolts get there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]An interesting thought is that if DWR had a source of semi mature smallies to dump into Scofield, with a C & R only...or a severe slot...they would almost be like planting sterile hybrids. If they cannot reproduce well, they will not create an imbalance.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But, I will leave all the heavy brain work to the DWR biologists.[/#0000ff]
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