07-17-2003, 03:45 PM
I think another big reason why they don't want perch used as bait in most waters is the potential for transfer of live perch to those waters. Sadly, that is how some lakes ended up with perch(and other species) in them in the first place. I understand that the idea would be to use only DEAD perch. But some folks get can't live by the rules and they will take live fish. And then, they release the left over fish when it is time to go home. Maybe they are thinking that they will get eaten, but we know that enough survive.
Look at Fish Lake as an example and reason for the paranoid attitude. Fish Lake has had perch in it for a long time but it did not always have perch in it. And if you are enough you will remember that there used to be two premier Lake Trout waters in the state, Flaming Gorge and Fish Lake. But the perch kileed the big laker fishery at Fish Lake. The macks in Fish Lake used to get huge feeding on the chubs. But when the number of perch rose high even enough, the chub population crashed because the perch eat all the baby chubs. With out the chubs the mack just don't get as big. When was the last time you heard any reports of big lakers from Fish Lake like we used to.
I tend to put my faith in the expertise of the DWR. I believe they are correct in managing certains lakes for certain species. Some lakes are better suited for certain kinds of fisheries. I support the concept of not using perch for bait in other lakes. I think Fish Lake is an example of why it is important.
m
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Look at Fish Lake as an example and reason for the paranoid attitude. Fish Lake has had perch in it for a long time but it did not always have perch in it. And if you are enough you will remember that there used to be two premier Lake Trout waters in the state, Flaming Gorge and Fish Lake. But the perch kileed the big laker fishery at Fish Lake. The macks in Fish Lake used to get huge feeding on the chubs. But when the number of perch rose high even enough, the chub population crashed because the perch eat all the baby chubs. With out the chubs the mack just don't get as big. When was the last time you heard any reports of big lakers from Fish Lake like we used to.
I tend to put my faith in the expertise of the DWR. I believe they are correct in managing certains lakes for certain species. Some lakes are better suited for certain kinds of fisheries. I support the concept of not using perch for bait in other lakes. I think Fish Lake is an example of why it is important.
m
[signature]