03-25-2011, 08:21 PM
This has been a great thread and there have been a lot of great points made. I am suprised that everybody missed the primary issue that keeps our fisheries booming and busting in Utah. Water levels. We can talk about this species or that species but the truth is that the fish in Utah need water. We being the folks that we are build cities, golf courses in the desert and then take the water from these systems and regulate the flows and deplete the reservoirs in the spring. We irrigate field and supply drinking water to our growing population. The world has the same amount of water as it started with and we keep using more and more water as humans and expect that it won't hurt our fisheries. Well it does. On top of that issue we have these illegal introductions which take the management ability away from the biologists. Fish management is like a scale. If you have two things to balance it is fairly easy but the more fish that compete for a finite amount of food becomes increasingly difficult to balance.
Deer Creek Reservoir is a popular trout and walleye fishery. Professionally I believe white bass will reduce the numbers and conditions of both trout and walleye.
Illegal stocking is an epidemic throughout the western states. Colorado is seeing Rifle Gap which was a popular trout and walleye water turn into a mess. It has many different species of forage fish including golden shiners, red shiners and I believe emerald shiners along with about every sport fish that could be moved illegally has been moved illegally and that fishery is falling apart. There are virtually no wallye or trout left. The angling pressure is falling off because of the reduction is quality. Montana has seen 298 illegal introductions in 500 waters. They don't even know how to proceed. Washington and Oregon just found northern pike in the head water lakes of the Columbia River and are really in a panic because of the commercial fishing that takes place along that system and the salmon fishery that is reliant on the Columbia river system.
In Utah we have more of an emphasis on warmwater fisheries management now than ever before, and we have some of the best warmwater fishing opportunities in the west right here at home.
Jordanelle.......smallmouth
Pineview, Newton, Cottonwood, Joes Valley, Johnsons....tiger musky
Willard, Huntington North, New Castle, and potentially Piute, Otter Creek and Minersville.....wipers
Lake Powell.....striped bass, walleye, crappie, smallmouth and largemouth bass.
Sand Hollow, Quail Creek, Pelican, Steinaker......, largemouth bass and bluegill
Starvation.....walleye
Flaming Gorge......smallmouth
Pineview.......smallmouth and crappie
Willard.....crappie
Deer Creek......walleye and perch
Perhaps some of the folks on this thread need to visit some other states and see what they have to offer and then compare to those opportunties to what we have in Utah and then ask themselves is an additional fish species worth the risk in Utah waters. I have seen a lot of fisheries in a lot of states and I tell you that drop of water for drop of water Utah has some of the best fishing opportunites anywhere.
Drew Cushing
[signature]
Deer Creek Reservoir is a popular trout and walleye fishery. Professionally I believe white bass will reduce the numbers and conditions of both trout and walleye.
Illegal stocking is an epidemic throughout the western states. Colorado is seeing Rifle Gap which was a popular trout and walleye water turn into a mess. It has many different species of forage fish including golden shiners, red shiners and I believe emerald shiners along with about every sport fish that could be moved illegally has been moved illegally and that fishery is falling apart. There are virtually no wallye or trout left. The angling pressure is falling off because of the reduction is quality. Montana has seen 298 illegal introductions in 500 waters. They don't even know how to proceed. Washington and Oregon just found northern pike in the head water lakes of the Columbia River and are really in a panic because of the commercial fishing that takes place along that system and the salmon fishery that is reliant on the Columbia river system.
In Utah we have more of an emphasis on warmwater fisheries management now than ever before, and we have some of the best warmwater fishing opportunities in the west right here at home.
Jordanelle.......smallmouth
Pineview, Newton, Cottonwood, Joes Valley, Johnsons....tiger musky
Willard, Huntington North, New Castle, and potentially Piute, Otter Creek and Minersville.....wipers
Lake Powell.....striped bass, walleye, crappie, smallmouth and largemouth bass.
Sand Hollow, Quail Creek, Pelican, Steinaker......, largemouth bass and bluegill
Starvation.....walleye
Flaming Gorge......smallmouth
Pineview.......smallmouth and crappie
Willard.....crappie
Deer Creek......walleye and perch
Perhaps some of the folks on this thread need to visit some other states and see what they have to offer and then compare to those opportunties to what we have in Utah and then ask themselves is an additional fish species worth the risk in Utah waters. I have seen a lot of fisheries in a lot of states and I tell you that drop of water for drop of water Utah has some of the best fishing opportunites anywhere.
Drew Cushing
[signature]