08-26-2011, 04:49 PM
It's not really the harsh cold winter that is the problem. The water is 39° F. under the ice no matter where you are. The problem is that the water doesn't get warm enough, soon enough. The spawn is late. The fry can't grow big enough, fast enough to survive the cold water period. Even after the snow melts, and the ice is gone it's still cold at night at 6,800' elevation. Here's a few questions for ya. How many water skiers do you see at Strawberry? Not very many. Why? Because it's cold. When you do see water skiers there, when is it? After the Fourth of July? The places that have lots of Smallmouth bass also have lots of water skiers. Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Minersville, Lake Powell, Starvation, etc. If the Smallmouth were going to establish in Strawberry they would already be well established. They have been illegally planted there for years. As Tube Dude pointed out, they could almost be like Wipers. Fun to catch, but unable to reproduce and repopulate the reservoir.
I wish I would have kept the brochure that the UDWR printed before the rotenone treatment at Strawberry. In it, they did mention the possibility of planting Smallmouth bass. But only if the Cutthroat trout couldn't control the Utah chubs. They decided not to bother with the Smallmouth.
As for the Canadian waters that have Smallmouth bass in them; how many of those lakes are above 6,000 feet elevation? I'm betting "none of them".
In the end, the guys who want Smallmouth bass in Strawberry can keep wanting. The bozos who illegally plant them can keep trying to establish them there. But Mother Nature doesn't seem to be cooperating. The Smallmouth that are in there grow big. But their efforts to spawn and reproduce don't seem to be effective.
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I wish I would have kept the brochure that the UDWR printed before the rotenone treatment at Strawberry. In it, they did mention the possibility of planting Smallmouth bass. But only if the Cutthroat trout couldn't control the Utah chubs. They decided not to bother with the Smallmouth.
As for the Canadian waters that have Smallmouth bass in them; how many of those lakes are above 6,000 feet elevation? I'm betting "none of them".
In the end, the guys who want Smallmouth bass in Strawberry can keep wanting. The bozos who illegally plant them can keep trying to establish them there. But Mother Nature doesn't seem to be cooperating. The Smallmouth that are in there grow big. But their efforts to spawn and reproduce don't seem to be effective.
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