01-07-2013, 04:42 PM
No, F&G doesn't generally stock "put & take" warm water species. But they do "move" them and that doesn't show up on the stocking reports. The stocking reports usually only show fish that have been bought from out of state or raised at the hatcheries.
I know that they have "moved" a lot of bass in the Southeast Region this year to supplement some lakes.
They regularly move catfish from the Snake River to the ponds in the Boise -Caldwell area. Catfish in most of those ponds are not self-sustaining. They don't reproduce well in many of our lakes.
I forgot to add that they do regularly stock catfish and walleye in some lakes that don't have good natural reproduction.
The power companies also stock catfish and other fish in many of their reservoirs on a regular basis. Those aren't always on the F&G stocking reports. Sometimes fish are donated from fish farms and private hatcheries. Those aren't listed either.
Most of the lakes where they can put warm water species, and that can sustain them, are already stocked. They don't continue to stock those species because many of them reproduce well in the lake itself. Instead they strive to create a balance of species that can self sustain at a decent size. That doesn't always work out. The water levels don't always cooperate so we have some years that have good reproduction and some that aren't so hot. Growth for some species is slow here in Idaho. Our lakes are not as warm and fertile as the Midwest. We can't always treat them the same. Our fish have different growth and reproduction problems. Then to top it off we have the bucket biologists that come along and upset the balance on some fisheries.
Overall I think F&G does very well in balancing all the different types of fisheries we have here. It will never be perfect for everyone!
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I know that they have "moved" a lot of bass in the Southeast Region this year to supplement some lakes.
They regularly move catfish from the Snake River to the ponds in the Boise -Caldwell area. Catfish in most of those ponds are not self-sustaining. They don't reproduce well in many of our lakes.
I forgot to add that they do regularly stock catfish and walleye in some lakes that don't have good natural reproduction.
The power companies also stock catfish and other fish in many of their reservoirs on a regular basis. Those aren't always on the F&G stocking reports. Sometimes fish are donated from fish farms and private hatcheries. Those aren't listed either.
Most of the lakes where they can put warm water species, and that can sustain them, are already stocked. They don't continue to stock those species because many of them reproduce well in the lake itself. Instead they strive to create a balance of species that can self sustain at a decent size. That doesn't always work out. The water levels don't always cooperate so we have some years that have good reproduction and some that aren't so hot. Growth for some species is slow here in Idaho. Our lakes are not as warm and fertile as the Midwest. We can't always treat them the same. Our fish have different growth and reproduction problems. Then to top it off we have the bucket biologists that come along and upset the balance on some fisheries.
Overall I think F&G does very well in balancing all the different types of fisheries we have here. It will never be perfect for everyone!
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