01-17-2013, 06:40 PM
Ok, I've been reading this thread for a long time now, and finally decided to throw my two cents in. It seems clear that the perch have had a detrimental effect on the rainbow and lake trout fishery at Fish Lake. I don't condone bucket biology in any way, but a see no reason to piss and moan about what might have been. Personally, I think it currently is one of the top perch fisheries in the state. No, we don't get the midwest pound plus perch, but on average, the perch in there are far larger than other places I have fished in Utah. (Disclaimer: I have never caught perch from Yuba)
As far as numbers and average size of fish, Fish lake is head and shoulders above my usual perch lakes, i.e. Hyrum, Mantua, Newton, Deer Creek and Rockport.
Do I fish there because there is also a possibility of catching a large laker? Yes, but I wouldn't be there in the first place if not for the perch. The argument has been made that I would like to catch 100 trout more than 100 perch. Not so, for me anyway. No matter how many trout I caught, I could only keep 4, and they don't taste nearly as good as perch anyway. So, I could come home with a few fish that I don't particularly like the taste of, or a bucket load of those I do.
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As far as numbers and average size of fish, Fish lake is head and shoulders above my usual perch lakes, i.e. Hyrum, Mantua, Newton, Deer Creek and Rockport.
Do I fish there because there is also a possibility of catching a large laker? Yes, but I wouldn't be there in the first place if not for the perch. The argument has been made that I would like to catch 100 trout more than 100 perch. Not so, for me anyway. No matter how many trout I caught, I could only keep 4, and they don't taste nearly as good as perch anyway. So, I could come home with a few fish that I don't particularly like the taste of, or a bucket load of those I do.
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