04-04-2014, 03:29 AM
[quote gmwahl]White bass, crappies, bluegills and bullheads are game fish too. Are they just too small to be saved in order for the nets to work for carp? In all honesty, those are some of my favorite fish to try and catch on Utah lake. Seems like a waste of good fish if they are just grinding those up too with the carp, but maybe it's just not avoidable. I wonder if it's always been allowed or if it's just allowed now that they are trying to get rid of 40 million pounds of carp?[/quote]
1. The white bass, bullheads and other fish are sold commercially by the Loys, assuming a market is available, and there usually is. They are not wasted.
2. The last I heard, somebody proposed adding crappie to the allowable harvestable bycatch, but I don't know if it was approved. At the time of the public forums, bluegills weren't allowed to be harvested, but that may have changed too. What tends to happen though is that the smaller panfish and whities get pounded pretty bad in the nets by the thrashing carp and many either don't survive or are beaten up fairly badly.
3. The way the Loys target carp in open water, they tend not to catch large numbers of structure loving fish like bluegills and largemouths, but occasionally do get some and every now and then, get a lot.
4. Before the carp removal and the PCB findings, the Loys could sell their carp more easily and their COR only allowed them to keep carp and white bass. It is true that what they can keep has expanded some more recently.
5. I agree with BG1. Minimal impact for the game fish in question. I will say that I expect the bluegill and crappie numbers to decline in the coming years for 2 other reasons; the lower water levels and the phragmites removal. Bluegills and crappie seemed to really like the phrag. Maybe the carp removal will work to a point where the native grasses will return. That would work as a decent substitute.
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1. The white bass, bullheads and other fish are sold commercially by the Loys, assuming a market is available, and there usually is. They are not wasted.
2. The last I heard, somebody proposed adding crappie to the allowable harvestable bycatch, but I don't know if it was approved. At the time of the public forums, bluegills weren't allowed to be harvested, but that may have changed too. What tends to happen though is that the smaller panfish and whities get pounded pretty bad in the nets by the thrashing carp and many either don't survive or are beaten up fairly badly.
3. The way the Loys target carp in open water, they tend not to catch large numbers of structure loving fish like bluegills and largemouths, but occasionally do get some and every now and then, get a lot.
4. Before the carp removal and the PCB findings, the Loys could sell their carp more easily and their COR only allowed them to keep carp and white bass. It is true that what they can keep has expanded some more recently.
5. I agree with BG1. Minimal impact for the game fish in question. I will say that I expect the bluegill and crappie numbers to decline in the coming years for 2 other reasons; the lower water levels and the phragmites removal. Bluegills and crappie seemed to really like the phrag. Maybe the carp removal will work to a point where the native grasses will return. That would work as a decent substitute.
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