01-20-2016, 03:30 PM
maja -- I'm working on getting a copy of the actual plan so that we can post it here for all to see. It covers your questions.
While we wait, here are my personal thoughts on what you asked:
Fish Lake already has some tiger musky, and will continue to receive some due to downstream stocking of Johnson Reservoir. One issue with tiger musky stocking is availability -- Utah already has a problem getting tiger musky. So adding them to the list of stocked species may not be a viable option.
Walleye and pike present a significant risk to the fishery at Fish Lake because their population numbers would be uncontrollable. Just like the perch today, walleye and pike have the potential to over populate and stunt, effectively ruining Fish Lake forever. Whatever species the DWR determines to put in Fish Lake needs to be a species that can be controlled. Our lakes and reservoirs out here in the western US simply do not have natural systems in place to control populations of walleye, perch, or pike. We have far too many examples already of fisheries where these species boom, bust, crash, boom, bust, crash. It's a bad cycle we do not want to see at Fish Lake.
Another thing to consider is that right now the predator vs. prey ration in Fish Lake is high. Adding more predators (walleye, pike) to that mix does not help. You cannot have a lake full of predators and attempt to fix the situation by adding more predators. People fail to remember that perch are predator. Sure, they can be utilized by certain fish as prey, but they are still a predator. We don't need more predators in the lake, we need fewer!
However, this doesn't mean that other options could be possible in the future. Think about species like saugeye -- a sterile cross between a walleye and sauger.
There are options. Right now, I believe that the DWR has come up with the best potential option with kokanee.
Kokanee certainly can provide another sport fish option at Fish Lake for those anglers looking specifically for kokanee. The southern region did not have a single lake with kokanee prior to this stocking. So this is a good option to provide another sport fish previously not available in southern Utah.
Further, kokanee occupy a niche that is currently not being fully utilized in fish lake (open water schooling fish that eats plankton). Rainbow trout demands across the state continue to be high, and can be expensive when raising fish to "catchable" sizes. Kokanee can help fill that niche and provide another angling opportunity, while at the same time providing an additional forage fish for lake trout that are not as expensive to raise as the rainbows.
I'll work on getting a copy of the plan to post.
[signature]
While we wait, here are my personal thoughts on what you asked:
Fish Lake already has some tiger musky, and will continue to receive some due to downstream stocking of Johnson Reservoir. One issue with tiger musky stocking is availability -- Utah already has a problem getting tiger musky. So adding them to the list of stocked species may not be a viable option.
Walleye and pike present a significant risk to the fishery at Fish Lake because their population numbers would be uncontrollable. Just like the perch today, walleye and pike have the potential to over populate and stunt, effectively ruining Fish Lake forever. Whatever species the DWR determines to put in Fish Lake needs to be a species that can be controlled. Our lakes and reservoirs out here in the western US simply do not have natural systems in place to control populations of walleye, perch, or pike. We have far too many examples already of fisheries where these species boom, bust, crash, boom, bust, crash. It's a bad cycle we do not want to see at Fish Lake.
Another thing to consider is that right now the predator vs. prey ration in Fish Lake is high. Adding more predators (walleye, pike) to that mix does not help. You cannot have a lake full of predators and attempt to fix the situation by adding more predators. People fail to remember that perch are predator. Sure, they can be utilized by certain fish as prey, but they are still a predator. We don't need more predators in the lake, we need fewer!
However, this doesn't mean that other options could be possible in the future. Think about species like saugeye -- a sterile cross between a walleye and sauger.
There are options. Right now, I believe that the DWR has come up with the best potential option with kokanee.
Kokanee certainly can provide another sport fish option at Fish Lake for those anglers looking specifically for kokanee. The southern region did not have a single lake with kokanee prior to this stocking. So this is a good option to provide another sport fish previously not available in southern Utah.
Further, kokanee occupy a niche that is currently not being fully utilized in fish lake (open water schooling fish that eats plankton). Rainbow trout demands across the state continue to be high, and can be expensive when raising fish to "catchable" sizes. Kokanee can help fill that niche and provide another angling opportunity, while at the same time providing an additional forage fish for lake trout that are not as expensive to raise as the rainbows.
I'll work on getting a copy of the plan to post.
[signature]