08-18-2016, 08:03 PM
[#0000FF]Thanks for posting the plan. And thanks to Chris for his ongoing assistance to Utah anglers...and to our forum...with all of the info he freely provides.
Lots of ambitious and interesting goals outlined in the management plan. I suspect there will be some speed bumps, head scratching and "aha moments" during the implementation process.
I was impressed with the recognition that it will be vital to have the table set (food resources) before bringing in the new dinner guests. That has always been the story with Jordanelle. There has really not been much of a proactive management plan up to this point. More a matter of recognizing existing conditions...but no lessons learned from the rise and fall of species...or steps taken to turn anything around with something more than a change in regulations.
I have fished Jordanelle since about 2004. At that time there was an overabundance of chubs...of all sizes. And perch swarmed everywhere...of all sizes. The smallmouth were plentiful and there were lots of them of ample inches and poundage. Bassrods was a happy boy in those days.
Within a couple of years the numbers of small chubs began to decline. Still plenty of larger ones, but the predators were snarfing up the young as fast as they could be hatched. A few years later that would spiral down to being able to catch quite a few LARGE chubs...up to 14 inches...but virtually nothing smaller. Now the smallmouths had to shift their primary forage base to perch.
AND THEN...during the winter of 2009 there was a disease or something that wiped out the major part of the perch population under the ice. For the next few years it was difficult to find even a single perch. No married ones either.
This was when the big smallmouths just disappeared...likely starved to death. It was tough to find any smallies over a foot long. And Bassrods began to rant about the smaller bass being the result of DWR changing regulations and allowing anglers to keep all the big bass. Yeah, right.
Over the past three years there has been a steady and noticeable increase in both perch and bass. And there are larger specimens of both showing up again. Good news. It's all about the food chain.
I remain neutral on the introduction of tiger muskies. It will not help increase the population of either perch or bass...but might result in fewer but larger ones available to anglers. Not sure the "average" angler or family anglers will be satisfied with that. The tigers will also probably enjoy a few meals of trout Jordanelle. Members of the esox clan just LOOOOVE those tender troutski morsels.
It will be nice for some if the Kokes establish a fishable population. Water is deep enough and hopefully cold enough. There are plenty of zooplankton for their food supply. The final question is whether or not the lake is big enough and has good enough aeration at depth to keep the kokes happy.
Wipers? Overkill methinks. What leftovers will there be for them after the perch, smallies and tigers get through? The linesides do much better when there is a massive food base of edible sized finny morsels...like chubs, shiners, shad and such. Otherwise they have to scramble just to stay alive on meager leftovers...and they are not likely to reach any hefty sizes.
Splake? Possibly another case of overkill. Adding another meat eater to the food chain. But if DWR is able to load up the grocery store with enough edibles for all the shoppers then why not?
I applaud the current mindset of DWR and their willingness to remain open minded about new introductions...where they are both suitable and where there is good potential for survival and filling an angling want/need. We all can only hope that the introductions are done carefully and methodically and that the proper groundwork (food resources) is completed before simply dumping in a couple of truckloads of a new species...just to see if it works.
[/#0000FF]
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Lots of ambitious and interesting goals outlined in the management plan. I suspect there will be some speed bumps, head scratching and "aha moments" during the implementation process.
I was impressed with the recognition that it will be vital to have the table set (food resources) before bringing in the new dinner guests. That has always been the story with Jordanelle. There has really not been much of a proactive management plan up to this point. More a matter of recognizing existing conditions...but no lessons learned from the rise and fall of species...or steps taken to turn anything around with something more than a change in regulations.
I have fished Jordanelle since about 2004. At that time there was an overabundance of chubs...of all sizes. And perch swarmed everywhere...of all sizes. The smallmouth were plentiful and there were lots of them of ample inches and poundage. Bassrods was a happy boy in those days.
Within a couple of years the numbers of small chubs began to decline. Still plenty of larger ones, but the predators were snarfing up the young as fast as they could be hatched. A few years later that would spiral down to being able to catch quite a few LARGE chubs...up to 14 inches...but virtually nothing smaller. Now the smallmouths had to shift their primary forage base to perch.
AND THEN...during the winter of 2009 there was a disease or something that wiped out the major part of the perch population under the ice. For the next few years it was difficult to find even a single perch. No married ones either.
This was when the big smallmouths just disappeared...likely starved to death. It was tough to find any smallies over a foot long. And Bassrods began to rant about the smaller bass being the result of DWR changing regulations and allowing anglers to keep all the big bass. Yeah, right.
Over the past three years there has been a steady and noticeable increase in both perch and bass. And there are larger specimens of both showing up again. Good news. It's all about the food chain.
I remain neutral on the introduction of tiger muskies. It will not help increase the population of either perch or bass...but might result in fewer but larger ones available to anglers. Not sure the "average" angler or family anglers will be satisfied with that. The tigers will also probably enjoy a few meals of trout Jordanelle. Members of the esox clan just LOOOOVE those tender troutski morsels.
It will be nice for some if the Kokes establish a fishable population. Water is deep enough and hopefully cold enough. There are plenty of zooplankton for their food supply. The final question is whether or not the lake is big enough and has good enough aeration at depth to keep the kokes happy.
Wipers? Overkill methinks. What leftovers will there be for them after the perch, smallies and tigers get through? The linesides do much better when there is a massive food base of edible sized finny morsels...like chubs, shiners, shad and such. Otherwise they have to scramble just to stay alive on meager leftovers...and they are not likely to reach any hefty sizes.
Splake? Possibly another case of overkill. Adding another meat eater to the food chain. But if DWR is able to load up the grocery store with enough edibles for all the shoppers then why not?
I applaud the current mindset of DWR and their willingness to remain open minded about new introductions...where they are both suitable and where there is good potential for survival and filling an angling want/need. We all can only hope that the introductions are done carefully and methodically and that the proper groundwork (food resources) is completed before simply dumping in a couple of truckloads of a new species...just to see if it works.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]