04-19-2023, 08:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-19-2023, 08:08 PM by wormandbobber.)
I just saw this press release on Facebook about Otter Creek:
"We recently completed our spring sportfish sampling at Otter Creek Reservoir in southern Utah! ?☀️
Last year, the reservoir dropped below 10% water capacity, and we were concerned about the health of the fishery after years of significant drought. But we’re happy to report that fish numbers and size appear to be great! We reduced our stocking efforts last year with the low water conditions, and that was reflected by lower catch rates of smaller (8- to 12-inch) fish than during the previous two years. We found that older rainbow trout are abundant and measure 15 to 22 inches. These fish will experience exceptional survival and growth this year.
Chub populations remain low and the ones we caught in our sample were either very small or very large. This means wiper are doing a great job keeping chub numbers in check. Wiper was caught inconsistently in our gillnets, but we saw a few very healthy wiper in the 5- to 6-pound range. We also caught two big brown trout between 5 and 7 pounds.
Overall, Otter Creek is in great shape, especially considering the recent drought years. Twenty years ago, similar conditions would have devastated the trout fishery. Now, with wiper helping to control the chub population and water users keeping the minimum amount of water in the reservoir, the fishery has survived and will rebound quickly."
https://fb.watch/k00V8U1JjA/?mibextid=uc01c0
Obviously, this is correct. With that being said, I will never forget an outing with my father as a kid on Beaver Mountain....I had just been out in a DWR boat retrieving nets that had been placed the night before. We pulled two nets from a small reservoir and didn't retrieve a single trout. However, after heading back into shore, we were approached by a fisherman who promptly showed us a stringer with a single rainbow trout dangling from it. We still laugh to this day that that one fisherman caught the only trout in the lake that day!
"We recently completed our spring sportfish sampling at Otter Creek Reservoir in southern Utah! ?☀️
Last year, the reservoir dropped below 10% water capacity, and we were concerned about the health of the fishery after years of significant drought. But we’re happy to report that fish numbers and size appear to be great! We reduced our stocking efforts last year with the low water conditions, and that was reflected by lower catch rates of smaller (8- to 12-inch) fish than during the previous two years. We found that older rainbow trout are abundant and measure 15 to 22 inches. These fish will experience exceptional survival and growth this year.
Chub populations remain low and the ones we caught in our sample were either very small or very large. This means wiper are doing a great job keeping chub numbers in check. Wiper was caught inconsistently in our gillnets, but we saw a few very healthy wiper in the 5- to 6-pound range. We also caught two big brown trout between 5 and 7 pounds.
Overall, Otter Creek is in great shape, especially considering the recent drought years. Twenty years ago, similar conditions would have devastated the trout fishery. Now, with wiper helping to control the chub population and water users keeping the minimum amount of water in the reservoir, the fishery has survived and will rebound quickly."
https://fb.watch/k00V8U1JjA/?mibextid=uc01c0
(04-18-2023, 05:56 PM)FishfulThinkin Wrote:(04-18-2023, 02:16 PM)wormandbobber Wrote: One thing I have learned from a lifetime living among fisheries biologists is that fishing results have never indicated the presence or absence of fish.
I would only partly agree with that statement. If there are no fish in a given water I would submit that no one will catch any. However, the absence of catching fish does not indicate there are no fish there.
Obviously, this is correct. With that being said, I will never forget an outing with my father as a kid on Beaver Mountain....I had just been out in a DWR boat retrieving nets that had been placed the night before. We pulled two nets from a small reservoir and didn't retrieve a single trout. However, after heading back into shore, we were approached by a fisherman who promptly showed us a stringer with a single rainbow trout dangling from it. We still laugh to this day that that one fisherman caught the only trout in the lake that day!