Strawberry Smallies

[medal_chucker]

I noticed it says they have smallmouth at Strawberry. Does anyone know if there are a bunch in there, or if it is a good place to fish for them?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Yes, there are smallmouth in Strawberry...but not legally. Those who know the lake well and know how to fish for smallies can sometimes pick up more than one in a day's fishing. But they are so few and so scattered that it is not worth planning a trip to get them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]While there is plenty of food (crawdads) in Strawberry, the conditions for successful spawning and recruitment are not good. Thus there has not been a major explosion. Only a few hatchlings survive most years and some years none at all. Like all small fish in Da Berry they have to find enough food to sustain them and avoid the jaws of the predators.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I recently saw a picture of a smallie from the Soldier Creek area that weighed over 6 pounds. [/#0000ff]
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[nolying]

Tube Dude,
How you say that the smallmouth spawning conditions are not good in the berry is not correct. The lake is vertualy the same as starvation,flaming gorge,deer creek,jordanelle,and echo and the smallie populations boom at all of these lakes. Wow I hope that you are not working for the biology dept.
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[packfish]

This is from 2003 and Roger Wilson- if it was a great place to spawn don't you think in 7 years there would be a sizeable population ?
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]Here's a response from Roger Wilson, DWR's Strawberry project leader:[/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]For your information, we attempted to locate smallmouth bass with electrofishing equipment last Thursday on Soldier Creek. We were unable to sample any bass, and it is evident that they are present in sufficiently low numbers to escape detection at this time. [/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]This is the 4th reported catch of bass in the last 2 years, all on the Soldier Creek side. [/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]We have been engaged in a smallmouth bass evaluation over the last several years. It is my opinion that smallmouth will not successfully reproduce in Strawberry because of the extensive starvation period (the cold water period during which bass will not feed <10*C), and the slow growth rate of young-of-the-year fish produced by natural reproduction. [/size][/font]
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[fish_or_die]

wow, you chose to criticize arguably the most respected member of this forum for your first post. Nice
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[lavaman]

He will learn.
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[mike4cobra]

Those lakes may be in the same region as strawberry but are no where near the same. Strawberry is truely a "trout" lake. I hope YOU dont work as a biologist. People are still ice fishing Strawberry when you can launch on all the other lakes you mentioned. Its not just bottom or shoreline composition, it also has to do with the climate of the area.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak (make a post) and remove all doubt.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My comments were based upon substantial interaction with respected and experienced fisheries biologists. What were yours based upon?[/#0000ff]
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[T-sho]

Trust me i tried to argue with TubeDude about Blue cats being in Utah Lake and within one of his counter posts i ended up with my foot in my mouth... I will side with TubeDude haha
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[FSBO_SLAYER]

Probably not his first post. Most likely a regular who didn't have the guts to post it by his/her real handle.
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[flygoddess]

Then the Moderators could check IP numbers.
Hey, we all make mistakes[cool]
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[Nica]

He has enboldened me though, I think I will go teach Stephen Hawking a thing or two about physics.
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[fsh4fun05]

I am a 'bass fisherman'. Got the boat, the gear, the electronics, the know how, etc. and I have lived in Utah most of my life. If it was feasible for me to go to the berry and catch smallmouth bass I would be on it in a heartbeat. Despite bucket biology it's just not going to happen. Like mentioned, the physics of the reservoir are not suited for smallmouth bass or we would have seen a population of them. In some aspects Strawberry is great for smallies but the defining aspect is the cold, cold water for many months.
In short, they don't belong there.
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[flygoddess]

Strawberry elevation 7200+
Starvation elevation 5600
Deer Creek 5400+
Jordanelle 6200

This could have something to do with it[]
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[tomegun]

Smallies would adjust. The smallmouth bass is a very adaptable critter. They range from the great white north and down into the deep south. The key is forage and nutrients. Strawberry has both. Jordanelle for example had great nutrients for its first 15 years and ample forage. Because the plant life is now dying out the perch, chubs, and little troutski's aren't doing very well.

I would love to see Smallies in Strawberry. Just to watch them adapt to a fertile body of water would be cool. They mix well rainbows and cutthroats in other bodies of water why not the Berry. Mayfly hatches, crawdads, and chubs will give the smallies feed year round so it is doubtful they would starve. I say give them a tryout, legally.



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[trout_slayer]

Any ideas on who might have put them in there? Thought I overheard or read an article on the "perp" who the DWR says bucket bio'd those critters!!! Could be "one of our own"!!!
TS
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[fuzzyfisher]

i think ya might right.. at one time there was perch in strawberry. if they can live in there, there is a good chance that Smallies will find a way to make it too..

only time will tell if they can or not.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I don't think anybody has ever said they won't LIVE in Strawberry. But, they have to be planted in sizes large enough to live on available forage...crawdads and minnows. The problem is spawning and recruitment. There is a big gap in the food chain for several cold months where there is no food for the newly hatched fry to live on. They starve out before the cycle goes around and there are more items in the food chain small enough for them to eat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It would be like planting sterile hybrids to plant adult smallies. They would survive and grow just fine but would be mostly unable to reproduce.[/#0000ff]
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[bassrods]

I have caught only 7 smallies in the Berry from 4" up to 6.3 lb and know of a few others that has been caught as well one by Jerry Little when he worked for the DWR...

Maybe sense they say they can't or don't spawn very well in the Berry they could be used like they do the wipers or other high brides to control the chubs...
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I am sure there are a lot of smallie fans who would love to have another fishin' hole with their favorite fishy available. And I doubt they would impact the trout fishing in any way. Some trout feed on the crawdads, but I doubt the smallies would starve out the trout. I do believe they would eat some chubs. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fat chance we got of getting more smallies planted in Strawberry. Just the mere suggestion probably causes the folks in charge of the lake to have heart palpitations.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But, since I don't fish Strawberry it makes me no never mind.[/#0000ff]
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