Were there/ are there small mouth in the berry?

[PAC12_AfterDark]

Settle a dispute for me.. I have heard from more than one person small mouth exist at strawberry / SC.

Some have even told me "I know so because I've caught them!"

DWR does not list them.

Fish tales or facts?

[TubeDude]

Settle a dispute for me.. I have heard from more than one person small mouth exist at strawberry / SC.

Some have even told me "I know so because I've caught them!"

DWR does not list them.

Fish tales or facts?

Smallmouth do not "officially" exist in Strawberry.  But that does not mean that there have not been a few "introduced" by bucket bozos.  Over the years there have been isolated catches of smallies...reported and photos provided by reputable anglers.  But they are extremely rare and it is not worthwhile targeting them

Some anglers would like to see smallmouth as another species available from Strawberry.  But the biology is that there could be no naturally reproducing population.  Something about the young of the year starving out in late fall or early winter when their seasonal invertebrate food sources disappear for the winter.  There is plenty of food (chubs and redside shiners...and crawdads) for adult smallies.  But if they can never survive beyond a few short inches they never get large enough to eat regular smallie chow.

As it has been proven, smallies dumped in after they are beyond the smallfry stage can survive and prosper.  But it is highly unlikely that DWR would ever consider (or allow) a smallmouth stocking program for Da Berry.



PS.  There have also been quite a few tiger trout caught out of Strawberry...even though none have ever been officially planted.

[PAC12_AfterDark]

Thank you TD! I can sleep easy now.

Looks like I have some apologies to make tomorrow...

[Anglinarcher]

Ya, I agree that there are Smallies in the Berry.  I have caught them.  I can catch them at will at one specific spot.  But...... as TD indicates, they are somewhat of a joke.  I kept one to eat, a huge 10", and based on the scales I would say that the fish was at least 5 years old.

Small Mouth Bass are a cool water fish, not a cold water fish, and Strawberry is a cold water lake.  I not only don't think they can spawn, at least not very successfully, but they just can't grow.

[PAC12_AfterDark]

I agree with what you all are saying.

My guess is the ecosystem must be a little different in some of those Ontario/ northern Michigan lakes.

[RockyRaab2]

Yes, it IS a head scratcher. Smallies thrive in Canada, the great lakes, and just down the road from the Berry in Starvie and the Gorge. Chubs seem to find enough zooplankton in the Berry, but smallies can't? Smallies also love crayfish, and the Berry would seem to be a banquet hall.

I agree completely that the DWR doesn't want them in there, but also can't understand why the ones that do find their way in don't survive well.

[TubeDude]

I agree with what you all are saying.

My guess is the ecosystem must be a little different in some of those Ontario/ northern Michigan lakes.

It is not just a matter of water temperatures.  It really is is a whole ecosystem thing.  First of all, Strawberry is at a higher altitude than most of the prime smallie ponds elsewhere.  Second, it is a relatively "new" water...compared to the centuries old that some of the natural lakes are in the midwest and east.  Habitat and food resources exist in the latter that just do not exist in "young" Utah reservoirs at high altitudes.

What I retain from edumacated input from DWR folks is that the main problem with Strawberry (and Scofield) is that the spawn occurs later...in the colder water...and the young do not get large enough in the short growing period before iceup to be able to feed on available food items.  The phyto plankton and zooplankton decline greatly when fall waters chill and there is just nothing for the fragile young smallies to eat for several months.

Most of the ancient natural lakes where smallies thrive have a multi-layered ecosystem, with a variety of small forage fish species and several types of insect larvae year round.  They spawn earlier and the young have lots of food to grow faster and to be able to survive the leaner months beneath the ice.

We have several reservoirs here in Utah that maintain naturally producing populations of smallies.  But if you look at the average times of ice-off in the spring they are usually 1-2 months ahead of Strawberry.  That can mean the difference between survival and not for the new hatchlings.

[RockyRaab2]

That makes sense, Pat. I'm not a fishologist, so I'll leaving the cogitating to them. And I'll fish somewhere else.