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I went up to one of my favorite lakes in the Cottonwood canyons, only to find that there had been winterkill. The fish weren't cruising the shoreline and between a night and a morning I saw no more than 6 fish rise. This lake used to have some very nice fish.
So does anyone know how long it takes a lake to recover after a winterkill? Does the DWR bring in fish or do they rely on the few survivors to repopulate?
Tough to see a once great lake be so dead.
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Weeeeelllll, if it was silver lake at the top of big cottonwood, that's a put and take.
the other lakes, from what I know, are tough lakes to auto-sustain. I think they rely on occasional stockings from the dwr to keep anything in their in the short growing season....
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Silver Lake? It was Upper Red Pine. I've caught honest to goodness 20 inch fish out of there over the years. It's fairly deep so the fish have had time to grow without winterkill. I guess it will be a long, long time before the lake sees 20 inchers again.
I fished the lower lake for about 30 minutes on my hike out. Saw quite a few fish at the inlet and cruising the shoreline. They were pretty eager to nail a black ant.
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I'd guess 3-4 years for things to get back to normal if it isn't stocked.
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[quote baetisman] I guess it will be a long, long time before the lake sees 20 inchers again. [/quote]
You mentioned that you saw some fish while up there. If that is correct, then there was only a partial kill, which is good. Depending on stocking practices, the remaining fish should have a smorgasbord of food to eat from. Limited competition and a plethora of food = fast growth rates, which means those 20" fish will only be 1 or 2 years out. On Boulder, you'd have 20" fish in1 year in this situation.
The biggest variable with this is going to be next winter. If you have fish survive this next winter, you should have some very nice sized fish next summer/fall.
Even with a total kill, if the DWR gets the lake restocked, it should only take 2-3 years to get it back where it was prior to the kill -- of course, this all depends on overwintering fish.
instead of being depressed with this situation, you should be licking your lips!! I would be...
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That lake is pretty deep. Like you said. I would bet the fish population is not really hurt. If you like long hikes with steep incline with fishing as the reward at the top, try the upper bells. Its kinda tucked away, but I have always done really well catching cutthroats there. I always overnight it and camp out in the aspen grove below thunder mountain bowl. If you pack light, and leave early you can make a day out of it. I also would suggest getting a high quality water filter. I prefer mountain cold water, rather than packing around warm tap water.
I stopped going up there about 10 years ago when they started enforcing the no dog rule. I cant justify going on such a long hike and having all the fun to myself, leaving the pups behind.
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