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What spawning or reproductive difference allows the Perch in Starvation to successfully reproduce and achieve adult status when the chubs were unable to do so?
Since the introduction of the Perch Starvation Walleye are now reportadly better fed and the Perch are on the upswing as well.
Why are the Perch in Deer Creek not on the same rapid upswing?
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The chubs in Starvation were overrun for years by the bust and boom cycles of the walleye. It didn't help that people killed all the chubs they caught not realizing that it was the base forage for the 'eyes. The perch are doing good now but just wait, they'll have their downtime as well, it's kind of a pattern across Utah. I can't answer about DC but it's like a melting pot of ups and downs.
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[cool][#0000ff]There is no single attributable factor. Every lake is different. Water fluctuations and basic fertility of the lake is a biggie. Perch need vegetation to spawn successfully and the baby perch need lots of zooplankton and other small invertebrates to feed on until they are large enough to become predators of the fry of other species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Deer Creek used to be full of perch. Even after the walleye got more prolific. But, once the smallmouth got a good toehold, the perch numbers declined. Young smallmouth suck up lots of baby perch when the water drops low enough that they can't hide in the weeds at the upper end of the lake. And, during low water years there is not much of a successful spawn at all. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When Jordanelle came on line, it also trapped a lot of the nutrients that would normally wash down into Deer Creek. That has an effect on the fertility and the abundance of zooplankton. Young fish of all species have a tougher time making a living. The perch population in DC has never been large since Jordanelle filled.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My guess is that the aquatic weed beds in Starvation are a key factor in the health of the perch population. Weeds provide spawning habitat, sheltered nurseries for the fry and also a base for lots of invertebrate growth. Food and shelter. After that they must compete with the wallies and smallies for food and space. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Since walleyes can and do feed on perch several inches in size, they have benefitted from the explosion of perch. Before the perch came on strong, the walleyes stunted once the chub population crashed. Smallmouth do not eat larger perch, but eat a lot of the young of the year, helping to "cull the herd" before they get big enough to compete for larger food.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Right now, Starvation is kicking out some great perch fishing and the walleyes are getting bigger too. A lot of Utah anglers are predicting that this lake will have a boom and bust cycle like we have experienced at Yuba, where the walleye explode and wipe out the perch and then everything crashes. I hope it remains more stable because the spawning conditions for the perch are not so dependent upon water levels. There is no aquatic vegetation in Yuba and they can't spawn well in low water years.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Those are just my observations. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years. I doubt that Deer Creek will ever have a big perch population again. I hope that Starvation establishes a balance that allows us to catch plenty of both perch and walleyes. It would also be nice if the smallmouth could get some size on them. You'd think that will all the crawdads in Starvation that the smallies would do better.[/#0000ff]
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Good answer. [cool]
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Special K. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Wanna meet up over there for some "original research"?[/#0000ff]
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[size 1]"What spawning or reproductive difference allows the Perch in Starvation to successfully reproduce and achieve adult status when the chubs were unable to do so?"[/size]
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[size 1]Do you or Kayote have any thoughts on this part of his question?[/size]
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If you only have one food in a lake like chubs they can and will be eaten up but you add another like perch then the perch will have a chance to grow...
If you can get the right combination of cover and food the hole lake will do better....
The more types of food you have in a lake the less a lake will have highs and lows...
The more food the bigger and more fish for the fisherman......
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[black]I received some information that sheds considerable light on chubs and perch. P[/black][size 1][black][size 2]erch outcompete the chubs. They are completely different in their life history. The chubs in Starvation boomed for only a couple years about 25 years ago when their only competition was rainbow trout. They have had little recruitment at all since then. Chubs are very long lived, over 30 years. Chubs have not had a boom and bust cycle. They simply sustained the walleye fishery for over twenty years from the initial boom. Utah chub fry are also very vulnerable to predation. You can see them floating in the surface film in the fall and they are almost completely consumed in their first year.
Perch tend to be short lived and will reproduce at a rate so high it overwhelms predators. Sometimes the boom is so huge, the main forage for the juvenile perch is other juvenile perch. This is not sustainable, and combined with increased predator numbers leads to population crashes in western reservoirs. The discovery of illegally planted perch in Starvation put a halt to the aggressive effort by the UDWR to reduce the walleye population (with the hope that in doing so the chub population might have a chance to recover) because it was apparent that any chub fry would be eaten by the newly discovered perch. [/size][/black] [/size]
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