08-08-2018, 05:45 PM
[quote PBH]
I don't know much about Lost Creek. It looks like they do stock tiger trout and splake. This is good. I have no idea if it is enough or not. Not knowing the history of the lake, I really have no thoughts on it's future.
[/quote]
So this is a concept that I cannot wrap my brain around... using coldwater gamefish to control warmwater baitfish populations???
Lost Creek only sits at about 6000 feet... so most of Jun through Sep the surface temps are well above the comfort/fatal levels for trout. No problem since the lake stratifies and those fish can find comfort 30-50 feet below the surface in the thermocline. Problem is, the chubs spend most of their lives in the warm shallows... so right when they are spawning and their young are feeding and flourishing, there's no gamefish that will be hunting them for 4-5 months at least. By then their numbers are so great that the trout can't keep up with them.
Other issue with chubs is that they can feed on plant matter. So lakes that drop and expose their shelves, killing off the trout forage, continue to produce good growing conditions for chubs. Now you've got trout trying to compete against massive swarms of chubs for the available plankton plumes. Guess who wins that battle if water conditions favor one versus the other.
In my experience, warmwater predators are needed to prey on warmwater baitfish. Just have to hope that these predators don't develop a preference for the much easier to spot/catch hatchery trout. [
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I don't know much about Lost Creek. It looks like they do stock tiger trout and splake. This is good. I have no idea if it is enough or not. Not knowing the history of the lake, I really have no thoughts on it's future.
[/quote]
So this is a concept that I cannot wrap my brain around... using coldwater gamefish to control warmwater baitfish populations???
Lost Creek only sits at about 6000 feet... so most of Jun through Sep the surface temps are well above the comfort/fatal levels for trout. No problem since the lake stratifies and those fish can find comfort 30-50 feet below the surface in the thermocline. Problem is, the chubs spend most of their lives in the warm shallows... so right when they are spawning and their young are feeding and flourishing, there's no gamefish that will be hunting them for 4-5 months at least. By then their numbers are so great that the trout can't keep up with them.
Other issue with chubs is that they can feed on plant matter. So lakes that drop and expose their shelves, killing off the trout forage, continue to produce good growing conditions for chubs. Now you've got trout trying to compete against massive swarms of chubs for the available plankton plumes. Guess who wins that battle if water conditions favor one versus the other.
In my experience, warmwater predators are needed to prey on warmwater baitfish. Just have to hope that these predators don't develop a preference for the much easier to spot/catch hatchery trout. [
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