11-16-2014, 09:04 PM
300win,
Like it's been stated, brown trout were highly productive in the Gorge when Utah chub were abundant. Utah chub thrived under the initial conditions of the reservoir, when there was abundant flooded vegetation. As the reservoir aged, and shoreline vegetation degraded, the chub numbers declined. There was also some overlap with lake trout numbers increasing, as they would also utilize Utah chub. As chub numbers declined, lake trout adapted to open water forage, like kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. Brown trout did not.
Today the chub have all but disappeared, with exception to the uppermost portions of the reservoir. We still see pulses of chubs in nets, stomachs, etc, and it's typically on years (like this one) when we have good hydrology and the reservoir elevation has a dramatic increase, flooding new vegetation. Much to our surprise, we actually netted an adult Utah chub above Buckboard a couple of weeks ago. They're just so uncommon now....
In regards to stocking brown trout, it is a possibility, but I still think they would be a rare return on the Utah side of the reservoir. I honestly don't get many anglers asking for them on this side of the reservoir either. While surveying anglers in WY, I do hear that request frequently. Brown trout would have to be stocked bigger (8-inch) and at higher densities to get any type of measurable returns on the UT side. With hatchery cuts, both state and federal, it would likely mean taking cuts elsewhere for the Gorge, like rainbows or kokanee.
I would like to try tiger trout again someday as a potential burbot control tool, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be at this time. We tried stocking some "excess" tigers in 2008 and saw zero return on those fish. About 60K were planted in July, but they were only 3.5-4.5 inches. I imagine they made for some fine forage with how active smallmouth bass and lake trout are during that time period. Once again, they were excess fish in the hatchery system so we took the opportunity. Due to the size and timing of the stocking, it was likely an unfair test and it would be interesting to try them out again. The nice thing about tigers too, is they are sterile, so if they ended up being a predator or competitor for other species we manage for, we could stock fewer or stop stocking them all together to minimize impacts to the fishery.
Hope that helps some? Ryno
[signature]
Like it's been stated, brown trout were highly productive in the Gorge when Utah chub were abundant. Utah chub thrived under the initial conditions of the reservoir, when there was abundant flooded vegetation. As the reservoir aged, and shoreline vegetation degraded, the chub numbers declined. There was also some overlap with lake trout numbers increasing, as they would also utilize Utah chub. As chub numbers declined, lake trout adapted to open water forage, like kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. Brown trout did not.
Today the chub have all but disappeared, with exception to the uppermost portions of the reservoir. We still see pulses of chubs in nets, stomachs, etc, and it's typically on years (like this one) when we have good hydrology and the reservoir elevation has a dramatic increase, flooding new vegetation. Much to our surprise, we actually netted an adult Utah chub above Buckboard a couple of weeks ago. They're just so uncommon now....
In regards to stocking brown trout, it is a possibility, but I still think they would be a rare return on the Utah side of the reservoir. I honestly don't get many anglers asking for them on this side of the reservoir either. While surveying anglers in WY, I do hear that request frequently. Brown trout would have to be stocked bigger (8-inch) and at higher densities to get any type of measurable returns on the UT side. With hatchery cuts, both state and federal, it would likely mean taking cuts elsewhere for the Gorge, like rainbows or kokanee.
I would like to try tiger trout again someday as a potential burbot control tool, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be at this time. We tried stocking some "excess" tigers in 2008 and saw zero return on those fish. About 60K were planted in July, but they were only 3.5-4.5 inches. I imagine they made for some fine forage with how active smallmouth bass and lake trout are during that time period. Once again, they were excess fish in the hatchery system so we took the opportunity. Due to the size and timing of the stocking, it was likely an unfair test and it would be interesting to try them out again. The nice thing about tigers too, is they are sterile, so if they ended up being a predator or competitor for other species we manage for, we could stock fewer or stop stocking them all together to minimize impacts to the fishery.
Hope that helps some? Ryno
[signature]