Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
On my second cast
#1
I drove to the Utah State Park yesterday in the late afternoon in hopes of catching some crappie and/or white bass for sturgeon bait.  I first tried fishing the Provo River near where it enters Utah Lake.  On my second cast I caught this:


[Image: Pike.png]

It was about 27" long and I would have kept it for sturgeon bait except that it had a tag on it, so following the rules I released it.  Interestingly, it had sutures on the lower end of the stomach area.  Do they operate on the pike before tagging and releasing them to make them sterile?

I moved into the marina and hooked something large, likely a channel cat of maybe a carp, and I had made a rookie mistake with my drag being too tight and it immediately broke me off.  After a couple hours, I caught a bullhead and that was it for the day.
Reply
#2
Nice catch.

It would be interesting to find out what the surgery was for.
Live to hunt----- Hunt to live.
Reply
#3
Sutures?  My guess is that they inserted a tracking capsule into the body cavity.  Either that or they tied the tubes to prevent further procreation.
Reply
#4
Good one, Kent!  Thanks for sharing!
Reply
#5
My guess is a tracking capsule, too. Beep...beep...beep...
Reply
#6
I forwarded a copy of your report and the picture of the fish to Chris Crockett of the DWR office in Springville...asking for clarification of that situation.  That office has been very aggressive in their studies of the northern pike in Utah Lake and I'm reasonably sure they are responsible for that tag and sutures.  I'm betting he will respond by the first part of next week.
Reply
#7
[Image: 7-D7-EDDF9-3-D56-4176-89-A4-36-FDC63719-D0.png]
Reply
#8
I sent an inquiry to Chris Crockett of DWR...guessing that the sutures might be for tracking implants.  As usual, Chris responded promptly and included a link to a DWR news release.  Thanks, Chris.

Pat, you are correct, the pike has an acoustic tag implanted in its abdomen to allow tracking via several transponders located in the lake (or via a boat mounted transponder).  The wire/line extending from the fish's abdomen is essentially the antenna for communicating with the transponder.  We also place numbered floy/external tags on them to help further identify them as a fish we would like released.  Send my thanks to the anglers for releasing these tagged fish.  I know the regulations are a bit complicated, but we are using these fish to track pike movements, thus our desire for them to be released.  The number of tagged fish is a fraction of the total population, releasing these will not alter the population in the lake.  Some individuals have called me upset that we ask for some to be killed, others to be released, but it's a common fisheries tool (Google "Judas fish" for examples of how it's been used elsewhere).  For now we are trying to better understand where they spawn, timing, etc (as well as their behavior the rest of the year). 
 
https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/858-anglers-report-release-tagged-northern-pike-utah-lake.html
 


[font="Tahoma", sans-serif]Chris Crockett[/font]
[font="Tahoma", sans-serif]Central Region Aquatics Manager[/font]
[font="Tahoma", sans-serif]Utah Division of Wildlife Resources[/font]
[font="Tahoma", sans-serif]1115 North Main Street[/font]
[font="Tahoma", sans-serif]Springville, UT 84663[/font]
[font="Tahoma", sans-serif](801) 491-5678[/font]
[font="Tahoma", sans-serif]chriscrockett@utah.gov[/font]
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)