08-02-2010, 10:30 AM
Sturgeon would be the only issue. Milner has a few sturgeon that were planted in there. To my knowledge they do not reproduce, and these fish are never added to the F&G's targeted species for sample counting in the lowland lake studies. For the most part they are treated as non-existent. The area between Lower salmon A and B could be a problem with flatheads. Channel cats would not be an issue. The lower snake has TONS of cats and sturgeon. The Colombia has walleye, cats and a sturgeon population that allows harvest. For the most part I don’t see the channel cats as a problem. Milner could be so much more than it is. It maintains a constant pool. It gets warm. It has shallow fast water and slow deep water. The prey base is LARGE and the game fish population is low. It has a lot of the right stuff. But with all that right stuff it has it is in my opinion poor fishing opportunity. Bass are the only fish that has a base large enough to say they are there. But the Bass that are there are small in my opinion. Salmon dam has WAY better bass fishing in my opinion.
Again I have talked to F&G and Idaho Power about the cats in Milner. They honestly know nothing about them. The sample counts that are done are done by Idaho Power. They do share “some” of the data with IDFG but not that much. IP claims that the only time they can catch fish for sample counting is in September. I am trying to get the OK as a F&G reservist to be a part of that sample counting effort on Milner. Ron
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Again I have talked to F&G and Idaho Power about the cats in Milner. They honestly know nothing about them. The sample counts that are done are done by Idaho Power. They do share “some” of the data with IDFG but not that much. IP claims that the only time they can catch fish for sample counting is in September. I am trying to get the OK as a F&G reservist to be a part of that sample counting effort on Milner. Ron
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