08-05-2010, 12:16 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. Glad you like my photos. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yes, the perch from Starvation (a misnomer) are always porky. Unlike a lot of perch waters this lake has a buffet dinner table for them...lots of different things to eat...all year. Of course they forage on the young of their own and other species. They are perch. But, they also have vast weedbeds full of fresh water shrimp, crawdads and other nutritious invertebrates upon which to dine. Every perch that visits my fillet board has abundant visceral fat inside when I slice and dice them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You may be interested in the history of this lake. It was given the name Starvation by early settlers who tried to graze cattle in the dry and inhospitable desert surroundings. You guessed it. The cattle starved.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I fished "Starvy" while living in Utah back in the 70's and early 80's, it had a few brown trout and cutthroats...and tons of Utah Chubs. You could not ice fish the lake in the winter because the chubs would swarm your baits before a trout could ever get to it. But we caught some BIG browns on large Rapalas right at iceout and again in the fall.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A few years back, our DWR planted smallmouth bass and walleye to control the chubs. They did that indeed...too well. They ate up all of the small chubs as fast as the large ones could spawn them. Both smallies and wallies became stunted and DWR put a bounty on walleyes...paying private concerns to set nets to clean out some of them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Then a "bucket biologist" planted yellow perch in the lake. They exploded in population...providing food for the larger predators and a great new fishery for perch-lovers. We hate to see violators dumping new species into any waters but in this case the yellow perch saved the lake and restored it to good health. There are now some huge walleyes and hefty smallmouth to be caught here. And the perch routinely exceed 13 to 14 inches...and grow to at least 16. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Recently DWR has started stocking rainbow trout too. Great experiment. Lots of invertebrates and zooplankton in the mid depths of the lake...where they are not competing with other species. They grow large and fat...fast...and are some of the hardest hitting and hardest fighting 'bows you could ever wanna put a hook into. The flesh is bright pink and excellent table fare.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I can't help making the comparison between our Starvation and Idaho's Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir. Many of the same species and they have a similar makeup and appearance in many spots.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yes, the perch from Starvation (a misnomer) are always porky. Unlike a lot of perch waters this lake has a buffet dinner table for them...lots of different things to eat...all year. Of course they forage on the young of their own and other species. They are perch. But, they also have vast weedbeds full of fresh water shrimp, crawdads and other nutritious invertebrates upon which to dine. Every perch that visits my fillet board has abundant visceral fat inside when I slice and dice them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You may be interested in the history of this lake. It was given the name Starvation by early settlers who tried to graze cattle in the dry and inhospitable desert surroundings. You guessed it. The cattle starved.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I fished "Starvy" while living in Utah back in the 70's and early 80's, it had a few brown trout and cutthroats...and tons of Utah Chubs. You could not ice fish the lake in the winter because the chubs would swarm your baits before a trout could ever get to it. But we caught some BIG browns on large Rapalas right at iceout and again in the fall.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A few years back, our DWR planted smallmouth bass and walleye to control the chubs. They did that indeed...too well. They ate up all of the small chubs as fast as the large ones could spawn them. Both smallies and wallies became stunted and DWR put a bounty on walleyes...paying private concerns to set nets to clean out some of them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Then a "bucket biologist" planted yellow perch in the lake. They exploded in population...providing food for the larger predators and a great new fishery for perch-lovers. We hate to see violators dumping new species into any waters but in this case the yellow perch saved the lake and restored it to good health. There are now some huge walleyes and hefty smallmouth to be caught here. And the perch routinely exceed 13 to 14 inches...and grow to at least 16. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Recently DWR has started stocking rainbow trout too. Great experiment. Lots of invertebrates and zooplankton in the mid depths of the lake...where they are not competing with other species. They grow large and fat...fast...and are some of the hardest hitting and hardest fighting 'bows you could ever wanna put a hook into. The flesh is bright pink and excellent table fare.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I can't help making the comparison between our Starvation and Idaho's Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir. Many of the same species and they have a similar makeup and appearance in many spots.[/#0000ff]
[signature]