DWR Open House Overview 5-24-12

Utah Fishing Reports & Discussion Utah Fishing General
1

:sunglasses:Shocking. More DWR personnel than anglers showed up for the meeting. These meetings are to provide input and feedback to DWR so they can study the issues prior to the September RAC meetings. The RAC meetings are where final recommendations are drafted for regulation changes for the coming year. The open house meetings were moved back from June to May to allow more input and longer evaluation time. Might as well not even have them.

About a dozen non-DWR folks at the meeting. I knew most of them as members from Rocky Mountain Anglers, Strawberry Anglers Association and other active groups. Only a few “rank and file” fishermen there to listen, learn and contribute. Definitely not a good representation of the goobers who are always bashing DWR for their poor management and uncaring attitude toward anglers.

We were promised that we would get a synopsis sheet after the other meetings are completed, with the list of topics discussed and potential changes in the regulations. I will post that on the board when I get my copy.

Here are a few of the topics discussed last night.

1. Proposed to change spearfishing regs to allow year-round…just like regular angling. Also, to allow spearfishing for tilapia only at Blue Lake.

2. Proposed to remove bass size regs from Utah Lake and allow six fish of any size. Some discussion as to WHY? Mostly as a consideration to tournament anglers who want to keep bigger fish. Not as an aid to happy harvesters. Also questioned as to WHY even have tournaments on UL.

3. Study is being conducted on Scofield to determine need for rotenone treatment to get rid of chubs. DWR wants to avoid it and hopes cutts and tigers will eat more chubs. If approved and funded rotenone treatment would be 2014-2015. Also, redside shiners are coming back in Scofield after a big population drop…likely due to a parasite problem a couple of years ago.

4. Recommendation that Little Dell be given an emergency status for an immediate change in regulations. Already C&R on cutts, with brookies okay to keep. Suggested that increased pressure and mortality should get regs changed to artificials only…single barbless hooks.

5. Strawberry discussion. Cutt populations are down but rainbows are up. Angler surveys show about equal division among those who favor more harvest against tighter regs and trophy fish focus. Can’t have it all. The prospect of adding tiger trout and sterile brookies was proposed at the Springville meeting and is on the docket for consideration.

6. Warm water fisheries division is making progress. Newly hatched tiger muskies are being stocked this year. Wipers have also been successfully produced and stocked…as sac fry. Numbers are good…approaching goals for this year. And wipers will be available from many new waters this year and in the future.

There have already been a lot of good suggestions made to DWR…and they are taking notes and beginning studies. But they recognize that not everybody can make the meetings…or wants to. If you want to add your input please take the online survey for potential changes to the 2013 regs.

2

I was at the Springville meeting, I fish for bass, and I fish in tournaments and I am against raising the limit. There are too many meat hunters that will take their limit no matter what, and they have not done enough to study how the population of bass is doing (I know because I asked) to warrant this kind of removal. Now if they want to start planting them in there to recover the losses, then fine…

Can you imagine if the DWR started arbitrarily awarding more Elk tags for trophy units without doing the due diligence of studying age classes and population? lets see how that would go over…that is essentially what they are proposing to do with the LMB in Utah Lake…

3

Didn’t make it but I have been talking to Michael Slayer and Paul Birdsey a lot. I am loving some of these ideas (think you can pick my favorite[;)]) and they have been very understanding.

Thanks for the report and the survey.

4

TD,

I am sorry I did not recognize you last night at the meeting without your tube wrapped around you. I appreciate your interest in all things fishing and enjoyed the discussion. I hope you did also.

Thanks for coming out.

Paul

5

:sunglasses:We are in synch on this one. I no longer target bass as much as I used to, but I have a pretty fair knowledge of the species…and how habitat and harvest affects their populations…and sizes. I point blanked one of the biologists who seemed to feel there was not that much of a problem. I asked “Do you know just how many bass there are…by year class”? I was referring back to the studies presented on Strawberry where they keep detailed records of the sizes and numbers by year class. He readily admitted that it was all guess work. Moreover, he has only been fishing Utah Lake for Bass for about 4 months and has limited personal experience.

Dan Potts and myself both offered that in our extensive experience in fishing Utah Lake…over several decades…that we have seen bass populations rise and fall mostly through environmental changes…drought, etc. We agreed that the current upswing in bass numbers are mostly attributable to the high water levels maintained over the past six or seven years. This has provided more structure, better spawning and more protection for the young.

But, as we also suggested, there is now greater harvest than ever before, by a hardcore group of anglers who keep everything they catch…no matter what the regulations. They will be little affected by any changes since they don’t pay attention to the rules anyway.

One thing bass fans see on Utah Lake is that when large fish are removed from a favorite hangout it may be some time…if ever…before another large fish moves in to replace it. With the limited structure in Utah Lake the bass set up residence and tend to stay close to home. This is evidenced by some anglers catching and releasing the same fish multiple times over a season. A testament to the effectiveness of C&R. But when the meat hunters feed those bass a whole live crawler and plop them in a cooler they will never be seen again.

**Utah Lake has the potential to produce a fair population of bass. And also the potential to raise some to trophy size. But if the bigger ones are all subject to harvest there will be far fewer that ever have the chance to get to any size. **

I suggested it is silly to regulate Utah Lake the same as all other lakes in Utah. DWR would like to simplify regulations by making them all the same. But to properly manage any given water for maximum potential it must be considered on an individual basis.

**Bass tournaments with a small number of boats and recreation only…like club get togethers…are probably okay for Utah Lake. But to open it up to statewide or regional tournaments is ludicrous. It is not a big deep southern impoundment with a huge bass population and unlimited habitat and forage. Every bass is Utah Lake is a survivor. And even with minimal mortality we will lose a few fish with every tournament. **

It takes a long time…against long odds…for a young bass to ever reach 4 pounds in Utah Lake. But once they reach 12 inches they should at least have a fighting chance.

6

:sunglasses:In the immortal words of Sarah Palin…YOU BETCHA.

Good meeting with lots of stuff to codgertate on. My wife and I both enjoyed it.

7

** But when the meat hunters feed those bass a whole live crawler and plop them in a cooler they will never be seen again.** .

Pat, I don’t completely agree with this comment. There are plenty of times these fish get put in the freezer and are left there for many many years of freezer burned enjoyment. [;)]

Thanks for synopsis, it seems like there are a number of promosing things on the horizon, especially the tiger muskies and wipers.

8

4. Recommendation that Little Dell be given an emergency status for an immediate change in regulations. Already C&R on cutts, with brookies okay to keep. Suggested that increased pressure and mortality should get regs changed to artificials only…single barbless hooks.

Somewhere, a spiky-haired, tye dye wearin’, and his twin are crying into their huge pilla!

9

TD I was at the Springville meeting but was unable to make it last night how was the discussion on strawberry can you tell me some of the high light on the tiger and brookies idea

10

What would be the problem with a State wide regulation on Bass that allows a 6 Bass limit with only 1 over 12"?

I keep hearing that the State wants to simplify the rules.
This keeps it simple anywhere you are fishing for Bass.

11

I’m pretty green on the subject, but my initial reaction is this: It’s hard enough to catch LMB in Utah Lake as it is. (at least for a new guy) I enjoy the challenge, but making it harder by allowing Joe Bucket to take a dump load every time he shows up just doesn’t make me feel warm and tingly.

12

Thanks for sending the survey.

13

I was planning to go to the Salt Lake meeting and wish I would have known about the Springville meeting. Of course yesterday morning my wife informed me my daughter’s pre-school graduation was that night at 7 p.m.!!

Are there anymore meeting planned, especially those discussing trout management in the central region?

Any more info on what was discussed about Strawberry and Scofield? Was Musky an option discussed for Scofield?

Thanks!

14

i really hope that the little dell changes happen cause i hate seeing bait fisherman or people gut hooking fish with trebles, drives me crazy cause they arent the easiest fish to revive anyways when you catch them on a barbless fly. but its good aslong as its in discussion its going in the right direction. thanks Tube Dude

tightlines

15

RE"Are there anymore meeting planned, especially those discussing trout management in the central region? "

I think that’s it for the Central region, but there are the following meetings for the other regions.

May 24 in Salt Lake City — The meeting will be held from 6–8 p.m. at the DWR’s Salt Lake Office in Room 1050 (1594 W. North Temple). Topics will be similar to those covered in the Springville meeting.

May 31 in Logan — The meeting will be held from 5–8 p.m. at the Cache Valley Hunter Education Center (2851 W. 200 N.).

June 5 in Cedar City — The meeting will be held from 6–8 p.m. at the DWR’s Southern Region office in Cedar City (1470 N. Airport Road).

June 12 in Richfield — The meeting will be held from 6–8 p.m. at the Sevier County Admin. building in Richfield (250 N. Main St.).

*June 12 in Roy — The meeting will be held from 5–8 p.m. at the Angler’s Den (5348 S. 1900 W., next to Harmons).

J-man, I couldn’t make the Springville meeting either (under penalty of death if I missed my 2 daughters dance recital[pirate]) or the SLC one (work), but I’ll get ahold of a DWR contact I have and see if I can get and post a transcript or summary of the Springville meeting.

16

:sunglasses:Alan Ward, the biologist for Strawberry mentioned the proposal and said it was being “looked at”. No comments on feasibility or plans at present. The purpose of the meetings is to put everything on the table for further review. The main RAC meeting in December will be when DWR lays out their findings and recommendations. So you have all summer to get your lobbying group together to try to persuade them that it is a good idea.

There was no real discussion of Strawberry at the Salt Lake meeting except to point out the current ratios of rainbows to cutts…and chubs. But DWR is conducting more surveys at the length to try to get input from anglers on what they REALLY want. Basically, that boils down to more fish and bigger fish…a contradiction in principle.

17

I haven’t closely followed the June Sucker issue, or DWR management goals of UL, so really, I’m just speculating.

While carp are a major issue to the June Sucker, I would imagine that there is little interest in having more and larger bass in the lake while the June Sucker plight continues. While bass might not be a major issue by itself, the additive effect when already in peril likely isn’t desired. So, with the priorities as they are, why bother spending the resources to measure, manage, and attempt to produce a more productive bass fishery?

Amazing with all the non-natives in there the sucker continues to survive!

18

I go to Little Dell…catch 1 deep throated cutthroat out of the creek with a treble hook…and suddenly it is “**emergency status for an immediate change in regulations” **

Need I remind you guys and gals that there were over 206,000 cutts stocked in that reservoir in the last ten years? Most of which in the last 6 years?

Out of the 100’s of fish that I have caught using treble hooks only that 1 fish…thats right one…struggled off. If you fly guys can not get tons of fish…blame it on your fly choices…not the trebles.

Please let me know if you have been seeing floating trout on that reservoir…maybe it is the inlet area that lacks dead fish so I do not see them.

And if you think that regulation will keep me from posting and fishing there…think again.

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:sunglasses:Those were the rules for many years and they worked well for everybody except the poachers who kept everything.

I am sure there will be lots of input before DWR finalizes the regs. Input from concerned anglers will help.

20

man cool your jets its not only that its everytime i go fishing there, there is people fishing with huge treble hooks and bait and it drives me crazy never said one thing about you, calm it man

also theres constantly people keeping fish or releasing them and 2 minutes later there floating on the top, and no once did i mention you. dont really get that but whatever man i could care less.