I see that they have put 10,000 Wipers in Minersville Res..
Anybody know what the reasoning behind this is?
I know it has been a tuff place to catch the last few years.
What do you guys that know the lake think about this move?
[I bumped up an old post titiled Minersville ? just to give you alittle more of my prospective.]
well the rason was to controll the chub that are in there they also going to put them in otte rcreek so the great small mouth fisher that is at minersvile will lost do to the wiper
What great news!! They won’t hurt the Smallies at Minersville. Do the Stripers affect the Smallies at Lake Powell? No. The Smallmouths will be fine. They don’t eat chubs anyway when they have crawdads to munch on. Plus, the Wipers were planted at less than 2 inches long. How many are going to survive to a decent size? A thousand? Two thousand? This is certainly the best thing that has happened to Minersville since the repairs to the dam and the return of water.
They’ve planted 10,000 Tiger Trout, 10,000 Cutthroat trout, and 1,500 Brown Trout too. As I’ve always said, the Smallmouth Bass don’t eat enough chubs to control their population. If the Smallmouths were eating enough chubs the Wipers, Tigers, Cutts, and Browns wouldn’t be necessary. Maybe with 10,000 Tigers, 10,000 Cutts, 1,500 Browns, and 10,000 Wipers there is hope of knocking the chubs down a notch.
I have to agree with fishrmn if there is a large amount of rough fish like chubs the smallies will be fine.this is great news my dad fishes there all the time and says there is some great trout fishing but it has gotten so bad with the chubs that you can’t keep them off. within a few yeas there will be good fishing again,for all species.
Wipers n’ tigers n’ cutts, Oh my!
Seriously, thus sounds like a great move with the wipers. I agree with Fishrmn that the smallies will be fine. Kudos to the DWR for this move.
Besides, if there were some problem, all the DWR would have to do is stop stocking them and the situation would quickly revert to the present state. They don’t reproduce.
Here are some numbers from Minersville:
These thoughts and observations that follow are from my front porch at Minersville.
2009, 15.000 - 12" Bows
20,000 - 4" Bows
16,000 - 10" bows
10,000 - 8" Cutts
20,000 - 4" Browns
2010, 10,000 - 8" Cutts
22, 000 - 11" Bows
2011, So far this year.
10,000 -2' Tiger Trout
10,000 - 8" Cutts
15,000 - 9' Bows
10,000 - 2" Wipers
2,000 - 5" Browns
Remember Minersville is a no bait one big fish lake. So not alot of fish taken by fishermen.
There has been very little fishing pressure the last few years.
Water levels have been low the last few years and clarity has been poor, but there has been no floating die off since the refill after the dam repairs.
Pelican and Cormorant have been present in good numbers for the last few years, but have pretty much disappeared so far this year.
Smallmouth have done pretty good and and grown good in both quality and quantity since the refill. [This years spawn looks to be really good.]
[CHUBS] I have been wade fishing out in front of my house this summer. Every square foot of the bottom no mater where you go is covered with Chubs of all different sizes.
Crawdads are still present, but not in the numbers that were present in times past. IMO
Even with huge bug hatches there has been very very few fish coming to the top, and this holds true for the last few years.
Minersville has always lived on the edge as a trout fishery, but has always bounced back really quick after hard times in the past.
I know there are alot of people scratching there heads about whats going on at Minersville.
Some days I see the few trollers that show on the lake catch a few fish but many try it for awhile and give up, and I’m not seeing alot of the same guys back day after day.
There used to be lot of tube fishermen put in just west of my house. Now I see very few, and some of these guys really know how to catch fish and don’t give up that easy.
All that being said the the lake filled this year. They opened the out flow early in the spring. It flowed over the top of the dam for a good long time. The fishing in the creek below the dam has produced big fish all the way out into the desert west of the town of Minersville. I myself just caught a 21" big fat Cutt out of the creek and several Bows about that size and some nice Browns 15" or better. Not to mention bass up to almost 5#s.
That goes to show that there has been some nice fish in the lake all along, which just makes me scratch my head more.
My layman’s guess is that all the fish are stuffed with the abundant chubs all the time, which makes fishing tougher. No need to rise for a midge emerged when you don’t expend as much energy to eat a belly filling chub.
until all the predators tip the scales against the prolific chubs, the catching will be harder for the average fisherman.
My layman’s guess is that all the fish are stuffed with the abundant chubs all the time, which makes fishing tougher. No need to rise for a midge emerged when you don’t expend as much energy to eat a belly filling chub.
until all the predators tip the scales against the prolific chubs, the catching will be harder for the average fisherman.
There are no midges left. The chubs eat every *&^($ one of them. There are no damselflies either. In fact, there is nothing left but chubs. And until the cutts get to be 17 or 18 inches long they won’t eat many chubs. Rainbows eat a few, but they can’t control the chubs. Browns have never done well in Minersville. Tigers are a mystery there. They should do well, but don’t seem to. My guess is that the chubs eat every morsel that a trout might need to get big enough to finally feed on the chubs. Hopefully the Wipers will get big enough to eat some of the spawning sized chubs.
Fishrmn, I hate to disagree about the Midges, There are huge hatches all summer. My front yard has been a few yards from the high water mark on the lake most of the spring and summer. Also I am on the down wind side.
Many days you have to keep your mouth closed tight just to walk across the lawn. Some times when the conditions are just right there will be a band of dead midges an inch thick piled up along the shore.
The night hawks show by the hundred some evening just for the midges.
You should hear my wife complain about them!
That being said, I too think that the chubs have to be hammering the forage base.
Lets see what happens with the wipers. They could be fun, but I am really hoping for
the days of hanging a 15" to 18" fat Rainbow on every 4th or 5th cast from the shore to come back.
As for the Browns there has never been a real try at stocking the lake itself with Browns. They stock the creek up above quite a bit, and down below once in awhile.
2008 they put in 3000 small ones,20,000 small ones in 2009, and now some more this year. Maybe they will take hold who knows. A guy from Minersville caught a Brown in that big hole below the Dam that was over 12#s. It likely lived most of it’s life in the lake.
A few Tigers from there first plant in 2008 have shown in the creek below the dam this summer. Most are about 8". Time will tell on those too I guess.
As for the Cutts, in the past if you fished Minersville in the summer you might think there were very few of them in there, but come winter fishing through the ice you could catch alot of them.
Just my $.02:
like cast – midges are there. The food is there. So are the fish.
My own feelings are:
Not enough rainbows were stocked in 2008, 2009. Catch rates have refelected this. However, quality of fish is certainly UP. 2010 and 2011 have had better numbers of rainbows stocked, and I think catch rates will reflect this in the near future.
Water. Minersville has stayed full longer this year than for many, many years. The size of the lake is bigger than usual. More area + fewer relative fish = lower catch rates.
Along with #2 – more water = more flooded vegetation = more insect life = stuffed fish. Fish are GORGING on aquatic life. There is a TON of food in Minersville – which makes catching fish tough.
Brown trout. Brown trout are a tough fish to catch from lakes. You rarely hear of people catching them from other lakes, like Otter Creek and Piute – both of which do get brown trout from the incoming streams. Even at Fish Lake, which has a good population of naturally sustaining brown trout, you rarely hear of people catching them. Brown trout are rarely used as a sport fish in lakes and reservoir simply because their return for sportfish is poor. Anglers have a hard time catching them. So, why were they stocked? Surplus. When hatcheries have surplus, they stock them. So, why not put them in Minersville? It can’t hurt.
Tiger trout – same thing as above – surplus. If you’ve got 'em, use 'em.
Wipers – already been explained by numerous others. Wipers and chubs occupy the same niche. Smallies occupy a different niche. They do NOT directly compete with each other, and actually compliment each other. Wipers should only increase the quality of fish at Minersville.
Like nearly EVERY other reservoir in Utah this year, Minersville has been tough fishing all summer. But that is no different than anywhere else. High water and lots of food has made fishing tough everywhere. That just means things are going to be really good this fall, and next spring!
PBH, I like your analysis of the sistuation at Minersville.
Do you fish there much?
When the lake has topped off in past years the fishing was really good from the shore right in front of the house. I keep the willows mowed down with the tractor there just for a clean casting lane / "fire break". Spinners and spoons always worked good at the highest water. Especially when the wind was plowing. This year I have cast my arm off with very little to show.
Is there any other fish you would try in Minersville?
Do you fish there much?
When the lake has topped off in past years the fishing was really good from the shore right in front of the house
Is there any other fish you would try in Minersville?
yep. I’ve been known to fish that lake a time or two. Or three. maybe more. We still call it “Beer-n-bait”. Know what I’m talking about?
Look around at fishing reports, and I think you’ll find that almost every (not all) trout fishery (reservoirs) have been fairly slow fishing all summer. I think a lot of this is due simply to high water. Most of our reservoirs have not been full for this long for a lot of years.
As for what other fish I would try? None. I think the mix they’re going with right now will be a successful one. The rainbows will benefit from the reduction in chub numbers that the wipers should provide. The small mouth will continue to flourish on crawfish. The cutts will still be cutts.
What excites me is that we should be able to go fish Minersville targeting the rainbows again, and hook up with some wipers at the same time. 20" rainbows AND 20" wipers? Wow. I’m excited.
(FWIW – the largest smallmouth I’ve ever caught came from Minersville. 20". On a wooly bugger.)
A bit of Minersville history. It was one of the first places in Utah that I ever fished. My grandparents lived in Milford and friends of my Grandfather would bring them trout out of Minersville all the time. I was probably 8 or 9 when one of my great uncles took me to fish out there. The fish were always like footballs, almost as big around as long. The flesh was always a bright red/orange. I was told it was due to the freshwater shrimp that they ate. Weed growth was always a major problem in the mid to late summer. Water levels fluctuate due to irrigation use, to grow the alfalfa out on the flat. Back then, the bait of choice was a big nightcrawler. I know that some of the same problems exist today as did back in the late 50’s and early 60’s.
BPH, Ye Bait and Beer is my only neighbor. I won’t mention his name , but he has lived there by him self for 30 some years. Real nice guy. He still kind of has his store set up inside with selves of old lures from back in those days and stuff like that.
Theripist, my history at the lake does not go back nearly as far as yours. The story about the shrimp is the same that I have heard. To go along with that, I was told that the local game wardens { not sure when but it’s been awhile} thought it would be a good idea to put chubs in the lake.They brought a 55 gallon drum of chubs from Utah Lake I think it was, and that was the end of the shrimp.
To go along with that, I was told that the local game wardens { not sure when but it’s been awhile} thought it would be a good idea to put chubs in the lake.They brought a 55 gallon drum of chubs from Utah Lake I think it was, and that was the end of the shrimp.
I can’t buy that bunch of horsefeathers. The chubs have been in the drainage since the late 1950’s. And no game warden worth his salt would put chubs anywhere. Minersville is the perfect example of how horrible chubs are. It’s been poisoned at least 4 times that I know of. I’ve been at the reservoir twice while they were doing it. The trout grow big and fast for about three years and then those worthless chubs come back and the growth rates plummet. The nonsense that trout need minnows to eat in order grow big has been proven wrong over and over and over again at Minersville.
[The trout grow big and fast for about three years and then those worthless chubs come back and the growth rates plummet.
This is typicallly true – and it also goes for other lakes like Otter Creek, Piute, Koosharem, etc.
However, since special regulations have been put in place, we’ve gained additional time on quality trout growth / fishing. The special regulations have worked, and rotenone treatments haven’t been necessary since the special regs were put in place – unless you want to count the year they drained the reservoir for dam repairs.
The reasons that we have a chub problem right now can be attributed to numerous years of drought post dam repair, resulting in poor water quality for numerous which acted against the trout and in favor of chubs.
Unlike other anglers, I haven’t had issues with chubs this summer – in fact, I haven’t caught a single chub from Minersville. But, I do know they are there, and in high numbers.
I completely agree with Fshrmn on the chub planting conspiracy theory. It wasn’t the DWR that planted them. But it sure makes a better story.
The “DWR put the chubs in Minersville” is a new one for me. [crazy]
Why does it seem that the DWR has more conspiracy theories associated with it than just about every Government entity known, even rivaling “area 51”?
Hey Doggonefishin, someone has to take the blame. For everyone else, the reason that the chubs make a come back is that most of these waters are stocked with Rainbows. While they are predatory, they are not as predatory on other fish species as Tiger Trout, or Splake, or Bear Lake Cuts. The smallmouth will take a good portion of the chubs out, but they also have a good crayfish population down there, so the bows are left to compete with the chubs for the available food. Unfortunately, the chubs win because they produce lots of little chubs and the bows are not very successful at spawning. That is why in past decades, the DWR would treat waters on a regular basis to control the chubs. It is too expensive to do that any more, so they are using natural controls like Tiger Trout, Splake, and Bear Lake Cuts. The SMB were also stocked to help control the dads. I believe that the dads came out of Enterprise Res. which is up stream from Minersville.
Unfortunately, the chubs win because they produce lots of little chubs and the bows are not very successful at spawning. That is why in past decades, the DWR would treat waters on a regular basis to control the chubs. It is too expensive to do that any more, so they are using natural controls like Tiger Trout, Splake, and Bear Lake Cuts. The SMB were also stocked to help control the dads. I believe that the dads came out of Enterprise Res. which is up stream from Minersville.
NOT. Minersville is a storage reservoir on the Beaver River. It is a completely different drainage than Enterprise. And there is essentially no reproduction for Rainbow Trout anywhere in Utah. A few here and there in some streams, but not enough to supply any reservoirs with self sustaining population.
I couple more comments with this.
I know, but it is pretty comical. Between the DWR supposedly secretly dumping chubs in Minersville, tiger muskies in Fish Lake, white bass in Deer Creek, smallies in East canyon, crayfish in Jordanelle, sacks of flour being dumped from helicopters on herds of elk to prevent the public from hunting them and probably 100 more silly examples I can’t come up with at the moment, it just gets a little ridiculous.
The reason why chubs are so destructive to trout fisheries is well known. If I’m not mistaken, the Utah chub is native to the drainage Minersville is in. They will not be easily dealt with there, as history has shown.
The thing that some people forget when the DWR tries biological controls for chubs is that it isn’t an immediate change. Most of the predators only can eat the small chubs but the big, mature chubs are not easily eaten by predators and continue to live and reproduce. They also live about 15 years. As long as the little guys get gobbled up, then the fishery will be OK however. People still freak out about big, old Strawberry chubs and the slot is definitely working great there. Folks even go nuts when a relict chub shows up at Jordanelle or Starvation, even with all the chub gobbling perch and smallies in there. Don’t expect one planting of wipers to wipe out all the chubs at Minersville. Lets hope the DWR can stick with it a few years and provide some sustained control. If it works, the fishing there ought to be off the charts for both warmwater and trout anglers.