But can anyone tell me if my precious Browns upstream will be ok? Or are the walleye going to eat all the fish in the closest blue ribbon fishery to my house?
In all likelihood, you will be fine. Deer Creek and the middle Provo are a comparable system, and the middle Provo is teeming with browns. Walleye haven’t affected their numbers negatively at all.
That makes me feel better. I just took up fly fishing…could have been a problem!
I would like to see Walleye in Rockport, Echo and Jordanelle, none drain to the Colorado drainage so the Feds would be out of the picture.
Just an FYI, but walleye have been found in both Jordanelle and Strawberry in the past also due to illegal introductions. But, unlike some places, walleye have not done well in those reservoirs and the bucket bios failed at establishing populations.
Also, FWIW, a lot of resources are directed to self-sustaining populations of fish every year by the DWR including native cutthroat, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and even perch for that matter.
The F&G claim not that many fish anglers fish for walleye in this state, could have fooled me I sure seem to see plenty of anglers after them when I’m out and about, Willard Bay, Deer Creek, Provo Lake, Starvation etc.[crazy]
+1
The F&G claim not that many fish anglers fish for walleye in this state, could have fooled me I sure seem to see plenty of anglers after them when I’m out and about, Willard Bay, Deer Creek, Provo Lake, Starvation etc.[crazy]
From a comparative standpoint, not many anglers in Utah do target walleye…especially when you compare the number to those who specifically are targeting trout.
On my lone walleye quest this summer, I only saw one other boat targeting walleye. On that trip, we caught over 50 (2 /12 days of fishing) and were tagging them for a walleye contest. Though the fishing was pretty good and walleye were readily caught, fishermen were obviously targeting other more desirable species. And, for me, it was almost torture knowing that I could be catching something much more fun and that would actually put up some resistance on the other end of my line other than a walleye.
How can you compare 2 1/2 days on Powell to what is happening across the rest of the state?
Powell is promoted as a bass fishery.
Between the stripers, largemouth, and smallmouth people rarely hear about the walleye there.
Go hang out at Deer Creek or Starvation when the walleye fishing picks back up after the spawn and you will see plenty of people targeting them.
If walleye were anywhere near the popularity of other fish–like smallmouth, largemouth, crappie, etc.–then, I would also have seen a large number of people fishing for walleye at Powell too, especially since the number of walleye at Powell is so high and the fish are relatively easy to catch. The reality is that the popularity of walleye–even at Deer Creek or Willard–is lower than other species. Sure, people target them and enjoy catching them, but not to the extent that they target and catch other species.
Powell is promoted as a bass fishery.
Between the stripers, largemouth, and smallmouth people rarely hear about the walleye there.
I beg to differ…Powell is certainly promoted as a bass fishery, but it is also promoted as a crappie, walleye, and catfish fishery as well. Looking at Wayneswords.com, it is easy to find the fishing report by Wayne on that site and see that nearly all of his reports talk about walleye. The reason you may not hear about the walleye there is because they aren’t targeted there. It is also the reason that the DWR has specifically started the tagged walleye contest…
No resistance? Wow, you must be using the wrong gear to catch walleye. I use light and ultra light rods with 4-6 pound line. My biggest walleye was from starvation. It was 29 inches long and 9 pounds. That thing gave me quite the fight. Even walleyes in the 20 inch range, on light tackle, are quite the fight.
I generally appreciate your educated point of view on Utah fishing, however I didn’t feel any slap in the face as a legal sportsman. DIdn’t feel it when Perch showed up in Starvation either. Echo has had no management plan from the DWR for many years except plant a few Sterile Trout for a put and take program. Just a big round empty gravel pit last year that on it’s refilling comeback got nothing from the DWR that resembled any sort of plan. Drained almost empty for Dam work what a golden opportunity to actually do something that would resemble a plan, Maybe Walleye is IT.
I’m curious about a few adult fish (male and female) being so successful in such a short span of time. If that is the case then why don’t the DNR just stock a few adults. Seems like it would save big bucks! Just think, All those fish cops out in the field rounding up Bucket Biologist instead of having to mess with raising baby fish.
Did you see Powell listed in my earlier post? My suggestion is if you don’t like my post or opinions don’t read them. I’ve always thought the other species you mentioned were easy to catch not always the case with the walleye. [crazy]
Not sure what your point is…I read your post.
Again, comparatively fewer anglers even at the places you mentioned target walleye over other species.
But, perhaps the very best walleye fishery in the state–Powell–has very few people targeting walleye compared to other species. Why?
Utah is a desert, a warm desert with many waters better suited for warm water fishes, that’s just the way it is, geographically.
Do you really believe this?
Geographically, our state is much more suited to cold water species because of our high altitude. Even the Creator himself recognized that when he first put fish into our waters. How many warm-water species are native to Utah? How many cold water species are native to Utah? Geographically, warm water species are not suited to our waters very well at all. It is why we have stunting problems with smallmouth bass, recruitment problems with largemouth bass at places like Quail Creek, and why warm water species don’t flourish even when illegally stocked at places like Strawberry and Jordanelle. Remember, our waters are only “warm” for a very short period of time and because they are only warm that short period of time, warm-water species only have a short window to grow large enough to survive through the long coldwater period.
But, perhaps the very best walleye fishery in the state–Powell–has very few people targeting walleye compared to other species. Why?
Because when I go to Powell I’m going to fish for species that I can’t fish for where I live.
Deer Creek is just a few miles down to road from where I live and it is much easier to get my walleye fix there instead of a five hour road trip to Powell to catch what is right in my back yard.
I’m curious about a few adult fish (male and female) being so successful in such a short span of time. If that is the case then why don’t the DNR just stock a few adults. .
It has to do with species and manageability. When you are dealing with non-native species - whether that be jack rabbits in australia or walleye in utah - there are no natural systems in place to control populations. Ask yourself a question: what type of habitat does a walleye require to successfully reproduce? They require rocky bottom water to about 20 feet in depth. Most Utah reservoirs provide this in ample amounts! Now, contrast that with what a native cutthroat trout requires: cold, clear, moving water with the right size substrate - and isn’t de-watered for irrigation shortly after eggs are laid! That’s something most of our Utah reservoirs don’t have! Further, the real risk: how do you control the population? If you provide good spawning habitat for walleye, how do you limit their success to keep their population in check? In Utah, the only way to do that is to draw the water level down below where the fish spawned leaving the eggs high and dry. Otherwise, you end up with the typicall boom / bust cycle that we are all too familiar with.
So, when asking why “a few adult fish being so successful…”, it all has to do with species and manageability.
Because when I go to Powell I’m going to fish for species that I can’t fish for where I live.
Deer Creek is just a few miles down to road from where I live and it is much easier to get my walleye fix there instead of a five hour road trip to Powell to catch what is right in my back yard.
and this ^^^^ is EXACTLY why we have problems with our fisheries. Everyone wants to have their own special fishery with the species of their choice in their own backyard. How do you satisfy every angler when this mentality is the norm?!
So, for those who wanted Echo to be a pike fishery, what should they do? And for those who want Echo to be a catfish fishery, what should they do? And for those who want a burbot fishery at Echo, what do they do?
It’s all selfish to the detriment of everyone.
If walleye were as great as many make them out to be, then people would quit fishing Powell for stripers and target walleye. But people don’t. They continue, even with walleye contests going on right now, to fish for stripers. Why is that? 2 tagged walleye since July. That’s with biologists stating specific locations of where tagged walleye were released. Who’s fishing for those walleye? Nobody.
To attempt to rate the Preference to fish for Walleye to the Payout for Tagged fish in some Lake Powell Walleye tournament is about as scientific as you ever get!!!
Guess you couldn’t have found a larger body of water that some tagged fish escaped to draw some ridiculous conclusion about fisherman’s preferences.
His conclusion is his conclusion, it is not ridiculous, it’s just his conclusion. This thread is going pretty well, lets not start with any name calling and ruin it…
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, thank you.
Dog-Lover: My point is that Lake Powell is a pretty fantastic place. Thousands of people flock to Lake Powell annually. The Lake Powell fishery is HUGE. Why on earth do so few people utilize Lake Powell for it’s plethora of walleye?? It has to be near the top of the list for walleye fisheries in the West. Why is it not being utilized more??
The striper fishery certainly is utilized. Lake Powell is a striper destination. Why is it not a walleye destination? The quality and numbers of walleye, not to mention everything else about Lake Powell, certainly qualify it as a walleye destination – but anglers do not flock to Powell for walleye. Why not?
and yet, people want them in Echo. And Deer Creek. And Jordanelle. And Strawberry. And Fish Lake, Yuba, Mill Meadow, Utah Lake and every other lake in Utah.
but they won’t go to Lake Powell to fish for them?
As for the tournament – do you have any idea why they tagged all those fish and set this tournament up? It has nothing to do with the prizes. If you valued Lake Powell as a fishery, you’d probably pay a little more attention to what is happening with the walleye and where that fishery may end up. I’m glad our biologists are paying attention and working to try to promote walleye.