fish lake doing good! 7 mac over 15 lbs

[fuzzyfisher]

went up to fish lake the other day had a great day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCV84ne7cT0
[signature]

[Kent]

Ron, you certainly have those macks, at Fish Lake, figured out. I see that you caught several on planer boards, so they must have been near the surface.
[signature]

[MrShane]

You can thank the State for planting kokes!!
[signature]

[fuzzyfisher]

we catch most of the lakers in the top 35 feet of water! all year, the planers really help to keep the weed off the baits..
[signature]

[fuzzyfisher]

really? we have been catching lakers at fish lake for years? why do you think Kokanee makes the difference now? they have been in there like 2 and 1/2 years?
not sure that'has much to do with it! the DWR stated last year that the lakers were still feeding on more rainbow then anything. and really we have been hitting them on a Sucker pattern more some then the kokanee pattern?
[signature]

[MrShane]

Any extra food for the lakers is an excellent addition to Fishlake, I’m surprised you do not whole heartedly agree?
Not once did I mention they do not feed on bows.
Did I say something to offend you, if I did I apologize....
[signature]

[fuzzyfisher]

lol no you miss took me i think.. the lake trout in fish lake have been in really great shape for a lot of years! and that's more so to eating rainbows then anything. as for the fish getting fat on kokanee? I'm sure they will and seem to be hanging out around twin creeks so i would say they have at least started to eat them.. but i still think they are targeting rainbows more then Kokanee. but perch, sucker, and carp are mixed in as well..

as for catching more fish or it being better fishing now as before the kokanee, i don't think it has changed much in the last 2 years,

and don't get me wrong i think to Kokanee are a great addition to the lake and be more so if they can get some natural reoccurrence going to. from what i have heard tho thats not doing as good as hoped..
[signature]

[PBH]

[quote fuzzyfisher]lol no you miss took me i think.. the lake trout in fish lake have been in really great shape for a lot of years! and that's more so to eating rainbows then anything. as for the fish getting fat on kokanee? I'm sure they will and seem to be hanging out around twin creeks so i would say they have at least started to eat them.. but i still think they are targeting rainbows more then Kokanee. but perch, sucker, and carp are mixed in as well.. [/quote]


what you have to keep in mind is that the whole plan includes a way to reduce the amount of rainbows that the State stocks in Fish Lake -- essentially a feeding program. It is expensive to stock rainbows and expect a good return to creel, and kokanee may be cheaper with a more desirable return to creel.



[quote fuzzyfisher]

and don't get me wrong i think to Kokanee are a great addition to the lake and be more so if they can get some natural reoccurrence going to. from what i have heard tho thats not doing as good as hoped..[/quote]

Some natural reproduction would be nice. Keep in mind, the DWR started this program (kokanee at Fish Lake) fully expecting it to be reliant upon hatchery stocking. We already know that Twin Creeks is too cold for good reproduction (for any species). For this reason, the DWR wants to utilize more "lake spawning" strain kokanee in hopes that maybe some would naturally reproduce. But, again, the whole program is designed around hatchery stocking. Remember, this isn't the first time salmon have been stocked in Fish Lake.


The real question at this point is: have the kokanee affected the lake trout? Personally, I say "yes". The kokanee fill an underutilized niche at Fish Lake: open water schooling fish that prey strictly on zooplankton. This niche has been void since the illegal introduction of perch, which in turn decimated the Utah chub population, which the lake trout depended on as a forage base. Since that time lake trout have had to utilize rainbow trout as a prey base. This prey base has changed, and there is no question that lake trout will benefit from this change.

Anglers, in turn have a "new" sport fish option (kokanee) at Fish Lake, and the lake trout fishery will also improve.
[signature]

[MrShane]

Are more stocking of kokes slated to take place?
[signature]

[fuzzyfisher]

We already know that Twin Creeks is too cold for good reproduction (for any species). For this reason, the DWR wants to utilize more "lake spawning" strain kokanee


how cold is to cold? the Fountain green hatchery says the water from the spring runs at a constant 32.5 degrees all the time and they claim that is the perfect temperature to raise trout? so twin creeks run's colder then 32.5?
[signature]

[PBH]

[quote fuzzyfisher]

how cold is to cold?[/quote]

Anything below 40 degrees is too cold for salmonids.

[quote fuzzyfisher]the Fountain green hatchery says the water from the spring runs at a constant 32.5 degrees all the time and they claim that is the perfect temperature to raise trout? [/quote]

Where is your source? According to the mitigation commission, the Fountain Green spring is a constant 54 degrees F (page 109, second paragraph, second sentence. https://www.mitigationcommission.gov/hat...y_fhpp.pdf


While the water might be cold, they are not raising trout in 32.5 degree F water.

[quote fuzzyfisher]so twin creeks run's colder then 32.5?[/quote] Obviously, no. I'll see if I can find out what it's temperature is -- but I'll wager it's colder than 40 degrees.

most trout spawn in water in the neighborhood of mid-40's. You can easily Google this info. It's not a secret.

[quote Onine Archive of California]

Just as water temperatures which are too warm (higher than 56° F) adversely affect egg development in rainbow and king salmon spawners, so do water temperatures which are too cold (42° F or lower) affect the development and incubation of trout and salmon eggs.

In one experiment in which mature adult king salmon females, nearly ready to spawn, were placed in water ranging from 34 to 38° F, none of the females ripened and all died before spawning.

In an attempt to incubate king salmon eggs at a constant 35° F temperature, mortality was practically 100%. Eggs held at water temperatures of 42.5° F or higher developed with only normal loss. Salmon eggs which have been held in water slightly above 42° F for a period of 6 days or longer could then tolerate colder temperatures without excessive mortalities. It is safe to say that the eggs of rainbow trout and king salmon will not develop normally in the fish if constant water temperatures above 56° F are encountered. It also follows that both rainbow trout and king salmon eggs cannot be incubated in water below 42° F without excessive loss.
[/quote]


Twin Creeks has always had fish run up it to spawn. But that doesn't mean that they are very successful. Historically at Fish Lake the majority of natural recruitment comes from the lake itself or from Lake Creek.
[signature]

[PBH]

[quote MrShane]Are more stocking of kokes slated to take place?[/quote]

According to the management plan, yes. Kokanee will continue to be stocked:

"stocked up to 250,000 kokanee salmon and continue with a stocking rate that will maintain a kokanee salmon fishery...
"
[signature]

[wormandbobber]

And, the numbers of rainbow trout to be stocked will decrease...
[signature]

[Hookinup]

Yep..... I think you're right......
[signature]