Fish salvage announced in Treasureton

[blacktop]

From what I understand low water in Treasureton caused by a need to repair a small leak in the dam and the subsequent drawdown threatens the survival of the fish. Last years planters were the best quality of Kamloop I have witnessed mostly just under 3 pounds and terrific quality and numbers. Their loss is very unfortunate and imagine with the circumstances of the drawdown the fish and game will likely kill all the survivors to eliminate the largemouth bass who were threatening the trophy lake trout population. Locals have been very good in managing this water for the benefit of the fisherman and assume they had no choice in this consequence but I really don't know any of the particulars.
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[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Fished Treasureton this morning under the new salvage notification. There were lots of people fishing from the dam and adjacent shorelines and many were catching fish. Nearly everyone was bait fishing, some using bobbers to suspend their baits while other fished the bottom. Most of the fish that people were landing seemed to run about 18 inches on average with some being a bit bigger (my largest was 22 inches). I saw a few small bass being caught but most people seemed to be targeting trout. There is a very soft mud layer from the waters edge up to about 2 or 3 feet on the shore. A long handled landing net is recommended for these conditions otherwise you'll get mired in if you get too close to the water. We cooked some of the fish we caught this afternoon and found that the quality varied from fish to fish. This was sort of a surprise as all the fish were shiny silver with orange-red flesh. Some of the fish we took home had a very slight mossy taste while others had really good flavor. All of the fish have some level of black spotting just underneath the skin. It is a harmless condition caused by a small organism. All in all it was a very enjoyable fishing experience and it was good to see many people catching fish.
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[AlexB]

Are you sure they are going to kill of all the fish? The article does not mention it.

This is too bad as Treasureton has been a great fishery. I enjoy fishing for bass, is there any chance that they will leave some bass in there? I know this is a trout lake but as far I understand trout and bass don't compete much with each other. Specially when you have sterile trophy trout in there. Don't know if trout eat smaller bass but I don't see why they wouldn't. Mean while, if they stock bigger trout then they wouldn't have to worry about the bass feeding on them.

I did notice the water levels going down really fast. Makes sense now, it has a leak somewhere.

Don't know what it look like on the north end, but maybe they can even make the damn a little taller.
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[cpierce]

Dang! Sorry to see this. It's going to take awhile to get the fishery back.

The illegal bass are a real problem. They do compete with the trout. There is only so much food to go around. You can't have really good trout growth with no food left.

The past several year F&G have been removing a lot of the bass at great expense and putting them into the bass reservoirs. There is not a shortage of bass lakes in this area. This is a good trout lake. Hopefully they will use this time to eliminate the bass problem.
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[10_ft_Jon_boat]

I had heard for a while that there were some big bass in Treasureton and wanted to see if any remained after the reservoir was drained. There were lots of small bass lying on the mud that were 8 to 12 inches long but I didn't see any larger than that. I also counted about 160 rainbow that eluded the crowds of fisherman in their final days. I measured a couple of those trout at 28 inches.

I agree that there are plenty of good largemouth bass reservoirs in southern Idaho and that some waters, like Treasureton, should be managed for trout only.
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[gofish435]

Thanks for the picture and report.

Treasureton has been a great trout lake over the years. It's too bad some folks think they are smarter than the biologists and screw things up.

The work on the valve required draining the reservoir which will save the fish & game a bunch of money, not having to treat it for the bass.

If we get a few good water years, it won't take long for the fish come back.

Does anyone know what the fish and game are going to stock back in there when it fills up again?
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[cpierce]

I haven't talked to F&G so I can only guess that they will continue with the Management Plan. Which is for Treasureton to be a trophy trout fishery. As for what variety of trout, it probably depends on what they have in the hatcheries now.
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[jeremypeace]

I spoke with the head bio Mr tuescher for the F&G and yes they are going to poison it to remove all the bass. They were never supposed to be in there to begin with some bucket biologist put them in. Ever since the bass were put in, it as a trout fishery which is what it is managed for has suffered . but yes they are poisioning it to remove all bass.
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[Everet14]

Does Dave Teuscher really think that as soon as they fill it that somebody isn't going to bring bass in from a nearby reservoir? I'd bet a lot of money bass are back in Treausreton within 5 years. Draining and poisoning seems like a short term solution to what is going to be a long term problem.....
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[AlexB]

Not sure they need to poison, did you see 10_ft_Jon_boat picture? There is no water.
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[gmwahl]

Drove by on the 16th......not enough water for a horse to drink.....it's dead.

Mike
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[AlexB]

Anyone know what has happened with Treasureton?
I assume they fixed the damn, but is it full again? Are they or did they put trout in there again?

The stocking report does not anything about treasureton.
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[blacktop]

I have been told they did not fix the dam because they don't have the resources or knowledge to fix it. Apparently the homeowner who lives a mile or so below the dam has registered numerous complaints to everyone up the food chain all the way to the Gov. because there is always a trickle of water that leaks out. Don't know the history of the dam when it was built compared to his place below etc. Guess what 99% of all dams leak a couple inches of water. What I have heard is they are not going to fix it cause they can't really can't. It appears to be a total waste. The yearling carryover fish last spring with a full year under their belt were the best quality trout I have ever seen in all the Lakes in Idaho with the exception of Minidoka dam. They were carbon copy 2 and half to 3 pound fish. It is a mess and likely there will be no plantings. It is unfortunate because it was a great winter for moisture in the region. Someone who lives in Preston or Soda or Grace give us a report on whether they are storing water in the lake and how full it is.
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[IDFG_Fisheries]

Hi there folks,

As you may know, the Strongarm Irrigation Company drained Treasureton Reservoir last fall to make repairs to the outlet structure on the dam. The repairs were more extensive than they anticipated, and they were not able to complete them in time. The reservoir is currently filling to provide irrigation this summer, but the irrigation company expects to drain the reservoir again this fall to complete the repairs that were delayed.

Fish and Game plans to stock rainbow trout this spring to provide at least some fishing opportunity. The plan is to stock about 50% of the usual number, and redirect the rest to Chesterfield Reservoir.

We hope this strategy will:
- provide at least some trout fishing this summer
- provide some bigger trout for next year in case the reservoir is not drained

Since the reservoir is likely to be drained again this fall, we have to balance using hatchery fish wisely, but provide at least some fishing opportunity.

For more information regarding the fishery, please contact Arnie Brimmer at the Pocatello office:

(208) 232-4703


Martin Koenig
Sportfishing Program Coordinator
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
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