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I've caught close to 500 fish out of Strawberry this winter through the ice and it seems to me that the fish are smaller and skinnier than last year or the year before that. Last year and the year before the fish were fatter and healthier it seems. Has anyone else noticed this? I was expecting to catch some bigger fish overall this year. I've caught 4 or 5 fish total that were 22 or better. Alot of 17 to 21 inchers that are long and skinny. It seems to me that there is an over population problem or there is not enough food (chubs) to support the current population. It doesn't look like the fish are growing much from year to year. Just wondering what everyone else thinks?
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I havnt been there in a while but a good friend of mine goes quite often and has the same complaint. Hes been ice fishing up there three times this year, caught at least 75 fish and only one outside the slot (on the small side)
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[cool]I've been up there 4 times this year, and all of the ones I caught were nice and strong and healthy. I haven't caught any whoppers, but all of the ones I caught were not skinney, by any means. They all had good girth for their length, and were all very strong.
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Good eye Fishblader..
I and a lot of folks have noticed the same thing. I fear we're going to seeing big heads and snake bodies real soon and when that happens,,,,, OUCH!
Many folks seem to forget that a large population of predators needs a healthy base population of feed spawning yearly in order to support the pred's and to allow them thieve and reach they true potential, which very few of the Cutties in the Berry have or will. Sadly they simply dont do well no matter how many semi loads of Power bait is tossed at em.
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Coldfooter,
I also think we're heading for catching fish with all head real soon. I also fish Kolob Res down south a few times yearly with the old fly rod and alot of big heads there and not much growth. I fear the same thing is happening to Strawberry. Hopefully, I'm wrong or something can be done about it.
Fishbladder
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I have ice fished the Berry for 4 years now and each year I have found the Cutthroat Trout to be bigger and fatter than the year before. I do agree that the cuts are never as fat or [football round] as the rainbows, but isn't that just in the blood line? Even on the Green, the cuts are never as fat as the bows or the browns. This year the cuts that I have iced are larger than any that I have iced in years past.
As the ice fishing began this year, I remember some excited posts about how well the new regs. were working and how big the fish were. Maybe we are just getting used to the size of fish that we are catching now. I for one can't wait until next year to see what happens to the size!
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[green][size 2]They are the biggest and the fatest I ever seen this year. I have yet to catch an under 15" cutthroat, plus I've caught many over 20" cutthroatsauruses. You sure you are fishing Strawberry.
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Yah, I'm pretty sure I'm fishing Strawberry. I'm no idiot. As stated above, I've caught a huge sample this year and yes I have caught a couple of pigs including a 24 inch 7 and one half pounder! But overall the fish seem to be in the 17 to 19 inch range and alot of them are skinny! Alot skinnier overall than the last 2 years. I'm not saying they are all skinny but alot of them I've been catching are. This last week I personally iced around 110 fish and not one of them over 18 and one half inches. Heck, last year the fish seemed thicker and heavier. I'm not blind and I have caught quite a few cutts below 15 inches too. Also last year it seemed I was catching alot more over the 20 inch barrier and they were really fat. This year Nada!
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I can't say I've noticed a change in the size, just more bigger class fish. Not to sound like I'm picking a fight, but the only way to tell would be to have pictures and actual length and girth measurements. We all know how memories change over time. I'm sure everyone on here has exagerated about the size of a fish at least once in their lives. Now I did hear that a gill net survey last spring showed a significant decrease in the chub and shiner population, and if that keeps up, the fish will get forced onto a diet. I personally haven't seen it yet, but the fish up there are far from what I would consider a snake fish.
Just my 2 cents anyways.
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The ones that I've caught have all been healthy fish. Nothing even close to snakey. It wouldn't be that some folks want to keep a few, and are looking for a reason? You know, thin them out before the crash. Naw. That can't be it. For one thing, the chubs are still there, and still plenty of them. I've even caught a couple of cutts under the slot. They are never fat at that size, but not skinny like they weren't getting enough to eat.
As for Kolob, I'll say this. I've never fished it, but I've fished Minersville a ton. It has the same regulations, and it has suffered through the drought. When the water conditions are bad, the fish struggle to survive. They never do seem to regrow the girth that they once had. The ones that survive the low water are really snakey.
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The fish I've caught from Strawberry this past year have been very healthy - the best I've seen in years. I haven't seen any "snakes" and the overall size is up substantially.
A few notes from some who attended the Strawberry Anglers Association Meeting in November where Roger Wilson (the chief DWR biologist over Strawberry) presented.
Bottom line: the gill net surveys and other data continue to show strong evidence of an improving and healthy fishery with chub numbers/biomass and age class changes in the cutt population both continuing to move in the desired directions. The regulations are well supported by the general fishing public. Roger said he was "astounded" at the high level of public support for the regulations that angler opinion surveys have found - about 75%! Furthermore, despite the fact that many are frustrated with the slot limit violations we witness, Rogers' data shows compliance rates (with the slot limit) were above 95% in both 2003 and 2004, and increased very slightly from '03 to '04.
Roger showed projections for both cutt sizes and numbers and chub populations in about 2005 through 2008, I think. Projections for both species look good and look to remain about where they are currently.
On the redside shiners, he said that they have almost been wiped out by the cutts. Very few of them left in the reservoir.
The question of what to do if someone catches a smallmouth or some other fish that is not known to be in Strawberry came up. Roger basically said that they would like the person to get the fish to a DWR office for inspection ASAP. He said they continually hear of reports of small mouth bass and other fish caught up there, but have not been able to verify any of them. He seemed to indicate that small mouth aren't much of a concern because they probably would have a tough time getting a hold in Strawberry. (Please don't anyone try!!)
Roger also made the point, and he really emphasized it, that Strawberry is NOT a trophy fishery. He said that if did have trophy regs., it would have good numbers of 30" cutts swimming around. It is managed as a family fishery.
One final note: Pelicans have become a very significant problem for the spawning cutts. Roger has spent a lot of time and effort trying to solve this problem - this past year he said they lost about 300 spawners in just one incident in one creek where the fish could not get back out of the spawning tributary because of the pelicans' presence. The pelicans, as I understand it, basically congregate out in front of the mouths of the tributary streams during the spawning runs and attempt to take as many fish as they can. This results in many fish not being able to get up the tributaries or back out of the tributaries after spawning. Roger used "human sentinels" last year to help with this problem - scare the pelicans off.
If anyone is concerned about Strawberry they should get involved with the Strawberry Anglers Association. They have a great working relationship with the DWR and have a lot of influence in the decisions being made about Strawberry. They usually have a booth at the Sportsman's Expo.
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Did I say snakey in any posts above? NOT! I said overall the fish have been basically smaller and skinnier than the past 2 years. In my opinion, they will get snakey if they don't get there share of chubs or red shiners that are now wiped out. As mentioned above, Powerbait isn't going to feed them all. And by the way, every cutt I've caught is still in the lake. I might keep one fish once in a while if I'm going to eat it that night, but it's always been a rainbow out of Strawberry.
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Fishbladder,
My bad. You said skinnier. To me that means snakey. But every other post that I've read has talked about bigger, and healthier fish, not smaller or skinnier. Did I miss the part that said Powerbait was feeding the fish? I think that if there is a problem at Strawberry, the UDWR will change the regs to get the predator-prey balance back in balance. Sounds to me like they're getting their share of food up there.
The DWR uses gill nets, creel surveys, and monitors the stocking, spawning, and harvesting of fish at Strawberry. They aren't seeing smaller, skinnier fish either. They're reporting more of the bigger fish. And they're doing their job. They've already eaten most if not all of the shiners. Now they can concentrate on the smaller chubs. Isn't that just what the DWR wants them to do?
Seems to me most people and the DWR are satisfied with the way things are going at Strawberry.
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[cool]I'm actually a heck of a lot more concerned with Scofield right now than I am with Strawberry. The fish I've caught at the berry this year (as I stated earlier) were all very healthy thick Cut's, and more around the 19-20 inch range than in years past. At Scofield, it's been just the opposite. We used to catch 19-21 inch fat football shaped 'bows through the ice and this year, it was 16 at the biggest for me, and not that fat, with the average fish I caught up there probably going 14 inches or so. I think the drought has really effected that lake, plus it's received a ton of pressure too, is my guess.
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Perhaps Scofield will turn into another Lost Creek, dont worry about pressure, they will plant more.
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Fishbladder:
I'm hoping we're wrong too, I just dont think its the case, but time will tell.
As far as the comment made that perhaps the complains are made due to the fact some folks want to keep em. Well in my case,, NO Thanks. I'd rather chew on Eyes, Whities, Splake, or Mac. I'm an EX cabin owner from the "good old Berry days". Now, like then, the catching is for fun, not meals..
I'm more than aware that there are a few in the Berry tipping the scales over 10lb. But I believe those are rare and probably apart of the original shocking after the big kill. Whats more, I dont think anyone expects to see football shaped slime rocket bodies when we're talking Cutties.. [crazy]
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You tell the wildlife officers to "look the other way" and I'll gladly take care of the Pelican problem! I'll bet they wouldn't fancy high doses of Tungsten/Iron! There would be no pelican problem after that.
One other thing to mention, and I think perhaps the bows probably eat more than the cutts, but if they cutts were really hungry, there is an extreme over abundant supply of crawdads up there!
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I have regularly fished Strawberry for several years. I noticed that beginning with last year the cutts, on the whole, have been heavier than they have been for several years. I have particularly noticed that they can fight much harder with the extra bulk. I have also noticed that with the new regulations that the average length has increased significantly. On almost every trip we have caught a few at or slightly over the slot limit and a couple 25 to 26 inchers. With that said, I have only managed to land a few cutts at Strawberry that come close to approaching the shape of many of the cutts that I have seen caught at Bear Lake.
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[green][size 2]I have fished Strawberry as many as 50 days or more in a year. I still almost get in 20 days now. TKB and myself have fished together at least five times this ice fishing season at Strawberry. We have caught many fish bigger than we've caught in years past. This thickness of the Troutski's is something we have disscussed in length. To our thinking, the current cutthroat sizes are the biggest in 10 years. I really don't believe in the "new regs"(elitest private pond), but I do admit that the fish are bigger.
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