10-27-2019, 06:07 PM
[#0000FF]Most rainbows planted in Utah today are triploids. They are sterile hybrids that do not spawn. I too fished Deer Creek going back to the 1960s...before the plantings became what they are today. And, yes, the rainbows did run up the Provo in the spring for spawning...and the browns in the fall. Natural spawning fish are known as "streambred".
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[#0000FF]I seriously doubt there are any of the original strain of rainbows left in Deer Creek. Walleyes, smallmouths, perch and brown trout all dine heavily on any fish small enough to munch...including young vulnerable trout fry. That is why DWR no longer plants fingerling rainbows. It just became the walleye feeding program with few troutlet survivors. Now they plant fewer but larger catchable size trout in an effort to help them escape all but the bigger walleyes. And those BIG walleyes do dine well on the fall plantings of 10 - 11 inch "finless Freddies".[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Many of the hatchery fish are not in that bad of shape when first planted. The finless ones that survive often grow out their fins and become almost "normal" and can be mistaken for streambred fish. But assuming that a pretty 16 inch fish with good colors and all its fins was spawned in the Provo River is not a good bet.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Native? It doesn't matter how many generations of a species are "resident" in a body of water. Unless they are survivors from ancient Lake Bonneville they will never be "native." Only cutts can claim that distinction. But if you wander around the west you will find "locals" referring to brook trout and other species as "natives". Not worth going fist city over it, but it ain't right.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Flesh color? You are right about the "holdovers" having redder flesh. They are well fed on zooplankton, crawdads and other invertebrates high in vitamin A with carotene. That is what makes the flesh so pretty. Newly released hatchery fish usually have pale mushy flesh...the result of a diet of pelletized fish "food". It is nutritious enough to get them up to planting size but does not make for fine eating by anglers...until they have a chance to spend some time on a more natural diet.
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[#0000FF]I seriously doubt there are any of the original strain of rainbows left in Deer Creek. Walleyes, smallmouths, perch and brown trout all dine heavily on any fish small enough to munch...including young vulnerable trout fry. That is why DWR no longer plants fingerling rainbows. It just became the walleye feeding program with few troutlet survivors. Now they plant fewer but larger catchable size trout in an effort to help them escape all but the bigger walleyes. And those BIG walleyes do dine well on the fall plantings of 10 - 11 inch "finless Freddies".[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Many of the hatchery fish are not in that bad of shape when first planted. The finless ones that survive often grow out their fins and become almost "normal" and can be mistaken for streambred fish. But assuming that a pretty 16 inch fish with good colors and all its fins was spawned in the Provo River is not a good bet.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Native? It doesn't matter how many generations of a species are "resident" in a body of water. Unless they are survivors from ancient Lake Bonneville they will never be "native." Only cutts can claim that distinction. But if you wander around the west you will find "locals" referring to brook trout and other species as "natives". Not worth going fist city over it, but it ain't right.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Flesh color? You are right about the "holdovers" having redder flesh. They are well fed on zooplankton, crawdads and other invertebrates high in vitamin A with carotene. That is what makes the flesh so pretty. Newly released hatchery fish usually have pale mushy flesh...the result of a diet of pelletized fish "food". It is nutritious enough to get them up to planting size but does not make for fine eating by anglers...until they have a chance to spend some time on a more natural diet.
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