10-14-2024, 03:55 PM
(10-14-2024, 01:38 PM)Cowboypirate Wrote:(10-14-2024, 05:26 AM)BYUHunter Wrote: On the one hand, the lack of sportsmanship and regard for the regulations boils my blood.
On the other, bringing up my Kokanee rigs for the fiftieth time of the morning, for another 17" wet sock of a cutt does too....
I am about as far from an educated fish biologist as they come but it sure seems like allowing a limited harvest of the mid range cuts would help improve overall size without negatively impacting the incredible current cut population.
Is there somthing simple I am missing in that assumption?
In my opinion, you are not missing anything.
The intent of the Cutts is to keep the chubs in check, and not let the babies grow up and make more babies. This plan seems to be working. However, the DWR is not resting on their laurels, they continue to pump hundreds of thousands of Cutts per year into Strawberry, and keep in mind these are not sterile like rainbows, so there is natural recruitment in addition to the stocking numbers.
The Cutts are completely overpopulated, and while they are mostly healthy, they could be a lot healthier (and bigger) if there was less competition for food. I would fully be in favor of the removal of the slot limit.