03-26-2004, 06:06 PM
Prior to the rotenone treatment the fishing at Strawberry was awful. The fishing had crashed in just a few short years. The number of people fishing the reservoir also dropped significantly. The chubs outnumbered trout by at least 20 to 1. The DWR knew that they wouldn't be able to kill all of the chubs, but they hoped to kill most of them and then get Bear Lake cutthroat into the lake so they would keep the chub in check, because the cutthroat are minnow eaters, unlike the rainbows. This worked reasonably well, but then people kept too many of the bigger cutthroat (the main minnow eaters) and so the DWR first tried reducing the limit and then created the slot limit.
I'm not sure what lesson people think the DWR needs to learn. Its we fishermen that need to learn the lesson. The chub are in Strawberry because a bunch of people thought it would be great to fish with live minnows. The DWR spends a lot of time having to manage around people who think they know better by fishing with illegal baits and planting fish illegally. Under the circumstances, the DWR has done a pretty good job of managing Strawberry. One of the reasons Strawberry is so popular is that there is something for everyone: boaters, tubers, ice and bank fishermen; fly, jig, lure and bait fishermen. Anyone can go up there and have a chance for fish. The treatment of the lake was a necessary step.
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I'm not sure what lesson people think the DWR needs to learn. Its we fishermen that need to learn the lesson. The chub are in Strawberry because a bunch of people thought it would be great to fish with live minnows. The DWR spends a lot of time having to manage around people who think they know better by fishing with illegal baits and planting fish illegally. Under the circumstances, the DWR has done a pretty good job of managing Strawberry. One of the reasons Strawberry is so popular is that there is something for everyone: boaters, tubers, ice and bank fishermen; fly, jig, lure and bait fishermen. Anyone can go up there and have a chance for fish. The treatment of the lake was a necessary step.
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