U.L. White Bass Problem

[Carp_Punisher]

[#505000]I agree that we shouldn't complain about the money being "dumped" into Utah Lake to improve it. I think both Tubedude and W&B have some great points. [/#505000]
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[#505000]It doesn't however take a rocket scientist to see that...[/#505000]
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[#505000]June Sucker = lost cause[/#505000]
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[#505000]We can kid ourselves all we want but Utah Lake is and has been for decades changed to a point where June Suckers doesn't naturally reproduce. Only drastic changes to the lake/enviroment, will change that and I don't see enough money/technology avaliable to do that yet or even on the horizon. What the Feds June Sucker program is, is an enviromentalist "feel good" program.[/#505000]
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[#505000]We try and try on a failed species with hundreds of millions of dollars. Right now if we were serious it would be billions and billions of dollars to really make a difference. What we are doing won't do much of anything to save the species, it barely sustains it. Again it's a "feel good" program. That being said I won't complain about the money being spent to improve the lake as it really does benefit other species. [/#505000]
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[#505000]Here is where I have a real issue with trying to save the June Sucker...[/#505000]
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[#505000]Once the carp are "gone" I keep hearing about how great it will be for the sport fish. They will thrive and do great. All the sport fish will dance through the lake fin in fin singing kumbya getting bigger and more plentiful and eating June Sucker. Last I checked carp are primarliy vegetarians. Carp aren't slurping up too many june suckers (yes they do trash their enviroment though). You can bet catfish, white bass, Large Mouth bass, and walleye do slurp up june sucker. When carp are gone and these sportfish flourish as we keep being promised I see them having a huge impact on June Sucker, and I see a big fat federally funded bullseye getting stamped onto the foreheads of our favorite fish.[/#505000]
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[#505000]How does limitless catfish bags, walleye bags, and whitebass bags sound? I guess it sounds pretty good until we put such a hurt on those speices they are a rarity in the lake. Right now they eat carp fry so they are "part of the solution". Once the carp are gone they will be the problem for a federally protected endangered species. The program will then by it's logical course HAVE to go after the next big threat, predators; ultimately to save an ugly little fish with no real value beyond the fact there aren't many of them.[/#505000]
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[#505000]At face value, and at this point of the process this program is great for our sports fish. A lot of great things are being done to the lake which need to be done and wouldn't be otherwise. There is a huge downside to this whole program though. Think the logic on this one through to it's conclusion and ultimate end goal of the program and this will ultimately prove to be the destruction a great sports fishery. Utah Lake will be a great June Sucker Habitat but that's all it will be. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I guess I can take heart that as it stands we are mostly just spinning our wheels.[/#505000]
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