05-26-2016, 04:21 PM
Except that neither Otter Creek nor Piute have any kind of significant crawdad population (and the whole drainage was completely void of them not too long ago) and both have had regular rotenone treatments to control chubs over the years despite smallmouth. Also, wipers up to 6 pounds have been surveyed in Otter Creek and a number up to 4. Smallmouth can definitely slow the process of chubs overrunning a fishery, but not control them. Again, I would say that the presence of both lake trout and smallmouth contributed to their decline at Flaming Gorge...(also, it seems to me that Flaming Gorge has a quite healthy population of crayfish. I remember specifically catching crayfish and using them as bait for smallmouth when I lived in Wyoming!).
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