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[cool][#0000ff]Hey gang, Brett Prettyman had a pretty good writeup in this morning's Tribune. [url "http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_4263456"]LINK TO ARTICLE[/url][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First of all, there is a new [url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/"]FISHING HOTSPOTS[/url] section on the Utah DWR website. Lots of good timely info and interactive lookup potential.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Second, it covers some of the proposed new changes in the 2007 proclamation...such as raising the statewide walleye limit to 10, with one fish over 24". Willard Bay is likely to remain the same, however.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It also lists some of the upcoming RAC meetings, for those who have issues and want to voice them...or at least listen to what is proposed.[/#0000ff]
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Ah yes, our hard earned fishin money at work. Nice to see they are axpanding our future. Keep it up. Also, i am going to try and make the rac meeting. Anyone else going?
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So they finally got it live? That's cool.
Cory from the DWR website showed me the early stages of this a month or so ago. It uses Google Maps similar to my fishing maps pages. Looks like it has some things mine doesn't, but also doesn't have all that mine has.
Gives me some good ideas.
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I like the new graphicTubeDude. Also, I appreciate the information you always give us. Like I told BLM, you guys spend alot of time helping out this board and making it great. Thanks for all the good info and tips you give to everybody. Good Job!!
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the thanks. We appreciate your appreciation.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad you like my new picture. Just like with the drivers' license pics...some us want justice and others need mercy. When I told them I wanted them to get my best side they told me I didn't have one.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks for the links. If I read that article correctly, they are going to have a statewide slot limit for cutthroat trout of 15-22 inches. Does anyone know more about this?
If so, good job, DWR. This will be a good move for a lot of lakes.
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[cool][#0000ff]I read it the same way. We will just have to wait and see what the final print is.[/#0000ff]
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The article says the statewide trout slot would only be where current trout slots are in place.
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The article reads, "The other major change would set a statewide protective slot limit where current trout slots are in place." The key words are "where current trout slots are in place". A statewide slot would never work, especially on the waters that are intended to be put and take waters (community ponds and many other smaller bodies of water).
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Darn it nothing about keeping some yuba perch! ]
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[cool][#0000ff]That would be a good reason to attend the RAC meetings.[/#0000ff]
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But they are to far away!!![ ]
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I went to read the proposed changes on the DWR site and couldn't find them. Proposed changes are usually posted under [url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/news/"]http://wildlife.utah.gov/news/[/url] so the public can look at them before the RAC meeting. Looks like Prettyman may have heard the info before it was made public on the DWR web site. Hope they post an official version to peruse.
I particularly wanted to see the DWRs official words regarding the proposed statewide cutthroat slot limit. Some key words in the statement Prettyman made were "where current trout slots are in place". Therefore, places like Bear Lake where there is no slot limit would not be effected. I think they're just trying to make the slot the same across the board at places that currently have a slot. Less confusion for the angler.
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I re-read it and I think you and Kent are right. They are apparently going to have a Cutt slot at Panguitch lake and I have heard rumblings about Cutthroat only slots being considered elsewhere. This rule would thus make sense.
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The talk about a statewide trout slot of 15-22 inches where there is currently a slot was discussed back in May by Brett
[center][font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"]Salt Lake Tribune, The (UT)[/font]
[font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"][size 2]Date: May 10, 2006[/size][/font]
[font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"][size 2]Section: Features
[/center]Recreational Sports[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"]
[/font] [font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"]DWR seeks angler input[/font]
[font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"][size 2] Brett Prettyman TIGHT LINES[/size][/font] [/i]
[font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"][size 2]Some lessons are learned better than others.[/size][/font] [font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"][size 2]The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) appears to have learned the best way to prepare anglers for change is to give them time to digest the information and respond. That was not the case when a proposal to allow bait fishing on the lower section of the middle Provo River appeared in July 2003 and was approved by the Utah Wildlife Board that September.
Anglers complained they lacked enough time to review the proposal and provide feedback before the recommendation was approved.
Starting next week, anglers will get a chance to hear an early list of proposed changes for 2007. Fisheries biologists will study responses and additional suggestions from the public and make formal recommendations to the wildlife board in the fall.
There are always proposed changes, but 2007 brings a Pautzke Balls O' Fire salmon eggs jar's worth of them. Some of the major proposals will be discussed here, but a full list can be viewed at http://www.
wildlife.utah.gov/news/06-04/fishingproc.php.
Some proposals are designed to increase interest in fishing and improve license revenue. The proposal to allow anglers to use two poles at a time statewide is a perfect example. Two poles now are allowed only at select state waterways and only with a $15 permit.
"We took a look at how the two-pole regulation was impacting other states and found that it was creating very few biological impacts," said Roger Wilson, sport-fishing coordinator for the DWR. "It won't mean much to a boat full of trollers, but bank fishermen and ice fishermen should be really excited about it."
A decision about the number of hooks per line when using two poles still needs to be made, and Wilson pointed out it would be allowed on rivers as well as lakes.
Sounds like more time spent untangling line to this angler. Look for anglers to voice concerns about the use of two poles on places like Strawberry Reservoir where the mandatory catch-and-release slot is in place.
The resurgence of Strawberry, due largely to the size restrictions, has likely affected pressure at Scofield Reservoir. Angling pressure at the Carbon County reservoir has declined 67 percent since 1986, but stocking has remained constant, with about 600,000 trout being dropped into the lake each year.
The result is an abundance of fish, and biologists believe an increased limit to eight fish is a good idea.
"We did drop the limit to four fish in 1999 and we have seen a reduction in pressure since then. The change may have reduced the angling effort; reduced interest in heading there," Wilson said. "Increasing the limit might make it more attractive to anglers who have given up on Scofield."
In a continuing effort to simplify fishing regulations, DWR officials are proposing changing the slot limit on the Green River below Flaming Gorge Reservoir from two trout under 13 inches and one over 20 inches to two trout under 15 inches and one over 22 inches. The idea is to adopt the current Strawberry regulation as a statewide slot limit.
One other interesting idea is to develop some kind of a family fishing package. I am constantly hearing from anglers about how much it costs to get their family licenses and then on the water for a fishing excursion. While I believe that we should all share the cost of funding the resource, this incentive would undoubtedly bring more anglers back to the sport and allow more parents to introduce their children to fishing.
Wilson says the package proposal offers a 10 percent target discount. There are some restrictions that need to be decided, but the Utah State Legislature will get the final say in a family fishing value package. Don't expect to see it until 2008 for that reason.
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Contact Brett Prettyman at brettp@sltrib.com or 801-257-8902. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
Fishing regulation comments sought
The public will get a chance to hear state wildlife agency proposals and to voice suggestions at a series of Regional Wildlife Advisory Council meetings in the coming weeks:
Tuesday - Southern region, Beaver High School, 195 E. Center St., Beaver, 7 p.m.
Wednesday - Southeastern region, John Wesley Powell Museum, 885 E. Main St., Green River, 6:30 p.m.
May 18 - Northeastern region, Uintah Basin Applied Technology College, 1100 E. Lagoon St., Roosevelt, 6:30 p.m.
May 23 - Central region, Springville Junior High School, 165 S. 700 East, Springville, 6:30 p.m.
May 24 - Northern region, Brigham City Community Center, 24 N. 300 West, Brigham City, 6 p.m.
Comments can also be sent by e-mail to DWRComment@ utah.gov.
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[url "http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site297/2006/0510/out_page2middle_0511~1.jpg"]Photo: Brett Prettyman[/url]
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[font "Arial,geneva,helvetica"][size 2]© 2006 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
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