Roberts Gravel Pond

[MMDon]

Anyone know what happened to all the little perch in the pond? I was out there on my way back from Mud Lake the other day and there were about 10 people on the ice. Not a single fish had been caught. Did the F&G kill it this fall?
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[windriver]

I saw some pictures of small ones from there. I will ask more about it when the guy gets back next week.

Windriver
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[MMDon]

I haven't seen it like that in years. Generally you can pull a hundred fish a day if you wanted to catch 4" fish. I was amazed that no one had even one. I hope there was some kind of die off. The fishing used to be fairly good for nice size fish until it became over populated and caused a major growth stunt to the Perch in the pond. It looked like someone had busted through the ice off of the dock about 20' probably last Wed. A big hole! The ice was 5" when I was there but we had several cold days before last Sat. so it had set it nicely since who ever went through.
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[chrome_junky]

i fished it last sunday i caught to perch that were about 2 inches long and we caught two trout we were there for an hour the perch were smaller than any we pulled out of there last year. last year they averaged around 5 inches. the trout though were pretty darn big for roberts gravel pond the first one was right around a pound and the other was just a tad smaller but i was still impressed with there size all the trout we caught last year were about 8 inches long these were about 14 to 15 inches
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[MMDon]

The trout are plants for the DFG so they vary in size. In years past the DFG has pulled fish from the feeder that have no water an deposited them in Roberts. I've see little kids land some fish in the 10lb class out of there.
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[MMDon]

The F&G has a short blurb in the PR today that says it's ready to fish.
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[Kevin_VanDam]

Maybe this has something to do with it:

ROBERTS GRAVEL POND
Historical fish stocking for ALL FISH TYPES from 2008 through 2009:
07/22/09 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 1,020
07/16/08 Channel Catfish Catchable (6 Inches+) 998

2018 catfish in a small pond like Roberts could mop up perchlets faster than a Kirby vacuum cleaner[]. I've caught catfish through the ice before, so maybe there are some monster catfish in there just waiting to be caught! If I catch a catfish there I'll have to examine its stomach contents and let you know if my theory's right.[fishon]

[MMDon]

Wow, that would explain why I wasn't seeing any fish. Cats are tough to catch through the ice when they are chasing live bait. They are fast cruisers when they move during the day. When you see them through the ice at Mud they are boogeying! That would mean fishing at night when they slow down. Not good news. We would have been better off if they poisoned it as in the past.

Thanks for the info!

Don
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[me_and_myboy]

man I would love to catch several nice catfish. southern man's delight!!
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[chrome_junky]

so what do you use to catch cats through the ice?
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[MMDon]

After thinking about this move by the DFG I'm thinking they should have their heads examined or better yet be sued and end up in court. Planting an invasive species so some idiot has the opportunity to bucket brigade them to other biomasses in our area is stupid. I'd like to see someone's butt in a sling over this decision!
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[maghunter]

I caught one in mud lake like 5 years ago. Caught it with some worm about 2 inches off the bottom.
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[OvidCreek]

I really have mixed feelings about this; yes I would like to catch big trout at Roberts, but there are many places to do this. I know the fish were small, and I even proposed last winter for a perch bash this year, but it was always a place you could take little ones and have them ice fish even if they were 4-5' inch perch I remember a lot of s from kids. My son in many ways I think fell in love with fishing, because he could catch a hundred perch in a day; granted I had to fillet them. I know we have a very big problem that fewer young people are buying a license and at least Roberts would be a place were young people could have the joy of pulling out a lot of fish, and in turn buy a license in the future.

Just my perspective!

OvidCreek
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[snakeriver]

There are so dang many places to catch slimers! Why does every last piece of water in this state have to be a trout fishery. I for one applaud the IDFG for putting something that is much needed, variety. Now if they could start putting crappie in some local lakes that would be great. I too will miss the perch. Went last year to save the day from the skunk and had a great time.
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[MMDon]

It's not about slimers so much as it is about bringing another competing nonnative species into the biomass. Do a search on the internet. It will soon be illegal for a state agency to do so on the whole west coast. My web sites have been working with this issue for a number of years in multiple states.
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[Kevin_VanDam]

I caught them on accident while fishing for perch with a castmaster for weight and rat finkie as a dropper, tipped with a wax worm. I think the more scent the better for catfish.

[Kevin_VanDam]

I don't know much about biomass, but in my experience the best lakes for panfish have a good ratio of prey and predator fish in them. My comment about the catfish is just speculation so I won't know for sure until I can catch one and do a stomach analysis. I think it's good for Roberts to have some predator fish in it to bring up the average size of the perch. I'd much rather catch ten 10" perch than fifty 4" ones. Also, why would it become illegal to introduce another species into Roberts? Aren't all of the fish in there non-native?

[mudsucker]

I've asked F&G many times why they can't stock some perch in the Salmon region. Pick some little lake and instead of filling it with 6" stocker trout like every other little lake, dump in some perch. I even suggested Mackay once, just for fun. Trout are everywhere here, how about a tiny bit of variety?

They don't answer their emails. Once, after 6 months, I got an email saying my inquiry had been forwarded to the correct place for a reply. That was last year, no followup.
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[Everet14]

Are perch a native species of this area? I don't think so, so why is having catfish in the pond any different?

The truth is, I doubt the IDFG is very concerned with the "biomass" of Roberts Gravel Pond. It is a put and take fishery, the catfish were introduced to provide another angling opportunity.
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[MMDon]

[quote Kevin_VanDam]I don't know much about biomass, but in my experience the best lakes for panfish have a good ratio of prey and predator fish in them. My comment about the catfish is just speculation so I won't know for sure until I can catch one and do a stomach analysis. I think it's good for Roberts to have some predator fish in it to bring up the average size of the perch. I'd much rather catch ten 10" perch than fifty 4" ones. Also, why would it become illegal to introduce another species into Roberts? Aren't all of the fish in there non-native?[/quote]

All the fish are nonnative but do you just keep adding more species to the area? Does that sound like practical management principles? It's not a question of legality, just a question of fisheries management for the whole area. Adding catfish to the equation generally means you risk predatory catfish in other waters in the area. Why chance it? I'd be interested in seeing them defend this position after finding Walleye in Ririe. Unlike Mud Lake, Roberts is a small put and take and would make it easier for buckets to move these fish to places where we already have problems with nonnative fish such as the Southfork or maybe Ririe???
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