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Originally posted by brownster145^^So if a lake in an official “Wilderness Area” hasn't been planted with, say, golden trout in the past, it probably never will be? Is that right? I'm not quite understanding that part.
^^That is exactly right. It isn't impossible for a new species to be introduced, but it would be a special case like… see below…^^
I know of at least a few high lakes in the northern part of the state that have brown trout in them. Tomyhoi comes to mind.
^^Quite right. There are a handful, and Tomyhoi is one. It is an example of a wilderness lake that had a new species introduced. In this case, a predator species, brown trout, was stocked in an attempt to control a runaway population of EBs. This is the most common reason you'll see new species stocked in the future. Stunted populations are a disaster for the native flora and fauna in high lakes and finding ways to control them will be a very high priority in upcoming years. Brown trout have not been terribly effective. They can have some effect on stunted populations and they do grow large, offering a desirable fish for anglers, but they don't solve the problem and there are major downstream concerns. In the future you are more likely to see sterile predators like tiger trout or tiger muskies.^^^^
Interesting. On the topic of landlocked salmon, what about kokanee? Are they ever planted in high lakes?
^^I only know of one case where kokanee have been stocked in a high lake in recent years. There is a lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness that was stocked with kokanee in 1918. About 10 years ago, amazingly, it was discovered they are still there.”
“The final decision on species is made by WDFW biologists. We can, and do, make suggestions of which species we want to plant, but the final decision is made by the bio. There are certain restrictions. In wilderness, a species must have been planted in the lake to be eligible for planting now. If a lake has never been planted with a particular species the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) must be followed and that is reletively unusual. In no case do we want to introduce a fish that will naturally reproduce so lakes that have spawning potential will not receive species like CT that are prone to over reproduction. So within those restrictions, species are chosen that it is felt will best grow in the lake and offer a diversity of opportunity. If a lake, for instance, has large populations of copepods RB will likely be stocked because they are better able to utilize that food source then CT. Goldens are typically stocked in higher, more remote lakes. But not always. Big Greider is an easily accessible golden lake, though it is large and they can be hard to catch. It also has some RB. ^^^^Brown trout are typically stocked in a lake with too many stunted EB or CT in an attempt to cut down those populations. There are some high lakes with browns. Most, but not all, are in the southern part of the state. ^^^^I don’t think you’ll find any more Atlantic salmon in any high lakes. There were some stocked in the early eighties and they lived a long time, but I think they are all gone now. I was with someone who caught one, but I never managed to catch one either.^^^^Grayling are found in only one lake in the state.”
I can steer you to lots of free ways to resize pics on a Mac. But I'm a Mac guy so I don't know the free tools available for Windows PCs. I assume there must be free options available.
“By the late sixties/early seventies the fishing in the Hiddens had declined so far that local anglers where putting pressure on the bio to plant brookies. The, then, very young and green bio actually did plant brookies in there. Thankfully, for some unknown reason they never took. We know the plants were good because they surveyed them at age one and they had grown very well, but they subsequently disappeared. That could have been one of the all time great disasters.”
Even if it was sarcastic that doesn't matter because sarcasm is allowed here. Jonathan's post was appropriate and I do not like to see posting discouraged.
There have been some tiger trout planted in a few drive to high lakes down in far southern WA and some planted over in Okanogan County. I suspect they are something we may see in some other lakes as experimental predator fish for overpopulated lakes.
“Hey, I liked Jonathan's picture. It fit well with the other photos even though it wasn't a huge fish.”
I see Mike and glen have the hold it out toward the camera so the fish looks even bigger technique perfected. 😛
[Edited on 12-6-2003 by Brian Curtis]
“I've been all up and down the Wind Rivers. Fishing can be incredible. X-country travel is really easy. There can be hundreds of cars at the Elkhart Park Trailhead, but, except for certain popular destinations, the country is large enough to absorb the crowds nicely. E-mail me for more specific advice.”
Here is an article from the Omak Chronicle. I’m not sure how long this URL is going to stay good, it looks temporary.
