Blacksmith Fork Cache Angler's/ TU letter

[royalwulff]

3/22/2004

Cache Anglers Position on Selective Harvest of the Upper Blacksmith Fork River

The upper Blacksmith Fork River near Hardware Ranch has been pinpointed by the DWR as approaching its carrying capacity for brown trout. The DWR would like to decrease the population in order to increase the overall health of the fishery. The Blacksmith Fork has been designated as a Blue Ribbon Fishery and keeping it in top health is of the uppermost importance by the DWR, their biologists, and the Cache Anglers. The Cache Anglers, Northern Utah Chapter of Trout Unlimited, motioned and voted to support the position of selective harvest by fishermen as a tool to keep the Blacksmith Fork in a balanced state. We are asking our members and other fishermen to follow the DWR regulations and use selective harvest on the Blacksmith Fork River by keeping some of the smaller fish they catch. Fish on the BSF are in good condition right now (condition factors greater than 1) but if no fish are harvested, fish will start to become stunted over time.

Catch and release has become a standard with a lot of fishermen; fly-fishermen in particular over the last several decades have adopted it, and for some of us it has become almost a religion. But, when the overall health of a fishery comes into question, it is imperative that we adjust our thinking to compensate for the needed changes to keep the population levels within the standards set by state biologists and fish health experts. Catch and release is a management tool that we thought would always lead to the greatest output from a fishery, but it is clear that some selective harvest is necessary to keep brown trout populations in check on some of the fisheries in Utah.

The Middle Provo and the Ogden River below Pineview Dam are experiencing the same type of population problems. As a result, the regulations on the Middle Provo were changed this year allowing the use of bait as a way of speeding up the reduction of brown trout in that section.

Cache Anglers want fishermen to be aware of the situation we could face on the Blacksmith Fork River and let you know that each of you must make the personal decision to keep fish or not, but that selective harvest of smaller fish can greatly benefit this Blue Ribbon Fishery.

Chris Thomas
President

Northern Utah Chapter of
Trout Unlimited

[Crosby]

2 gone Sunday

[Utah DaveII]

Nice letter Chris.

Chris I was wondering if you knew of any creel survey data on the Ogden. I was flipping through the stocking records last night and noticed that nearly 8,000 fish went into that sucker last year. That's a lot of fish being harvested, if I am to believe that nearly all hatchery fish are harvested quickly. It would also be interesting to see how many more Brown trout go out of there. It could easily be argued that there are around 10,000-12,000 fish a year being harvested out of there a year. It would be intersting to see what the real data says. IF so that is substantial harvest, I wonder if we might have other problems there? See what Chris W., Jon or Ron can dig up for us.

E-Mail me. I also wnat to talk to you about spawn creek. Thanks...

Dave (Stonefly)...

[royalwulff]

Dave and RAW I will get to you ASAP about info!

3/22/2004

Cache Anglers Position on Selective Harvest of the Upper Blacksmith Fork River

The upper Blacksmith Fork River near Hardware Ranch has been pinpointed by the DWR as approaching its carrying capacity for brown trout. The DWR would like to decrease the population in order to increase the overall health of the fishery. The Blacksmith Fork has been designated as a Blue Ribbon Fishery and keeping it in top health is of the uppermost importance to the DWR, their biologists, and the Cache Anglers. The Cache Anglers, Northern Utah Chapter of Trout Unlimited, motioned and voted to support the position of selective harvest by fishermen as a tool to keep the Blacksmith Fork in a balanced state. We are asking our members and other fishermen to follow the DWR regulations and use selective harvest on the Blacksmith Fork River by keeping some of the smaller brown trout they catch. Fish on the Blacksmith Fork River are in good condition right now (condition factors greater than 1) however this could change if no fish are harvested, fish could become stunted over time.

Catch and release has become a standard with a lot of fishermen; fly-fishermen in particular over the last several decades have adopted it, and for some of us it has become almost a religion. Sometimes catch and release benefits a fishery and in a few instances it hurts the fishery. When the overall health of a fishery comes into question, it is imperative that we adjust our thinking to compensate for the needed changes to keep the population levels within the standards set by state biologists and fish health experts. Catch and release is a management tool that we thought would always lead to the greatest output from a fishery, but it is clear that some selective harvest is necessary to keep some brown trout populations in check.

The Middle Provo and the Ogden River below Pineview Dam are experiencing the same type of population problems. As a result, the regulations on the Middle Provo were changed this year allowing the use of bait as a way of speeding up the reduction of brown trout in that section.

Cache Anglers want fishermen to be aware of the situation we could face on the Blacksmith Fork River and let you know that each of you must make the personal decision to keep fish or not, but that selective harvest of the smaller brown trout can benefit this Blue Ribbon Fishery.

Chris Thomas
President
Cache Angler's
Northern Utah Chapter of
Trout Unlimited