Northwest Fishing Reports

Does anyone know how or someone (in the WDFW Hatchery trout program) I could get into contact with regarding the stocking of our lakes? I want the WDFW to limit the stocking of a certain lake in order to benefit the fishery. I think the excessive stocking of planters ruins the fishery... Long story, if someone wants it, I'll type a response up.

But does anyone know who I'd go about emailing or getting in contact with so I could bring this issue up?

This is a great topic Sam.
I have been thinking of contacting them about a few things. Mainly like you said planting stockers everywhere. There is more than one lake that I know that has native Kokanee, and atleast used to have native cutthroat and the state has planted a record number of stockers in that lake this year. Another lake I know used to be a great Cutthroat lake then the state started planting trips in there and now the Cutts are nearly wiped out. I don't understand why they need to plant stockers in every lake even if they have naturally reproducing fish in them. These fish eat all the food and may inbreed with native fish, diluting the gene pool. I think we need to shift emphasis to natural spawning especially when lakes have outlets and inlets. Basically, start managing the lakes like we are starting to manage the rivers. You notice they only plant trout in a few rivers now.
Another thing is who is managing these Kokanee plants?
The same lakes have been planted nearly the same way for as long as the records show back. Yet some lakes have no viable fishery, like I mentioned there are hundreds of reports for some lakes that don't even have one mentioning Kokanee. Some lakes the fish grow to 7-8 inches, while others they grow huge. I think someone could take a look at where they are planting them and perhaps find better ways to manage our $$ than planting Kokanee as Bass food.
I am not saying plant less fish, don't get me wrong just we need to manage things differently. Put the extra stockers in the put and take lakes, and if we can save some money perhaps we can grow them a little bigger.

Jake Dogfish wrote:Mainly like you said planting stockers everywhere.

That is basically the matter I'm concerned with too. A lake I frequent quite a bit has a great trout fishery year around. Perhaps because it is a selective gear lake with very selective harvest rules as well, but quality fish are taken year round. I fished it several times in late March and the fishing was like usual, awesome. Lots of fish caught, 90% of the fish between 14-17 inches with the other 10% being over 17 inches...But then mid April rolls around and so does the stocking truck full of the little 8-11 inch guys. Nearly 5,000 get dumped in the lake and then it's tough to get through the small ones to catch the regular fish in that lake. Now I was still catching some nice fish over Memorial Day weekend, but 60-70% of the fish were under 12 inches. This lake, like many others, isn't big, probably near 100 acres. I'd have to believe that 5000 of these 10 inch fish are overcrowding the lake and thus reducing the amount of food in the lake to a point that the food supply could be considered a shortage. Now a few of these fish are going to get nabbed by the eagles but in accordance to the regulations of the lake, these fish cannot be harvested. And from their background (weird genes, growing up in cement ponds) many of these fish won't be able to survive after a few weeks because they just cannot adapt to live in a natural lake, as opposed to a hatchery were they spent their entire life being fed and with no predators.

The lake already has a great supply of fish in it. The fishing gets worse when they stock it. It's supposedly managed to be a quality selective gear/rules lake, and the rules for the selective harvest. And it is most of the time, except for the few weeks after the stocking where the small guys are all over the place. I'd have to assume many of them die or they grow real quick because by Sept/Oct (when fishing gets better b/c of colder water) there aren't many small fish caught. But many nice fish are still there, in fact enough that stocking doesn't even need to take place at current rates. I don't think it needs to be stocked every year, or perhaps just replenish the lake with a few triploids or a few stockers to supplement the fish that were retained, taken by eagles or killed by the summer heat....

Now this matter isn't a huge issue. But why stock a quality selective gear lake with the standard stockers when it is meant to be a selective lake. Why spend a lot of money to stock it when it doesn't need to be.

Jake Dogfish's examples are an even better example. Many people are attracted to the put-and-take trout lakes for obvious reasons. Lots of fish to go around. But many are after a less populous, perhaps native species (kokanee, cutthroat) instead. I think the WDFW should recognize this better and not drown out the fishery with the hatchery trout.

I have yet to send an email off. I've been pretty wrapped up lately and haven't had the time to sit down and spend an hour or two to get a good email drafted and sent off. But I will let you all know when I send it off/hear a response.

Sam Kafelafish wrote:And from their background (weird genes, growing up in cement ponds) many of these fish won't be able to survive after a few weeks because they just cannot adapt to live in a natural lake

Do you have a source for that?

I would say that is based on experience awoods.
Thats why when fish are planted in small clear lakes the birds can wipe them out in a few weeks because the dumb fish don't know any better than swimming in a swimming pool that is 5 feet deep...

I think that Sam and I are mostly talking about smaller lakes, thats why we haven't been naming names. I just does not make sense to force every lake with native trout in it out of existence with the trout that are planted in every lake. The fish already have enough foreign predators to deal with introduced bass, etc. I mean why spend money to make fishing worse and ruin the natural fish in a lake?

Awoods wrote:

Sam Kafelafish wrote:And from their background (weird genes, growing up in cement ponds) many of these fish won't be able to survive after a few weeks because they just cannot adapt to live in a natural lake

Do you have a source for that?

It's pretty commonly accepted that stocker trout tend to be pretty "stupid" when they are planted in lakes. It's because they have lived their entire life in a cement ponds with hundreds of other trout. The ponds are usually concrete holding pends that have a few aerators and a net over them to keep birds and predators out. They also get fed hatchery pellets at the same time of the day so they are used to living with hundreds of other fish, no predators, and a constant food source because that is all they are used to.

When they get dumped into a lake, they are clueless. They stay in the top 5 feet of water, if not right on the surface, so now they are getting picked off by birds left and right. After a few days of not getting fed hatchery pellets, they are pretty hungry because they don't know what to eat in a lake so they pretty much hit anything that gets in their face.

It takes these fish a bit of time to adjust to living in a lake.

Edit: I just sent the email off to the email address Kutthroatkilla provided. I shot it off at 5pm on a Tuesday, probably won't get anything back till tomorrow at earliest...I will let you all know what I hear.

Been a week, still no response from the WDFW!!!

I've heard from others that it can often be a waste of time trying to contact them...

Get used to it.
This seems to be a common practice of the WDFW.

Maybe we are better off keeping the little ones and throwing the big ones back??? Take a kid fishing with you and let them take home the little ones that are going to die anyway and take a picture of them with the big ones. Then in a few years they can come back and throw more big ones back......When does it end???

fishing collector wrote:Maybe we are better off keeping the little ones and throwing the big ones back??? Take a kid fishing with you and let them take home the little ones that are going to die anyway and take a picture of them with the big ones. Then in a few years they can come back and throw more big ones back......When does it end???

Good luck getting most people to throw the big ones back and only take the small guys...I'm trying to do it, and am coming up unsuccessful. I threw a 7 ish lb Rainbow trout back in Beaver (fish in my avatar) after I landed it, took the hook out and got the photo taken. A few guys watched me do it and came up to us asking us why we just released it... like "WTF were you thinking!"

When I got back to the launch, I was asked by a few folks how the fishing was. I told them we got one at around 7 lbs or so, maybe more. No one believed us until we showed them the camera...Then they also were giving us an earful for throwing such a big fish back....I just hope that triploid made it to someone elses line and made their day...

thats awesome that you let it go. I don't think I would have enough self control for that although I do release the majority of my fish. One thing that really peeves my off is when people ask if you caught anything and you say "I got a 20in and released him" and they kinda look disappointed as if I failed. one time a hiker came up to my fishing spot while I was playing a beautiful 16in cutthroat. the guy almost freaked out when I went to release it he kept on saying he wanted to barbecue it.

I am not allowed to help land a few of my friends fish any(the ones who eat fish) more some how they always slip right out of my hands:-"

Sam...You did a good thing...that trip couldn't make little ones.....but might make a little ones day. If people would treat a rainbow like a bass and Catch and Release we all might have a picture like yours.

I haven't caught that many big fish, so it's usually hard for me to let go of any bigger ones. However, when I went up to Reflection Lake (unfortunately private) we were throwing back most of the fish even though they were 14-15 inches (which my friend considered "small" for some reason). It would be really hard for me to let go of a 5 lb bass, but then again everyone seems to, so I guess I should too.

I see some of that too. When they did that plant at Beaver I hooked a bunch of those big ones, but only landed two. I only kept one though. My brother caught one too, but he had trouble getting the hook out so I said I would do it. I tugged it out on my first try and somehow the fish ended up back in the water....

The really sad part that day was when I saw people bringing in garbage bags full of those 5 pounders.