SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is calling on anglers to catch specific fish out of four waterbodies throughout the state they say are negatively impacting fisheries.
Specifically, DWR wants fishers to catch small lake trout out of Flaming Gorge Reservoir, walleye out of Starvation Reservoir, bluegill out of Pelican Lake, and brown trout out of Blacksmith Fork River.
These four fish have reportedly become too numerous in their respective waterbodies, reducing the overall food supply for all the fish. DWR said this impacts other species and can cause the fish to grow slower and remain smaller. DWR Sportfish Coordinator Trina Hedrick said anglers used to harvest more fish which helped keep these numbers lower.
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“But now, more anglers prefer to participate in catch-and-release fishing, which leaves more fish in the system and increases competition for limited resources,” explained Hedrick. “Each lake or reservoir has a maximum number of fish it can sustain. When the waterbody exceeds that, you’ll eventually see an overabundance of skinny, smaller fish.”
For lake trout fishing, Hedrick asks anglers to only catch fish that are smaller than 25 inches. Anglers are also asked to harvest a limit of lake trout from Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
Hedrick also said the DWR “really needs” more people to harvest more brown trout from Blacksmith Fork River. She said there is a four-fish bonus limit for harvesting brown trout from the waterbody.
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