Even after both Wyoming and Utah lifted catch limits on smaller lake trout at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, the trout are still gobbling too many of the reservoir’s prized kokanee salmon, a marina owner said.
Bringing in a commercial fishing operation to net massive numbers of lake trout might be the only option at this point, said Tony Valdez, owner of the Buckboard Marina. The marina is on the Wyoming side of Flaming Gorge, which straddles the Wyoming-Utah state line.
Commercial netting of lake trout in Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park helped save cutthroat trout there, Valdez told Cowboy State Daily.
So he wonders if the same couldn’t be done at Flaming Gorge – because he claims that public anglers have hardly made a dent in the lake trout population there.
Bryan Englebert, an assistant aquatic manager with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, took over management on the Utah side of Flaming Gorge about two months ago.
He said he doesn’t yet have enough data in his new position to determine whether commercial netting of lake trout would be a good idea.
But even if it was found to be a good option, it’s incredibly expensive, he told Cowboy State Daily.
“Part of the problem with commercial fishing is that neither state (Wyoming or Utah) has the bankroll for that,” Englebert said.
It might take about $1.7 million to pay a commercial fishing company to conduct a mass netting of lake trout at Flaming Gorge, Valdez said.
Competing Species
Lake trout and kokanee salmon were both introduced to Flaming Gorge in the 1960s.
The species have been in competition ever since, with kokanee on the losing end, because they’re a favorite prey species of lake trout, Valdez said.
That’s particularly true of 2-to-3-inch young kokanee. Both lake trout and burbot, another species common in Flaming Gorge, love to gobble tiny kokanee, Valdez said.
“They have to run that gauntlet” of predators to survive and grow to trophy sized, about 20 to 22 inches, he said.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and The Wyoming Game and Fish Department have for the past several years encouraged anglers to catch as many burbot and lake trout as possible.
Last year, both state agencies eliminated the catch limits on any lake trout smaller than trophy sized, or less than 28 inches.
That’s helped some, and there seem to be a few more kokanee than before, Valdez said.
But as he sees it, that’s still not nearly enough.
“Studies show that rod-and-reel, mechanical angling, that doesn’t catch enough (lake trout),” he said.
Even many of the trophy-sized kokanee he’s seen caught from Flaming Gorge are “full of teeth marks” from Burbot and Lake trout, he said.
Which Species Is Most Prized?
Huge lake trout, whoppers topping 40 inches and in the 40-pound range, are no doubt part of what draws anglers to Flaming Gorge from far and wide, Valdez and Englebert said.
But Valdez said the Flaming Gorge still stakes its reputation primarily on being the region’s premier kokanee fishery.
A 2010 study suggested each trophy-sized kokanee in the reservoir could be worth $76 in terms of revenue brought in by anglers traveling to Flaming Gorge, Valdez said.
When the figures are adjusted for inflation, that could mean that kokanee carry a $200-plus revenue-generating value per each fish, he added.
Englebert said that there’s no doubt that kokanee are prized, but the huge lake trout are valuable to anglers as well.
The goal should be to strike a “balance” between the kokanee and lake trout, and not to eradicate the trout, he said.
Rainbow and cutthroat trout are also popular species, Englebert said. And they can also prey upon small kokanee.
What’s more, environmental factors in the reservoir, such as mud that smothers eggs in kokanee spawning grounds, likely also play a part in that species’ decline, he said.
Don’t Just Toss Them
Despite his dislike for lake trout gobbling kokanee, Valdez said he still sees their value as a “game fish.”
He said somebody recently tossed perhaps dozens of lake trout into a dumpster near the marina, and he hated to see that.
Lake trout are excellent for smoking, Valdez said. He said he’s already sold some smoked lake trout meat through his business and is considering pursuing that as another “commercial option.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
