Sprague Lake

[MarkFromSea]

Have you Sprague Lake guys seen this? Sprague is going to be planted with 369,000 juvenile Steelhead. No joke!

http://seattletimes.com/html/outdoors/2 ... 08xml.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's very sad to read. The enviro whackos strong arm the gov to toss steel head into a lake to be devoured by cormorants and bass.

[Anglinarcher]

As you know, steelhead are rainbows that made it to the ocean in time. I don't know the strain, but the should grow like weeds.

[MotoBoat]

Have you Sprague Lake guys seen this? Sprague is going to be planted with 369,000 juvenile Steelhead. No joke!

http://seattletimes.com/html/outdoors/2 ... 08xml.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's very sad to read. The enviro whackos strong arm the gov to toss steel head into a lake to be devoured by cormorants and bass.

I am not familiar with river politics. But is this surplus of smolt the backlash of a WDFW plan, to not plant hatchery steel in rivers where these smolt were destined for? Something to do with Hatchery vs Wild Steelhead, and the theory of negative effects from the intermingling of the two.

I recall a year or two ago, where the WDFW dumped a large number of steelhead smolt in Swifford pond. Swifford is shallow, and mostly a spiny ray lake. The number was like 100,000 smolt? Maybe Swifford did not work out, and Sprague is the next test site (lake).

[Anglinarcher]

Idaho is a big metalhead smolt producer for the Feds., as part of the upper Snake River mitigation program. See Hegerman Federal Fish hatchery.

When they get more then the quota the biologists want, they have the state plant them in local lakes and streams. I sure cannot be sure of this, but I have seen it before.

[BARCHASER10]

It really isn't the WDFW. Its the wild fish extremist bunch, Trout Unlimited etc, mostly the fly fishing crowd. They must be mostly lawyers cause they love to go to court. Nothing but wild fish and flyrods. They want the Sky to be only wild steelhead. To hell with rednecks that just want to catch fish, hatchery or wild.

[MarkFromSea]

These were the steelhead destined to Puget Sound rivers until Wild Fish Conservancy sued. Rather than fight, WDFW paid WFC $45,000 and agreed to not place them in Puget Sound rivers.... Your Winter Puget Sound steelhead days are over. WFC is the devil.

http://wildfishconservancy.org/about/pr ... s-releases" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The strain of these steelhead is Chambers Creek. The cormorants are going to love them!

[MarkFromSea]

These were NOT surplus fish. These represent nearly all of Puget Sound rivers winter run steelhead. (as I understand it)

catch up in these threads or google: http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/se ... ywords=wfc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Winter 2016 will be a desert in most Puget Sound rivers.

WFC is the devil.

I do not blame WDFW.

[BARCHASER10]

Good article on the Wild fish Conservancy from our point of view, but our point of view never seems to mean much!

http://nwsportsmanmag.com/editors-blog/ ... d-lawsuit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BARCHASER10]

One other quick note, here is a list and bios of the Board of WFC. Like I said earlier they are all "avid flyfishers", most seem to be associated with government to one degree or another and the list includes one lawyer. Quite an elitist group!

http://wildfishconservancy.org/about/board" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anglinarcher]

Sad group. Every radical tree hugging would be proud of them.

[YellowBear]

I find it a bit stange that a muddy bottom shallow lake would be the WDFW's choice of lakes to plant these fish.
I would have thought they would do better in one or two of there Trout lakes just down the road.

[Anglinarcher]

Shallow yes, muddy bottom no! Sprague is mostly rock, sand, gravel.

My guess is our tree huggers don't want them in av system that dumps into the rivers where they might make it to the ocean.

[swb69]

There have been several groups opposed to the stocking hatchery fish in the rivers around for a while now. They believe that the hatchery fish are inferior to the wild ones and if they spawn together it will make the wild fish weaker, more prone to disease or genetic abnormalities. There is some science to back this, but science also says that the strong fish will go on to spawn and the weaker ones become food for predators or die during migration. I don't know how you can just decide to believe only part of the science and ignore the rest just because it doesn't fit with what you want to do.

As for the stocking them in Sprague, it is better than just killing them and the lake can use any help. They should make for some good fishing down the road if they survive, and the bass should benefit as well. I think it is the right thing to do, stocking them around the state. At least they are just tossing them and the money invested in them away.

[YellowBear]

The WDFW has several Trout lakes in the area.
Badger, Amber,Willams,Hog canyon, 4th of July, Fishtrap, West Medical, Medical, Coffeepot and Twin.
These lakes are managed Trout lakes, Sprague is suposed tobe a Warm water fishery but all they stock in it is Trout.
The WDFW stocked a meger number of Bass in Sprague after the rehab that are just now starting to show up, its been 8 years since the kill off of the lake. When the WDFW stocked Sprague with Walleye and Smallmouth it only took 3 years to start seeing 100 fish a day. I have not heard if the Crappie or Perch have been stocked yet. There are rumors the Bluegill had been added but no reports of any showing up yet that I have heard of.

I am glad to see that the WDFW found a place to put 369,000 Trout but (IMHO) there choice of lakes is a poor one.

[Anglinarcher]

Crappie have been stalked, 8 years ago. No show so far.

They are not and never were planned to stalk perch but I would be shocked if bucket biologist have not done it. No show.

Bluegill were stalked 8 years ago and maybe a dozen have reported.

Last year I observed tons of 6" bass. They will need food. Trout will suffice, as will Stealhead. LOL.

SPRAGUE is starting to recover but not as fast as it should have done.

[swb69]

I agree with you YellowBear on all your points. It would be better to put them into managed trout lakes. I do not understand the WDFW thinking on Sprague. They don't seem to be putting a lot of thought or effort into the supposed rehab of the lake. Maybe if we put a lot of pressure on them to better manage this lake things would change.

I also caught a lot of 6" to 8" bass last year and 2 Bluegill that measured about 9". Hopefully the bass have grown considerably since then. I would like to see cats and eyes back but have heard that the cats didn't take hold (which seems strange to me) and the WDFW is not going to stock eyes.

[YellowBear]

I am glad to hear you guy's spotted some Bass.

sw69, I am not sure why the Catfish would not take, darn things will live in a wet gunnysack. lol.

The WDFW did a heck of a job when they planted Sprague with Walleye, I just can't understand why they can't do it twice.

[Anglinarcher]

In the 80's they managed fisheries. Today they serve tree huggers and tree huggers hate Walleye because they are not native. Removing walleye was the stated reason for killing Sprague.

Bullheads are in Sprague but because they were not planted it will take time. Chanel cats need warm water to spawn and our Springs have been colder then normal since the re-stalk.

[YellowBear]

We were told that the Walleye had eaten all the baitfish, that is why they had to go.
Now that we know that was not true, why not plant them again?

The tree huggers don't pay the bills we do and we are NOT getting much of a bang for our buck's.

[Anglinarcher]

Tree huggers are united and political. We sportsmen are not.