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The water will be cold and the fish won’t be moving around much. They’ll stay in the shade as much as possible. If there are multiple holes in the ice you can fish concentrate on the one in the shade. If you are using lures keep them very slow moving with a lot of action and move them as slowly as possible. A Flatfish can be good at this time. If you are fishing flies try putting them near the edge of the ice. If the fish aren’t coming up to dries try fishing deep at the edge of the ice.
I don’t know. That’s a really good question. I’m guessing that there is a maximum length at which there will be only enough food to maintain body weight and not add size, but I don’t know what that is. I’m guessing that in a stunted lake it might not be much larger, but that’s pure speculation so it isn’t worth much.
Once trout reach sexual maturity they start consuming a lot of energy in the production of gametes and either spawning, or resorbing their gametes. If food supplies are scarce all their energy will be shifted and they will no longer grow in length. Triploids should not produce gametes so they should grow better in years 4 and onward. And there is a possibility they could live longer because the stress of spawning is gone.
There may be a lot of politics involved and that is probably the the biggest stumbling block at this time. There are several agencies that have interest in bull trout so they have to all agree on what to do and the money has to come from some where. Not a satisfactory answer by any stretch.
They can make triploids out of any trout. They’re also working with EBs and CT. The jumbo triploid program uses RB that were bought from Troutlodge. Those fish are hatchery raised and stocked at jumbo sizes. High lakes triploids will be stocked as fry.
This is a great question. Sterile (e.g. triploid) fish are the way we are headed. Non-reproducing fish are exactly what we want to be stocking. The WDFW has recently obtained the equipment they need to produce triploids and as they gain experience and increase production we’ll start using them. We’re hoping to test some this summer, but don’t yet if they’ll be available.
Good to have you here, Cultus. The bio you talked to is Mark Downen? Have you been stocking high lakes (over 2500 feet on the west side) or lower lakes? We (Trail Blazers) do indeed stock lakes in Skagit and Whatcom Counties. We don’t have any current members living in Skagit County, however.
That’s a good point. The reel seats on fly rods are smaller then on spinning rods so you do need to use a small spinning reel. I buy the lightest ones I can because I want to save weight and I’ve never had problems with them fitting. I’m using 5wt fly rods.
Any old spinning reel will work. I’ve been fishing spinning reels on fly rods since the 70s so I’ve been through all sorts of different combinations.
I’m going to have to try some of that Basil Hayden.
I use the ultra-light strategy rather then take my lowland drink of choice so I take the maximum proof alcohol I can get. Generally that’s 151 rum, but I’ll use Everclear if I can get it. I mix it with Kool-aid and add snow when its available.
I make the Curtis Designs inflatable raft. It weighs 20 oz. If you’d like a brochure send me an email or personal message with your snail mail address and we’ll get a brochure out to you.
The only other alternative is the Alpacka raft. The Alpacka, an excellent product, is heavier and more expensive then ours, but made for rivers and other water that ours can’t handle.
The Sevylor Trail Boat is by far the cheapest of all, but is heavier and bulkier.
There is a way trail to Delta now. You still have to find it in the valley and it gets overgrown early in the year but by the end of the year it gets beat down pretty well and is easy to follow. All the fish I’ve seen and caught in there are a bit smaller but that is beautiful country. Early in the year the waterfalls all over the area are particularly spectacular.
Rubber boas are awesome snakes. Their tail looks more like their head then their head looks like their head. I saw my second one this summer on the trail up to the Snow Lakes out of Leavenworth. Here’s a shot of it:
I must have been the first one up the trail because a bit later I spotted a rattler. It got into the brush before I recovered my senses and could get my camera out. Before the tip was over I also spotted two different varieties of garter snake.
