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| American Outfitters And Guides Association |
TM
| Priest Lake Idaho - Lake Trout The Idaho Fish and Game Department is proposing Aggressive lake trout suppression in Priest Lake, Idaho, including commercial netting to kill off the population! The Priest Lake Lake Trout population does not need to be eliminated! The overall fishery is robust and diverse. The new generations of fish are utilizing the prevalent Mysis shrimp food base. Lake Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout and Spiny Ray species all respond favorably to Mysis shrimp. The Kokanee fishery has returned all on its own, as evidence from last years harvest shows. The 2011 Kokanee spawn according to Fish and Game Representatives was the largest seen since the collapse of the fishery in the 70s. The F&G officials counted over 20,000 spawning Kokanee in the Fall of 2011. The recent articles in the newspapers would have you believe that the Lake trout fishery is about to collapse and that the Fish & Game says that the average Lake Trout is only 15 to 20 inches in length. Fish and Game representatives admitted that they were only sampling fishermen that were fishing in the nurseries. According to Professional Guides on Priest Lake who fish over 150 days per year and have done so for over 3 decades, the average Lake Trout taken measure 22 to 28 inches! The trophy fishery is still intact and produces many fish in the 15 to over 40 lb range annually, which were caught and released. The most recent outings in recent weeks have produced Lake Trout up to 48 inches! These numbers stand for themselves. Why would you want to rid the lake of such an outstanding fishing opportunity for anglers! Also, several Outfitters and Guides would loose their livelihood, and the surrounding businesses will loose this important draw to the area. Nowhere else in Northern Idaho can you find such an outstanding fishery as Priest Lake is today! It should not be tampered with! The Cutthroat Trout fishery is alive and healthy although the F&G won’t make that public. The Cutthroat fishery is strong, but even so, it will probably never be opened for consumptive harvest again. Cutthroat Trout harvest is now closed throughout the entire panhandle. The Smallmouth bass fishery is now healthy and a factor that must be addressed. The Bass have a negative impact on the Bull trout recovery efforts as well as all the other species in Priest Lake. In the very near future the Walleye will also become a negative factor. Both species have and will enter through the lower priest river. We know the bass have and no doubt the Walleye will follow. Priest Lake is a very unique resource. Lake Trout are found in very few lakes in north Idaho with Priest Lake being the western United States premier Lake Trout fishery! The Lake Trout provide a high yield resource that cannot be duplicated anywhere else and they are a very high quality table fish because of their Mysis shrimp diet. The priest lake fishery is becoming a very diverse resource without reduction of any species necessary, and it is a self sustainable high yield resource that needs no financial maintenance. Where else can you go in the northwest and catch on a daily basis high quality trout that will weigh an average of 3 to 10 lbs every day of the year and not have to replace them with expensive stocking programs. Almost every lake the public drives past to get to priest lake has the same fish, ( Kokanee and Cutthroat), that the F&G want to replace the lake trout with. Priest Lake is the only holdout left that produces trophy Lake Trout! Fisherman from every State and all over the world travel to Priest Lake for the sole purpose of fishing for Lake Trout. We will loose this important tourist draw if this suppression effort succeeds. Leave the Lake Trout in Priest Lake alone, there are many people that like to fish for them. If you are fishing at Priest Lake and don’t want to catch Lake Trout then fish for any of the many other fish species that are readily available. In the event that the Idaho Fish & Game Department decides to remove the Lake Trout from Priest Lake, how many years will it be before the lake will once again have a sustainable fishery comparable to the existing one now readily available to all anglers. Even more importantly, at what cost? TO KEEP THE PRESENT FISHERY WILL COST ZERO. To remove Lake Trout is a very expensive venture, and time consuming. HOW MUCH WILL THIS PROGRAM COST, AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE to restore it with a sustainable fishery equal to the outstanding fishery it is today? 15, MAYBE 25 YEARS? If you kill the Lake Trout population, it is irreplaceable and will be lost forever! Every situation is different. Lake Trout were introduced to Priest Lake way back in 1925 and it has been managed for Trophy Lake Trout and many Outfitters and Guides rely on this for their living (not to mention the local business population). It is an AWESOME fishery today! The F&G are trying to turn the clock back on something that really can't be done. They need to preserve this, and concentrate on the many other lakes they are still trying to revert, and haven't been able too. They don't have anywhere near the information they need to kill off the incredible fishery that Priest Lake has become. You can send e-mails and certified letters with the subject Discontinue Lake Trout Suppression Efforts in Priest Lake to: Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter http://gov.idaho.gov/ourgov/contact.html State Representative Eric Anderson eanderso@house.idaho.gov Idaho fish & game commissioners Tony McDermott 396 Sky Meadow Rd. Sagle, Idaho 83860 (208) 263-2200 mcmule@msn.com |
| Please feel free to post this, link to, or republish this to as many places as you think apply. Your voice counts! |
| March 19,2012 |
