The Division of Wildlife Resources is asking anglers to help make fishing better by keeping more catches at certain Basin reservoirs. Biologists are asking that anglers keep small walleye caught on Starvation Reservoir and keeping yellow perch caught on Red Fleet Reservoir after a netting survey they performed on the reservoirs this summer. “When we do these nettings,” shares regional fisheries biologist Natalie Boren, “we want to see many more prey fish than predators. It takes lots of prey fish to produce a stable and healthy population of predators.” Yellow perch are the main items predators eat in Starvation and biologists found very few in their nets this summer but small walleye were numerous. “Seeing few yellow perch in our nets, but numerous walleye, makes us nervous about the future of the fishery,” continues Boren. “Reducing the number of smaller walleye will help reduce competition for food among the walleye and improve the health of the walleye into the future.” Red Fleet Reservoir is a different story. The fishery is quite young and the perch have grown too large for the small walleye to eat and so anglers are asked to target yellow perch at Red Fleet. For more information, call
435-781-9453
.
