Once known for producing some of the largest lake trout in the country, Flaming Gorge needs the help of anglers to return it to former glory. According to the Division of Wildlife Resources, the popular reservoir has too many small lake trout as they are competing with kokanee salmon and rainbow trout for food. As a result, there just isn’t enough food to go around and the rate that the lake trout are growing is on the decline. “In the 1990’s,” shares biologist Ryan Mosley, “an 8-year-old trout was about 30 inches long. Today, an 8-year-old fish is about 23 inches long. On top of the decreased length, the number of lake trout in the reservoir has increased 89 percent in just the last couple of years and we’re concerned the situation is going to get worse.” To address the concern, Utah and Wyoming has liberalized the lake trout limits and are urging anglers to keep their limit every time they fish. If you need convincing, Mosley says the smaller lake trout are delicious and are only rivaled by the kokanee salmon in taste. For more information, call
435-885-3164
.
