there is a lot of interest and curiosity as to why the fish and game haven't stocked walleye into the clearwater region of Idaho, and in fact the variety of fish stalked is poor. I just want to go fishing and not have to unhook deformed, half dead,and starving hatchery trout off my line every time I cast out while I am trying to target the few decent eating species of fish left...i know the hatchery trout serve a purpose with our youth because they are easy to catch and are prey fish in the VERY VERY few bodies of water in idaho that a predatory fish species....BUT does the fish and game have to stock them in every single body of water in this region....why cant there be a predator species and prey species in every lake ....and No the prey species doesnt have to be hatchery trout every time. mix it up a bit to give the people a variety of fish species to target. why cant we stock walleye somewhere in the clearwater region where there is little chance of them escaping and spreading in to other water systems....what happened to stocking catfish and crappie and tiger muskie, perch. and even throw in some golden trout and grayling in the alpine lakes in this region, as this region has ample ample alpine lakes with suitable habitat, but yet it is the only region that has no artic grayling or golden trout according to your historical fish stalking. I think the managers for this region need to start adding variety as every angler I know is tired of catching trout in every body of water, in fact a lot do not even fish this region any more because of this reason....most head south or out of state were there is more opportunity for a variety of fish species....thank you!
Answer:
Actually, many wouldn’t consider the diversity of fishes in the Clearwater Region to be poor. The Clearwater, Snake and Salmon rivers all flow through the Clearwater Region. As a result, we have many fish species that don’t occur in other regions in the State. For example, we have anadromous runs of spring, summer, and fall Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, steelhead, lamprey and shad that spawn in or migrate through the Clearwater Region. If you are wondering why there aren’t species such as golden trout, grayling, brown trout, and lake trout in the Clearwater Region, it is because of wilderness area restrictions and the desire to protect wild salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and bull trout populations. For the most part, in the Clearwater Region, we only stock those trout species in rivers, streams, and high mountain lakes where they already occur.
Answered on:
Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - 4:44 PM MST