Fish & Game Research Looks to Improve "Catchable" Trout Catch

Anglers in south-central and southeast Idaho will have a chance to participate in a new research effort designed to make hatchery trout more catchable. At the same time they may be lucky enough to win a $50 cash prize, being held for each of the 16 study waters. Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) researchers Dan Schill and Joe Kozfkay will see if hatchery trout can be made easier to catch through selective breeding. The goal is to produce better fishing for everyone while saving limited license dollars. In 1998, 2,750 newly hatched rainbow trout from Hayspur Hatchery near Picabo were placed into raceways. The fish were raised for a year and then marked with individual numbered tags. From June through September 1999 the trout were caught and released repeatedly, with biologists keeping track of the number of times each fish was caught. Those caught more than twice during the study were held for another six months until ready to breed. They were only mated with other fish that were also easily caught. Fish that were caught only once or not at all were removed from the study population. The offspring of these fish are now large enough to be stocked, and all were planted into study waters as of June 9. According to project biologist Joe Kozfkay, the purpose of this experiment is to see if these fish are actually easier to catch than normal hatchery rainbow trout. Equal numbers of experimental and normal fish have been tagged and stocked in 16 streams and reservoirs in the Ketchum-Sun Valley area and eastern Idaho. Waters included in this study are: North Fork Big Wood River and Trail Creek (Big Wood system), Ashton, Mackay, and Gem State reservoirs, Roberts Gravel Pond, Sand Creek Pond #3, East Harriman Fish Pond, Henry's Fork at Mack's Inn, Birch Creek, Buffalo River, Warm River, the West and East Forks of the Big Lost River, the Big Lost below Mackay Reservoir, and the Snake River at Idaho Falls. IDFG asks anglers to remove jaw tags from marked fish caught in these waters. The tags should be flattened, taped down, and mailed to the Nampa Fish Research Office, 1414 E. Locust Lane, Nampa, ID 83686. Include with each tag the name of the angler, address, waters where caught and date caught. Anglers who turn in a tag will have their name entered into a drawing for a $50 cash prize; each tag turned in is a chance at the prize. There will be a separate drawing for each study water. Tags will be returned if requested. Stocking hatchery trout is an expensive business. On the average, only one of every three fish stocked into streams is caught. As a result, it currently costs Idaho sportsmen about $1.50 for each stocked trout caught and kept from a stream or creek. Kozfkay will compare the number of tags returned from the experimental population with the normal trout to evaluate the program. Similar studies in Illinois and Texas on largemouth bass have shown that increased catchability is passed on from one generation to the next. There have been no such studies done on hatchery trout. "We know that hatchery trout stocked in Idaho are caught at similar rates to trout stocked in other states," Schill said. "Still, we are trying to do a better job by breeding only those fish that appear to be more catchable." Kozfkay added, "Hopefully these broodstock fish will improve fishing and save license dollars at the same time."