Go Fishing, Catch Cash

Some lucky Idaho trout anglers will catch cash this season while enjoying their sport. At the same time, they will help Idaho Fish and Game researchers improve the department hatchery program. Biologists are studying whether some hatcheries produce rainbow trout that are caught more often than others and, if so, why? Researcher Doug Megargle noted that "we are trying to make sure that anglers who fish for hatchery fish get the best return possible for their license dollars". Tagging trout and paying prizes to anglers who return the tags has proven to be more cost effective than the traditional creel census. During 2000, tagged trout were released into easily accessible, popular fishing waters in southern Idaho including Lava Lake, Dierkes Lake, Mountain Home Reservoir, Dog Creek Reservoir, Park Center Pond in Boise, Blair Trail, Sublette Reservoir, Cove Arm Reservoir, Hawkins Reservoir, Magic Reservoir, Featherville Dredge Pond, and Horsethief Reservoir. All the waters are located in the Magic Valley and Southwest Regions. Fish and Game is asking anglers to remove jaw tags from any fish caught from the 16 lakes, flatten the tags, and mail them back to the Nampa Fish Research Office, 1414 E. Locust Ln., Nampa, Idaho 83686. Last year 1,680 anglers turned in tags and had their names entered into a randomized $50 cash drawing held for each of 16 lakes or ponds. No additional tagged fish will be released this year but Fish and Game biologists believe there should still be enough survivors out there to hold $50 drawings for fish caught in the same waters in 2001. "Because most of the tagged trout were already caught last year, anglers turning in tags this season will have better odds of winning" Megargle said. In addition, there are some tags marked with $10 reward that are not part of the drawings; these will be honored as long as they are turned into Fish and Game. Megargle requested that anglers straighten and flatten the tags before mailing them because "they get chewed up by mail sorting machines and can get lost". The tags will be returned upon request.