Pend Oreille Predator Harvest in High Gear

Anglers and netters have been making a dent in part of Lake Pend Oreille's predator population in 2007, Idaho Fish and Game Regional Fishery Manager Ned Horner says. Through mid April, anglers had turned in just under 2,500 lake trout heads since January. In addition, gill and trap netting started the last week in March and in four weeks removed 1,029 lake trout. "The 3,500 plus lake trout removed so far this year amount to about 22 percent of the total taken in 2006, so we are well ahead of last year, at least for lake trout," Horner said. Anglers are being paid $15 for every lake trout and rainbow trout over 12 inches they take from Lake Pend Oreille to quickly reduce the predator population to prevent kokanee from disappearing. For 2007, the Clark Fork River, Lightning Creek and tributaries, Grouse Creek and tributaries and the Pack River were also opened to rainbow trout harvest on April 1. Harbor Fisheries has been contracted to run deep-water trap nets and gill nets to remove lake trout under Idaho Fish and Game supervision. Netters will be active through May and then all nets will be removed for June, July and the first part of August. There will be no gill netting east of the Long Bridge during the K&K Derby to reduce conflicts with anglers. But anglers need to be aware that 10 deep-water trap nets are still in the north end of the lake: Lee's Point, Sheepherder Point, Thompson Point, Pearl Island, Warren Island East and West, Sunnyside, Fishermen's Island, Bottle Bay and Sourdough Point. The nets are marked with orange flags on staff buoys. Rainbow trout harvest by anglers is lagging behind the harvest of lake trout. Between January and mid April, about 640 rainbow trout have been turned in for the $15 per fish reward. This includes 66 rainbow trout taken from tributary streams, most from the Clark Fork River. Water has been cold, so fishing should be picking up soon as the water warms. "Hopefully anglers will start targeting more rainbow trout so we can reduce overall kokanee predation before we run out of time," Horner said. "We're off to a great start, we just need to step it up a few notches." For more information on the Angler Incentive Program, go to the Idaho Fish and Game web site at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.