Trophy Trout Lake Potential?

[Salmo22]

Originally Posted by Lucky

I can handle that with no problem. I just recently did the DFC non-profit application.

Hey Lucky:

Thanks for the generous offer. Give me a PM with your contact info. I'd like to get together with you and Dub and get moving on an application.

Thanks;

Jeff Welker
Mesa

[Kelly Meyer]

Hi guys, I like this thread.

I wanted to give you the regional perspective. I have been talking to my boss Mike Lopez and we have discussed making a trophy lake fishery many times over the past six years. I find it interesting that a lot of points in this thread are in line with our discussion and are mostly spot on.

Our priority at this Time is Becker. Simply because we have already designated this as a trophy water and we are very close to providing the large fish in this lake. The advantage of this lake over Crescent is that it does not winterkill and may just need some minor regulation changes or increased enforcement to provide large trout.

Crescent Lake has probably the most potential in this region to benefit from increased amount of cash and aggressive water quality management. We have been discussing some options to improve water quality in this lake and reduce summer and winterkills. We have been seeing winterkill about every other year and summer kills about as often.

We have funded a nutrient budget study on this lake with Dr Gremillion with NAU with an emphasis on determining how much weed harvesting is improving water quality, the final report will contain recommendations on how to improve water quality.

We are also collecting data every three weeks over the winter starting in December of 2007. The information is on rate of oxygen depletion and light penetration through the ice. This should give us information on how much water is needed in the lake to substantial reduce winterkill. Our Phoenix water quality people are collecting quarterly water samples to get a baseline on nutrients in the lake.

Here is a list of tasks that are likely to improve the water quality and or quantity and where we could use money:
1) Bring power to lake and aerate over winter to prevent winterkill, this would also include annual electric bills and maintenance.
2) Treat the lake with herbicide before the main plant growing season to reduce oxygen demand
3) Pump water into lake from wells (could be costly)
4) Chemical treatment to bind nutrients (must be careful not to reduce growth of fish in lake)
5) Improve boat ramps so that we can harvest weeds more regularly (during low water years we are unable to launch the harvester at Crescent and last year with the funding issues we were unable to harvest as many weeds as past years)
6) Study the affect of trout sizes and numbers stocked on impact on the zooplankton in the lake. There is some evidence that summer kill problems are due to trout removing the zooplankton and allowing an explosion of phytoplankton

Before we can try any of these tasks (other than #6) we will need to go through the NEPA process through the Forest Service. I would suggest including all possible tasks at Crescent in one NEPA process as that way we can start with the most biological and cost effective first and work down the list until we control the problem without having to initiate NEPA for each task. This NEPA is also an opportunity for funding assistance as we have found that we often have to pay the Forest Service to do the NEPA if we want it done in a timely manner.

Now, it is time to talk about the elephant in the room. Even if we address water quality problems, Crescent will not be a trophy water without regulation changes. The tasks listed above are important for the lake whether we manage as a trophy water or not. We will be looking to move forward with these tasks but your guys help would definitely speed things along. However, we will not be able to provide trophy fish unless we reduce mortality from harvest and poor water quality. Will you guys be willing to help with the lake even if there are no regulation changes or is that going to be a requirement?

This is a very opportune time to discuss long term management of Crescent Lake. We are starting a planning effort on half the lakes in the region from Carnero Lake east to the state border and south to Luna Lake (including all the lakes in this thread: Becker, Carnero, Crescent, Lee Valley, Big and Luna). We will be setting management emphases for all these waters, including which will be managed as trophy waters. The goal of this planning is to meet the needs of our anglers and customers by looking at each individual water and it’s biological potential and setting specific objectives of catch rates, sizes of fish and angler satisfaction. We will be deciding which lakes make the most sense for more restrictive regulation and which may require less restrictive regulations. This will be done in a way to divvy the resources so that we can provide for everyone’s needs. At the end of this planning process we will be making recommendations on regulation changes (or not) that will have to go through the agency, public meetings, and commission meetings to go into effect.

There will be an opportunity through this planning process for your concerns to be heard and we welcome them. The timeline for decision on whether the lake will have a trophy lake management emphasis which can be taken up the agency chain of command will probably be this June (we will probably be looking for public input a couple months before that). The timeline for setting any regulation changes in motion would be spring of 2010 since we are on a two year regulation cycle.

[Seldomseen]

That is a good read Kelly and very encouraging.

We do have to talk about that elephant.

What is the expected completion date of the Gremillion study?

Thanks for the post.

[Flats Man]

Kelly,

Thanks for the insight. Very interesting stuff! Sorry I missed you last week in the office. I popped in to get 09' licenses and you were not there... Hopefully you got my "hello" from the gal up front.

That said, I really like the action menioned above. Please keep us in the loop on any meetings and ways we can help. We should start a savings towards the commong goal of trophy trout lakes! Thoughts?

[gilafisher]

Thanks for the input Kelly. I think with the connections this message board can bring to the table the money should not be an issue, but I'm not sure how many will be interested in giving their money over to a lake that doesn't have any special regulations. As soon as the word gets out that Cresent is producing large fish every bait chucker from Big Lake will come over and fish out Cresent.

[rmflake]

I will be watching this thread so I can see what I can do to help. Lots of interesting stuff in here.

[WMF]

Kelly thanks for the heads up, and effort it involves now, and will involve in the future!

For those of us who haven't seen it, HLF (Henrys lake foundation) is a good bench mark on what successful cooperation, and management can provide for anglers. In this link look down to the part about the aeration during the winter. It gives a good idea what could help if we get a lake that winter kills....
http://www.henryslakefoundation.com/news.php

[Kelly Meyer]

The Gremillion study is past due. It is mostly is a nutrient budget and the model has been done, they are still doing some of the analysis.

My guess will be that the winter aeration and spring herbicide treatment will be critical.

[troutramp]

good luck explaining to the residents of springerville\ eagar that they can not fish thier lake with a worm and bobber I know there are regulations already in effect but just like chevlon, canyon creek , and other places enforcment is going to be cruciual, come to think of it at any lake designated

[Seldomseen]

Originally Posted by troutramp

good luck explaining to the residents of springerville\ eagar that they can not fish thier lake with a worm and bobber I know there are regulations already in effect but just like chevlon, canyon creek , and other places enforcment is going to be cruciual, come to think of it at any lake designated

That is the elephant.