Tiger trout placed in Scofield Reservoir
A new game fish — the tiger trout — has been placed by the Division of Wildlife Resources
(DWR) in Scofield Reservoir.
Tiger trout are a sterile hybrid, developed by combining the eggs of a female brook trout and the milt
of a male brown trout. Because they’re sterile, tiger trout grow fast, putting their energy into growth rather than reproduction.
Tigers are also beautiful fish, renowned by anglers for their fight and their table quality. About 80,000 fingerling (3-inch) tiger
trout were planted by the DWR in Scofield in early September. They could be catchable-size (nine to 10 inches) by next fall.
The reason
the DWR introduced another trout to Scofield is not entirely for sporting reasons. During surveys at the reservoir in the spring of
2005, DWR aquatics biologists discovered Utah chubs in their gill nets. That was the first time Utah chubs had shown up in surveys
since the reservoir was treated in the early 1990s to remove undesirable fish populations, including Utah chubs. Apparently, the chubs
were brought to Scofield by anglers who were using them as live bait. The practice of using live fish as bait is illegal.
The discovery
of chubs in Scofield could be catastrophic for the fishery. Utah chubs are extremely prolific. They reproduce rapidly and can outcompete
game fish in a flat-water fishery. Scofield Reservoir is among the four top fisheries in Utah. Losing Scofield’s fishery to an invasion
of chubs would be devastating.
Chemically treating the reservoir again to eliminate chubs would be very costly. A treatment could cost
a staggering $1 million. In addition, it takes years to satisfy the environmental and bureaucratic requirements that must be met before
a treatment can take place. Hopefully the tiger trout will be the answer fisheries biologists need to control the reservoir’s chub
population.
Chubs are commonly found in shallow water and shoreline zones, where they consume the food and occupy the space needed
by young trout. As the trout grow, they often move to deeper, cooler water and lose contact with the chubs. This helps the chubs,
because they’re less vulnerable to attack from fish that are large enough to eat them.
Tiger trout, however, are piscivorous (fish
eaters) from an early age. They seem to be more willing to hunt for prey in shallower waters than many other trout subspecies are.
Fisheries managers hope that tigers will keep Utah chubs from outcompeting and overrunning other game fish in the reservoir.
Utah - Thousands of tigers released in Utah (trout that is!)
For many Utah anglers, the tiger trout is becoming one of the state's
most sought after game fish. They are best known for their strong fight and unusual beauty.
Tiger trout are a hybrid between
a male brown trout and a female brook trout. This hybridization creates a trout with a unique, dark, maze-like pattern over its brownish
gray body. Its belly and lower fins are yellowish orange. Because it's sterile, the tiger trout is unable to reproduce and does not
pose a threat of further hybridization with other trout species. They co-exist well with other fish species, and anglers are rapidly
inquiring about how to add one of these gorgeous fish to their creel.
Historically, only a limited number of tiger trout have been
raised at Division of Wildlife Resources' fish hatcheries. With updated hatcheries coming online — which allow more efficient use
of water — production has increased dramatically during the last year. "The Fountain Green Hatchery has been raising tiger trout for
a little over 10 years now and other hatcheries, such as the Loa and Egan hatcheries, have raised tiger trout as well," said Eddie
Hanson, Fountain Green Hatchery assistant supervisor. "In the past, we have only been able to raise about 15,000 tiger trout [at the
old Fountain Green Hatchery] but with the newly-constructed Fountain Green Hatchery facility, we are raising over 300,000 tiger trout
this year alone."
Tiger trout are now found in approximately 40 fishing waters throughout Utah, including Huntington, East Canyon,
Hyrum, Joe's Valley, Palisade and Rockport reservoirs and Panguitch Lake.
Some of the fees from fishing license sales are used for
hatchery improvements, which allows more fish to be raised to meet angler demands. Increased tiger trout production is just one example
of how angler license fees are improving Utah's fisheries.
Utah DWR
