Death by Perch in Mary Ronan

[MTviking]

Here's an interesting topic.  What are your thoughts?




Death by perch
StoryDeath by perch
DARYL GADBOW of the Missoulian missoulian.com | Posted: Thursday, February 18, 1999 12:00 am

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 Death by perch .

..Pressure mounts to remove illegally stocked fish that are choking Lake Mary RonanLAKE MARY RONAN - During its halcyon years, the ice covering Lake Mary Ronan resembled a small village, bustling with people, on winter weekends.

"I've seen in excess of 1,000 fishermen out here on a weekend," says Scott Rumsey, a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist who's been in charge of monitoring the Lake Mary Ronan fishery for about a decade.

Nowadays, Rumsey says, the state campground parking lot at the lake is likely to be nearly deserted on most weekends. And just a sprinkling of anglers dots the expanse of ice on the lake.

"That's indicative of what's going on with the fishery," says Rumsey. "It's sad."

For most of Rumsey's tenure as caretaker of Lake Mary Ronan's fishery, and for decades before that, the lake was considered as western Montana's premier kokanee salmon fishery. Those bright, chunky salmon earned it, along with Georgetown Lake, a long history as the two most popular fishing destinations west of the Continental Divide.

A season-long angler creel survey conducted by FWP in 1989 estimated Lake Mary Ronan attracted about 50,000 angler/days per year. The lake also has some big rainbow trout, a smattering of feisty cutthroats, and a viable trophy bass fishery. But it was the tasty kokanee salmon that brought folks from far and wide to cast their lines in the lake.

Then in 1992 a thoughtless angler dumped a bucketful of perch into Lake Mary Ronan. It was a time bomb that exploded in 1998.

In 1992, FWP net surveys conducted by FWP in spring and fall, the fish composition of the lake consisted of 77 percent kokanee, 5 percent westslope cutthroat, 9 percent bass and sunfish, and 9 percent rainbow trout.

In 1998, the FWP net surveys revealed that an astounding 93 percent of the fish in Lake Mary Ronan were perch. Cutthroats and bass accounted for only 1 percent of the total. Rainbow made up 2 percent. And the percentage of kokanee was only 3 percent.

The lake's ideal habitat for perch, combined with that fish's incredible reproductive capacity, made the perch population explosion inevitable, Rumsey says.

To illustrate his point, he says a 12-inch trout produces about 1,000 eggs, which need clean gravel and flowing water for any chance of survival. A 12-inch perch produces about 73,000 eggs, which are "broadcast-spawned" in a wide area over an aquatic weed bed, and which all have a high chance of survival.

During the first few years after the illegal introduction, anglers enjoyed good catches of large-sized perch. But, as their numbers began to overwhelm the habitat and deplete the food supply, the perch have become stunted.

Although some anglers still target perch as their primary quarry at Lake Mary Ronan, Rumsey says, the vast numbers of small perch are mainly a nuisance to those anglers trying to catch salmon.

And, although some anglers don't believe it, he adds, the lake still has plenty of kokanee.

"The kokanee catch isn't near what it used to be," Rumsey says. "But there are still dyed-in-the-wool kokanee and rainbow fishermen. And the good ones can still go out there and catch kokanee."

Fishing at night is one method that's been successful for catching kokanee this winter, according to Rumsey.

But, he says, the key to catching kokanee is avoiding the hordes of perch that swarm to steal an angler's bait before the salmon have a chance to bite.

"It's the perception of fishermen that you've got to get through the perch to get to the other fish, because the perch take the bait so fast," Rumsey says. "Kokanee live in the mid-water column. Perch are less specific. If you're fishing for kokanee 20 feet down, you have to get below the perch. You have to learn to avoid the perch."

The situation apparently is discouraging to many of Lake Mary Ronan's longtime faithful anglers, according to Rumsey and owners of resorts on the lake.

"The last couple of years, the salmon fishing's been declining, from the reports of fishermen," says Gene Garrison, owner of Mountain Meadows Resort. "Some are going away cussing. They're disappointed they're not

catching more. The people who have come long distances to fish here every year aren't coming as much. More people are complaining."

Mark Thomas, whose grandfather opened the Camp Tuffit Resort on Lake Mary Ronan in 1917, also has heard increasing grumbling by anglers in the past year.

"The number of fishermen are down, it seems," Thomas says. "The fish and game department has taken a lot of heat over this thing. It's not their fault. But people want them to poison the lake and do something right now."

Rumsey says FWP is well aware of the widespread concerns about the Lake Mary Ronan fishery and public pressure to correct it. The agency scheduled a public meeting Wednesday night in nearby Proctor to discuss the status of the lake's fishery and possible management options for the future. It was the first of a series of meetings planned by FWP to address the issues.

"We're interested in knowing how people are reacting to what we've got here," Rumsey says. "There is some interest in perch fishing. But we've been getting some pressure all along to do something. I've got a folder full of letters that I feel compelled to respond to. (Wednesday's) meeting is a way of doing that.

"There's a lot of concern, a lot of rumors. We'd like to set a lot of rumors to rest. We don't know all the answers. But we'd like to be as proactive as we can. Part of that is listening to anglers, resort owners and the general public to find out what they'd like to see. We're open to ideas."

FWP has started one management option to counter the perch boom. Since 1995, Rumsey says, the department has been planting a proportion of larger kokanee in its annual stocking program in an attempt to avoid predation by perch.

Lake Mary Ronan always has been a "put-and-take" kokanee fishery that depends on stocked fish. The lake lacks tributaries with adequate fall flows for successful kokanee spawning. Eggs collected from the salmon trapped in the lake each fall are incubated in the Somers Fish Hatchery and used to rear fish for re-stocking Lake Mary Ronan as well as many other lakes in the state.

Last fall, fisheries workers collected about a million eggs at Lake Mary Ronan, down from a mean of 1.6 million eggs collected annually since 1981. Egg collection has declined at the lake since 1995, which has caused some public concern. But egg collection has shown wide fluctuation historically.

An average of 400,000 kokanee fry are planted in Lake Mary Ronan each year. In 1995 and 1996, 100,000 were raised in the state's Lewistown hatchery instead of Somers, according to Rumsey. The Lewistown hatchery has warmer water and grows fish faster.

The kokanee fry from Somers were planted when they were 1.8 to 2 inches long, says Rumsey. The fry from Lewistown were 3 inches long when planted.

"The thinking was that those larger fish would be too big for perch to eat," he says.

In 1997 and 1998, FWP bumped up the number of larger kokanee from Lewistown to 200,000 of the 400,000 stocked in the lake.

The Lewistown fish were marked at the hatchery. Initial netting surveys have shown a better survival rate for those salmon.

But, says Rumsey, there are some drawbacks to that option as a way of improving the Lake Mary Ronan fishery.

Because of other hatchery demands, the number of kokanee that can be produced at Lewistown is limited, he says. Also, there is some danger in planting larger-sized fish, which tend to mature earlier than smaller salmon, and therefore may not live as long as the standard of three years for Somers Hatchery fish.

Another option, according to Rumsey, is to plant more salmon in the lake.

"But we're restricted by the number of eggs collected," he says. "And there's demand from other parts of the state, including Holter and Hauser reservoirs, which have been self-sustaining. I also have reservations about planting more because of competition. If you have more fish, they tend to be smaller. But that may not be the case now with the perch."

Other options for the lake involve reducing the perch numbers through a variety of mea

ns, including trapping, angling, consumption by a new introduced predator fish, and - in the most extreme case - poisoning the lake with the chemical rotenone.

FWP has trapped perch in huge numbers at Lake Mary Ronan. In the spring of 1997, the department trapped 60,000 perch, a pickup truck load. But trapping success varied greatly in other years, says Rumsey.

"It boils down to this," he says. "One female perch can produce so many perch, you can trap 'til the cows come home, but you're going to be fighting a losing battle."

Angling pressure also doesn't seem promising as a way to substantially reduce perch numbers, says Rumsey.

But FWP officials are considering opening the lake to perch fishing year-round, he says. Historically, the lake has been open for fishing from mid-May to the end of February, to prevent over-harvest of trout and salmon. Enforcement problems have been cited in objections to opening the lake to perch fishing all year.

"I think objection to that is waning," says Rumsey. "I see no problem in doing that."

Introduction of a new predator fish to reduce perch numbers is a plan fraught with potentially undesirable consequences, he says, including introducing a new species to Flathead Lake, into which Lake Mary Ronan drains.

"But I have to say it's an option," says Rumsey. "I've got people telling me, 'Plant pike in there. Plant walleyes in there.' But that's questionable."

As a last resort, Rumsey says, poisoning the lake with rotenone is an option.

"That's the ultimate, the grand finale if you will," he says. "Agencies have used it traditionally as a viable management tool. Basically, you're talking about total eradication of all the fish."

At this point, says Rumsey, all the available options for Lake Mary Ronan have some problems.

"I wish we had better choices," he says. "One option of any environmental analysis is always no action. If we do nothing, in the long run I don't think we're going to overcome this perch explosion, and ultimately we'll have a stunted perch population and nothing else."



Sterilizing, restocking not being ruled out for Lake Mary Ronan
By DARYL GADBOW of the Missoulian
LAKE MARY RONAN - Killing all the fish in Lake Mary Ronan with the poison rotenone, and then restocking the lake with kokanee salmon and trout, would be the most extreme method of dealing with the perch population explosion in the lake.

But the situation is so serious, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials are not ruling out that option, according to FWP fisheries biologist Scott Rumsey.

The most obvious problem with such a solution is cost.

"We've cranked the numbers," says Rumsey. "You figure the cost by volume of water. In a 1,500-acre body of water, the estimate runs about $1.3 million, just to buy the rotenone. That's a lot, but you have to ask, 'What's a fishery worth?' Ask Gene (Garrison) what it's worth to his resort."

FWP has calculated the economic value to the state of one angler-day, including Montana residents and non-residents, at about $50, according to Rumsey.

"When we caught the guy who introduced perch into the lake," he says, "I did some economic value studies to show the judge to illustrate the damage done to the lake. I think you can estimate that 50,000 angler days at $2.5 million as the value of Lake Mary Ronan every year. I don't feel uncomfortable with that figure.

"Then figure the value to the resorts on the lake, and the state park. And there's the value to us, the department, as an egg source to stock this and other lakes. It's a huge economic value."

From that economic perspective, poisoning Lake Mary Ronan is a viable option, according to Rumsey.

"But I'll tell you right now," he says, "we don't have $1.3 million in the fisheries budget to pay for a rotenone job to rehabilitate Lake Mary Ronan. So, even though it could be a great option, it isn't going to happen tomorrow."

A possibility for securing that money might be the mitigation programs for hydroelectric projects on the Columbia River system, Rumsey suggests, in particular the mitigation programs for Kerr Dam and Hungry Horse Dam.

"There's a pot of money out there that goes to fisheries projects," he says. "The tough thing is relating Lake Mary Ronan to those dams. However, there is off-site mitigation available, which replaces a resource that is lost in an area."

Lake Mary Ronan might fit that bill, he says. But competition for mitigation funds is intense. And the highest priority now are projects that benefit native species like cutthroat and bull trout.

"Ideally, we'd like to restore the kokanee salmon, which aren't a native fish," Rumsey says. "We are exploring restoring the cutthroat fishery along with the kokanee fishery. We have a cutthroat fishery now that people are excited about. And cutthroats can reproduce in the lake on their own. But we'd probably have to stock cutthroats.

"But by restoring the kokanee fishery, we'd create more angler days here and take pressure off the native cutthroats and bull trout fisheries in the Flathead. So you can make an argument that a Lake Mary Ronan mitigation project for kokanee can benefit native fisheries."

A rotenone project at Lake Mary Ronan does involve some risk, Rumsey says.

"There's a concern about achieving 100 percent mortality," he says. "Otherwise, we'll be right back where we are within a decade. We've had good success with our rotenone treatments, though. I think we could do it. It means we'll have to do the tributary streams as well, and kill the trout. So it boils down to do it all or nothing."

Thursday - 2/18/99

[Robbi]

First, I hope they hung the guy that did it!!!  Second, these articles are from 1999, has anything been done since then?  I'm not that familiar with waters up that way, so I would not have heard about it if anything has been done.  I'm all for killing off and restocking........or opening perch to anglers year around and having multiple derby's to attract people in an attempt to take more perch out......
These types of questions are what we expect our FWP to answer for us most times.  Glad I'm not the one making such decisions, especially since almost all decisions involve millions of dollars.......

[Mt.Bucket]

Less people showing up to fish that lake? hhhmmmmmm could it be the economy sucks a little or lot more and it's a hell of a distance to travel? wasn't this article written in 1999, obviously they didn't kill off the perch, they have netted them and dumped them in Tiber though and should do so again if there's to many. All fisherman from each fishing GENRE need to pull together and save our fisheries not argue and fight amongst ourselves on which fish is better, and then let FWP decide for us. That's what's been going on for to long.

[Aaron072]

Less people showing up to fish that lake? hhhmmmmmm could it be the economy sucks a little or lot more and it's a hell of a distance to travel? wasn't this article written in 1999, obviously they didn't kill off the perch, they have netted them and dumped them in Tiber though and should do so again if there's to many. All fisherman from each fishing GENRE need to pull together and save our fisheries not argue and fight amongst ourselves on which fish is better, and then let FWP decide for us. That's what's been going on for to long.

i think fresno has seen some also

[albo]

Why doesn't the fish and game net out some of those perch and truck them over to Canyon Ferry

[fishinwithbrittanies]

I'd like to see what they have to say in 2009 instead of 1999

[i c]

in with the walleyes.. and i never would have went there if not for the perch... hhmmmm

[MT204]

This (old) article talks about netting to thin them out, funny years ago we used to toss the small ones out on the ice as we caught them. Some days it was a hundred or more little ones. The bald eagles, coyotes and other animals  loved them and the ice was clean the next day. A number of years ago Montana changed the regs and now that is illegal and enforced. Maybe they should remove that reg from LakeMary for perch and the fisherman would remove them for free. Sorta like the Mac days on Flathead Lake.

[Aaron072]

in with the walleyes.. and i never would have went there if not for the perch... hhmmmm

that would be awesome we need some eyes on this side

[MTviking]

LOL Hey those kokanee and rainbows and bass are non-natives anyway. Why not just enjoy it? Sounds like the guy just wanted a balanced fishery.

Haha.....  Maybe the guy that dumped the perch was a local that was bored and tired of "ONLY" trout and Kokanee.  None the less, the guy didn't know or didn't care about the implications and made a stupid blunder.   But.......Trout, Kokanee and Perch is a far cry from a balanced fishery.  All three of those species are more prey species than predators.  "Part" of my purpose for posting this is to show that the Walleyes or Pike are not the problem with the low perch numbers in Canyon Ferry but rather the shortage of perch spawning cover.  In Mary Ronan the Perch have not hurt the Kokanee and Rainbows because of predation on those species but rather competition for the same forage base which is 95% zooplankton.  If the FWP wants to put up a fight against the overpopulated perch, stop stocking Rainbows that add even more competition to the limited planktonic forage base and start stocking something pisciverous, i.e. something that will forage on the Perch.  Two good options without even considering Non-Trout predators would be "ideally Bull Trout if available" or Brown trout.  When you stock rainbows you are just adding to the problem.  Browns or Bulls would add another dimension to the fishery and feed heavily on the perch.

[MTviking]

Also Jigmaster, I'm assuming you've never traveled too far?  If you've fished some of the well balanced fisheries that I refer to, you would have an opinion very similar to mine.  I have fished Ft. Peck and Nelson Resevoirs, I've also fished Devils Lake in ND, I've spent a lot of time on Lake of the Woods, and many other lakes in Minnesota.  I guess I've just fished too many world class ice fisheries to fully appreciate the lakes that are managed exclusively for non-reproducing populations of stocked trout.  The sh!ts of it is, things could be improved tremendously if some common sense were applied by the snobs in charge.

[i c]

na they can keep their bull trout..ill take a walleye anyday.

[albo]

Hey MTviking, the lack of spawning cover has been an issue on CF way longer than the Walleyes have been in the reservoir. Prior to the introduction of the walleye and the pike, the perch were able to maintain decent numbers despite the low spawning cover. the perch aren't the only species that has suffered, I can't remember when the last time was that I caught a small carp or even a sucker in CF and the Fish and Game had to start stocking larger trout to maintain the numbers as the smaller fish got eaten too fast. I like the Walleye fishing as much as the next guy and think it would be smart to maintain CF as a warm water fishery as the Walleye's can and do spawn in the reservoir and all the trout have to be stocked. As the pool elevation of CF can't be maintained at a constant level like Hauser or Holter, there will never be extensive weedbeds etc. as the water leverl fluctuates 20+ feet a year, and too many predator fish without a good food supply will eventually ruin all fishing in CF

[MTviking]

Hey MTviking, the lack of spawning cover has been an issue on CF way longer than the Walleyes have been in the reservoir. Prior to the introduction of the walleye and the pike, the perch were able to maintain decent numbers despite the low spawning cover. the perch aren't the only species that has suffered, I can't remember when the last time was that I caught a small carp or even a sucker in CF and the Fish and Game had to start stocking larger trout to maintain the numbers as the smaller fish got eaten too fast. I like the Walleye fishing as much as the next guy and think it would be smart to maintain CF as a warm water fishery as the Walleye's can and do spawn in the reservoir and all the trout have to be stocked. As the pool elevation of CF can't be maintained at a constant level like Hauser or Holter, there will never be extensive weedbeds etc. as the water leverl fluctuates 20+ feet a year, and too many predator fish without a good food supply will eventually ruin all fishing in CF

Yes CF had decent perch numbers in spite of the lack of good spawning cover.  To compensate for the lack of good weed beds, the FWP should sink lots of timber and brush in designated areas.  Another thing that could be done is to heavily stock alternative forage species such as shiners, cisco, etc.  It is unfortunate that the perch have declined in CF but it seems the lake has gone from a decent perch lake to a very good walleye lake.

[FishN4Eyes]

You do like to assume don't you?

I ASSUME you didn't catch that pike in your sig in Mary Ronan?  Or Browns Lake?

Lol!

[icechick]

To compensate for the lack of good weed beds, the FWP should sink lots of timber and brush in designated areas. 

MTviking,

FWP sinks old christmas trees every year for the past couple of years please check this link out.


http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/2010/CanyonFerry.htm

[FishN4Eyes]

Upsata

Dang, that was my next guess.    Should have known that from the background pic but I'm a rookie ya know.

 

[FishN4Eyes]

OK Newbie here's one of my secret fishing tips....

I always drive backwards to my fishing spots so when people follow my tracks across the ice they end up in the parking lot  

I was wondering why I was only pulling gravel and not water through my hole the last time I was up at Upsata.

I just thought I was in shallow water.........but come to think of it there was an outhouse right next to where I was drilling.

Think I'll have to spruce up my investigative skills a little..........

[buttlesdog]

Montana can save a ton of money by just renting 2 large buses and 1 18 wheeler. Then, they advertise in Russian neighborhoods in NYC "Free Ice Fishing Trip to Montana!! Free transportation, lodging and all the fish you can catch for 1 week! 100 fish days are common of Salmon, Trout, bass and maybe perch, your catch will be transported back to NYC in a seperate truck!!"

You will get more signees than you can fit on the buses. Take them to your lake, all they need is line, a hook, and a rubber band. I have seen them catch 100 fish a day like this here in NY, over there, they might get more like 1000 a day. Your fish never saw the old russian rubber band trick. Anyway, a week later you will have about 1,000,000 million less fish. Mostly perch of course but dont think for 1 second they arent keeping your salmon, trout, bass and bluegill's too.

They can sleep on the buses. Once they get a load of how good the fishing will be, they wont mind. Wheel out some BBq's on the ice and then to the parking lot and they can have delicious fresh cooked fish and the free vodka you will provide too, but ration it, always ration it.

Win-win, problem solved. Total cost will be less than 20K is my guess.

[Goatskin]

Thats what happened to a lake i fish 100 years ago it was a 12 mile long expanse of trout filled water. Now in the last 20 years mill foil, pike and perch by the millions have taken it over the average size of a perch of this place is about 5-6 inches and you can catch them all day long. Now the pike in this lake have taken off and are getting decent sizes up to a few 15+ pound fish every year. Its a shame though because this is use to be the last trout lake in the area and i never got a whack at em'

[Krakkon]

leap frog!   what the hell? at what point do you decide to take off walking from a ****?
when ya cant hoover anymore?
I bet he threw his shirt down the ice hole also.. HEY! was that on CF?