This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this reportat the start of the annual spring survey at the massive reservoir straddling the Utah/Wyoming border. We kicked off our annual gillnetting on Flaming Gorge Reservoir this morning in Jarvies Bay. We sampled smallmouth bass, kokanee salmon, rainbow trout, and lake trout (both big and small). The highlights were: 1) smallmouth bass, especially females, are getting more active in the shallows, 2) we sampled rainbow trout up to 19-inches and they were taking advantage of a variety of food items from crayfish to flying ants, and 3) our big lake trout of the day was a 36-inch, 23 lb specimen netted in only 20 ft of water! All trophy lake trout were measured, weighed, pumped for stomach contents, and released to be caught another day.
Ryan Pictured is UDWR Technician Brent Leite with some lake trout from day one.