A daily trout limit of two fish, with only one longer than 22 inches, was created. Anglers were also required to release all trout between 15 and 22 inches in an effort to help the fish get large enough to start feeding on the chubs in the reservoir.

Many of the splake have grown to weights of more than 10 pounds, the trophy part of the Joe's Valley fishery. But they haven't had the impact on Utah chub that biologists had hoped.

What's more, anglers were turned off by the regulations and have largely been avoiding Joe's Valley despite the big splake that roam the water there.

Taking all that into consideration, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) officials are proposing a change in the regulations and a possible new species at Joe's.

"We decided we could change the regulation and still accomplish the management goal of protecting the large splake," said Justin Hart, a fisheries biologists in the DWR's southeastern region. "The splake on the low end of the slot [regulation] are competing with the chub for food and space, and being able to keep two skinny splake is not attractive to many anglers."

In contrast, people can keep eight trout with no size restrictions at nearby Scofield Reservoir.

So the state is proposing a change to move the daily trout limit back to the statewide regulation of four, with only one of the fish more than 18 inches long.

The change should bring anglers back to Joe's, but it is the new species idea that will likely get more attention on the reservoir.

To help control the chub, biologists are proposing an introduction of the tiger muskie - a sterile hybrid between a northern pike and a muskie.

Tiger muskie are already a huge draw at Pineview Reservoir, where 40-inch tooth mongers are becoming a common catch. The thought of landing 12-pound splake or trophy tigers will linger in the minds of many anglers.

The trick is finding tiger muskie. Fish disease issues have made them nearly impossible to acquire, and Utah is still working to create its own tiger muskie rearing program.

DWR officials say tiger muskie will probably end up in Joe's Valley, but probably not this year.

The proposal for regulation changes at Joe's Valley will be put before the Regional Advisory Councils in May. The Wildlife Board won't decide on the proposals until September.

In the meantime, Hart wants to hear what anglers think of the proposal. You can reach him by e-mail at justinhart@ utah.gov.

brettp @sltrib. com