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Flaming Gorge Project Leader Ryan Mosley sent in this report from the final day of the annual netting survey on Flaming Gorge.

Under stormy skies, we concluded our netting today in Sheep Creek Bay. We sampled lake trout up to 24 lbs and many of the stomachs we pumped the last two days showed vast amounts of midge pupae. It always amazes me to find trophy lake trout consuming small forage items like midges in the spring. They are far more opportunistic than I once gave them credit for.   We also sampled good numbers of rainbow trout up to 2.75 lbs and smallmouth bass up to 3 lbs. Our largest bass of the netting was previously hooked and lost by some unlucky angler using a Flatfish fishing lure, which we found lodged in it's mouth. We removed the crankbait to place in our "lost and found", and then measured, weighed, and safely released the bass.   Pictured is UDWR Technician Brent Leite while pumping midges from a lake trout and Conservation Officer Shane Kitchen with a 23 lb lake trout before it was released.