Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this report.

Working with Wyoming Game and Fish, we weathered the "winter blast" last week and completed our annual trammel netting on Flaming Gorge. Each November, we sample nine sites along the length of the reservoir taking three nights/days and several volunteers to complete. This sampling project has been conducted since burbot were first identified in the reservoir in 2006. Abundance peaked in 2007 (189 burbot) and has been gradually declining ever since. This year we totaled 137 burbot, up slightly from 2010. Stomach contents were similar to previous years, including mostly crayfish followed by chubs, suckers, and smallmouth bass. We sampled some larger burbot exceeding 30-inches and 8 lbs. See pic of local angler and fishing guide Ashely Bonser holding a pair of big burbot he hook-n-lined from his boat one night last week.
We also had some incidental catches/surprises worth mentioning. We sampled some big smallmouth bass in the Utah reach of the reservoir, including a 4 lb bass from Jarvies Bay (see pic), and a 28 lb lake trout caught in only 20 ft of water near Lucerne Marina (uncommon for trammel netting).

Photo captions
WYGF biologist Anna Senecal picking nets.
UDWR technician Ben Carswell holding a 4lb smallmouth bass.
Local fishing guide Ashley Bonser holding some big burbot he jigged.