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Flaming George • There comes a point in many anglers' lives when the reward of seeing others catch fish is just as rewarding as catching them themselves.
That being the case, Kyle Edwards is a very happy man. Edwards and his partner, Bruce Barker, run the Conquest Expedition guide service on Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Edwards and Barker help many anglers land their first salmon and, for some lucky clients, the biggest fish of their lives in the form of lake trout.
"It is like having a birthday every day to witness someone catch the biggest fish of their lives," Edwards said. "There is wide range of emotions when it happens. Everything from sheer joy to fear for how big the fish is. Some people have no idea we have fish this big in Utah."
The largest reported caught and kept fish, an almost 52-pound lake trout in the state came from Flaming Gorge in 1988. Reports of heavier fish that are released are not rare.
"So many of the people who go after trophy lake trout practice catch and release. I have no doubt that a fish bigger than the state record has been landed," said Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge project leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
"We need to preserve the granddads when we are lucky enough to catch them," Edwards said. "The fish we are targeting are well above 25, 30 and 40 years old. I'll never dispute the rights of a fishing license to keep some, but when we catch these biggest of fish, they should be released and replicated in fiberglass so other anglers get a chance to catch them."
Lake trout are not native to Utah and exist as an opportunity for anglers in only Flaming Gorge, Fish Lake and Bear Lake.
In parts of Canada, mackinaw, as they are also commonly called, have topped the 100-pound mark.
The predacious nature of lake trout can make them a difficult fish for biologists to manage. To keep track of the lake trout in the Gorge, Utah and Wyoming biologists conduct netting surveys each spring. Three deep nets are set at three locations in the reservoir each year.
Biologists try to target a time when the water reaches about 50 degrees. The nets are set for only one hour, and the largest fish almost always survive being captured.
"They are hooked in the mouth parts, not in the gills," Mosley said. "We usually don't see fish much larger than 30 or 35 pounds because the nets are not made to hold fish that big."
On one day of netting in the Jarvies Bay area in May, 13 lake trout were hauled to the boat alive, including three around the 30-pound mark. The fish were weighed, measured and had their stomachs pumped. The largest fish were then released. Smaller juvenile lake trout (5 to 12 pounds) were kept for further research by the biologists.
In five days of netting, 45 lake trout were caught in net sets specifically designed to capture the species. The fish ranged from 21 to 41 inches long and weighed from 3 to 32.6 pounds. The total weight of the fish was 650 pounds, with an average length of 32 inches and average weight of 14.5 pounds.
Biologists also set out three shore nets and pulled smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, white sucker, a kokanee salmon and even a 29-pound lake trout. The big fish, which was caught in water less than 12 feet deep, was released. The others were kept for research.
During the netting at Sheep Creek Bay, a 14-pound lake trout gave up a 17-inch kokanee salmon while having its stomach pumped. Biologists have long known that lakers prefer salmon to other food sources in the reservoir and instigated what some say is too liberal of a regulation on the fish.
The current law at the Gorge allows anglers to keep a daily limit of eight lake trout, but only one can be longer than 28 inches. The theory behind the regulation is that removing juvenile or "pup" lake trout from the fishery will take pressure off of the struggling kokanee population and allow the fish that reach the approximately 15-pound range to utilize the existing food sources and reacher even greater sizes.
It is hard for Edwards, other Flaming Gorge guides and hardcore lake trout anglers to kill any fish. In the ever-optimistic mind of an angler, it is easy to think that the 10-pound trout in your hands could one day be the fish that breaks the caught and kept world record, currently 72 pounds.
"A big-bodied fish like a 25-pounder eats larger fish, but not so many of them," Edwards said. "The smaller mack schools eat a lot of smaller fish and take a heavier toll on the population. So, while I support harvesting the smaller fish, I know if we take too many of the bigger fish that we could easily deplete the resource. It is a fine line and a delicate balance."
Edwards said Conquest Expeditions spends roughly 300 days a year on the Gorge trying to create those once-in-a-lifetime smiles on the face of anglers. Spring and fall are the best time to fish for lakers at the Gorge, but they can be caught throughout the year.
Twitter: @BrettPrettyman
Lake trout in Utah
The state record lake trout, and biggest recorded catch in Utah, came from Flaming Gorge Reservoir on the Green River in 1988 when Curt Bilbey hauled in a 51-pound 8-ounce mackinaw. Anglers, guides and biologists acknowledge that fish larger than the existing record have been caught and released at Flaming Gorge. Fish Lake and Bear Lake also have trophy lake trout available to anglers. Lake trout are a non-native species and were introduced by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.