7324

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7324
• Author: Schmidt, B., et al.
• Title: Flaming Gorge Reservoir and Green River Post-Impoundment Investigations Annual Performance Report 1977.
• USFW Year: 1978.
• USFW - Doc Type: Publication No. 78-4,
• Copyright Material: NO

-10-
month in the inflow excluding winter. During June the largest catch
and highest number of man-hours fished were recorded, which is normal
for this lake.
Rainbow trout again dominated the catch, comprising 86.8 percent
of the creel (Table 3) although this represents a decrease of 4.5
percent from 1976. Brown trout increased by 3.0 percent in the creel
to 9.7 percent between 1976 and 1977. Lake trout also increased from
1.7 to 2.9 percent of the catch, a 58 percent increase. Other game fish
species increased 0.3 percent mainly due U greater numbers of small-
mouth bass and kokanee salmon being taken. Cutthroat trout catches
remained at approximately the same low level found in 1976.
Rainbow trout contributed the most to the creel in the canyon
(Table 4). The data show a decrease in the percent of rainbow in the
creel progressively up reservoir. The brown trout catch was low in
the canyon and increased up reservoir, contributing its greatest per-
cent to the catch in the inflow. Since brown trout are mainly planted
in the inflow area, it is not surprising that returns are highest there.
Lake trout catches occurred mostly in the open hills and canyon areas of
the lake. The summer months of June, July and August appear to be the
best lake trout fishing months on Flaming Gorge. Other game fish, espe-
cially the smallmouth bass and cutthroat trout, were caught more often
in the lower two-thirds of the lake.
Average size and weight of rainbow trout harvested from Flaming
Gorge Reservoir are presented in Table 5. There has been little change
in the average length of rainbow taken since 1973. Average weight has
dropped off somewhat from the 1973 high, which corresponds to the
harvest of more age 1+ rainbow in 1975, 1976 and 1977 (Lund et al. 1976