Can backcountry fishing save carried food weight?

Wilderness areas in WA required walking in, no air drops. I lived a short distance from the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. This wasn’t the only place I fished, but I did fish there most often.

Well, I can assure you that they never stopped stocking high lakes an any Washington wilderness area. I’ve carried fish into many Alpine Lakes Wilderness lakes myself over the 36 years I’ve been doing it.

Terran, the linked article is absolutely correct about problems with stocked fish, but, as much most such articles, it omits some research, muddies the waters (so to speak), and ignores current practices by agencies such as Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) which is the agency and state I know best.

As cited in the article, studies on the mountain yellow-legged frog are the most well known high lake work on the effects of fish stocking in high lakes. But there have also been studies in other states, most notably North Cascades National Park (NCNP).

In most high lakes amphibians are the top native predator. Shallow, warm lakes and ponds are the best amphibian habitat. When trout or char are introduced they become the top predator. What they found in NCNP was that when fish were either over-stocked or over-reproducing naturally they could suppress or extirpate some amphibian species with the long-toed salamander being the most sensitive species in the area. At the same time, they discovered that in lakes were fish were stocked periodically and in low densities native species were preserved. And that is exactly the philosophy that guides current stocking practices in the state of WA. For an exhaustive deep dive into WDFW’s stocking philosophies and history see “Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s High Lakes Fishery Management Program”.

As recently as the 1980s the NPS was saying that the best practice would be to stop fish stocking but that there would always be fishing available because in some lakes introduced fish were able to reproduce. This is backwards. When fish are able to reproduce naturally in high lakes they will, most of the time, reproduce too well and over-populate the lake. In NCNP they have gotten really good at removing these spawning populations with rotenone. At the same time, some lakes are being stocked with non-reproducing fish and effects on native vertebrate and invertebrate species are being monitored. And, of course, if you stock fish that can’t reproduce they can be removed by simply waiting. More and more we are doubly assuring fish can’t reproduce by stocking sterile triploid trout.

At this point the biggest issues in high lakes are not the lakes being stocked, but the lakes with naturally reproducing populations. It is even worse when they are a non-native species like eastern brook. These stunted populations can even change zooplankton population dynamics. In WA high lake zooplankton populations will often be dominated by large, predatory copepods (tiny red crustaceans you can see, if you look closely) but they can be grazed off by fish and the lake will become dominated by smaller grazing species. Stocking non-reproducing, fish periodically, in low densities assures these populations aren’t disrupted.

I could go on all day (I also volunteer counting amphibians in Mt Rainier national Park and I love to talk about amphibians) but this is getting long enough. Hopefully I’ve been somewhat coherent in trying to explain why articles like the one linked above can on the one hand be quite correct, and on the other make things confusing about hatchery stocking by ignoring current best practices.

This is a pretty hopeful story

“We” are figuring out how to support fishermen with stocked fish and not ruin native plant and animal populations.  At least we’re becoming aware of the negative effects of stocking.  This needs to spread to other states than just California and Washington.

And, that hatcheries have been used to justify dams but don’t work very well.

There was another Scientific American article about a stream in Seattle that was rehabilitated and now there are salmon in it.  In the middle of the city.  While we’re figuring out whether dam removal is possible, we should rehabilitate every stream not blocked by a dam.  Same thing in backcountry lakes and stream.

I have caught a fish before and eaten it.  If I was unable to backpack maybe I should take up fishing.  That seems like a good activity.

George, I’m not sure why you didn’t see fish in those lakes, but it would have to be attributed to bad luck, or something. I’m going to hazard a guess that you got the impression that fish stocking would be stopped because of articles around that time talking about fish stocking being stopped in North Cascades National Park. I recall hearing that impression for a couple people even though the issue was specific to NCNP.

There are two Gold Lakes in the ALW, I assume you are talking about the one above Dorothy. The fish there, and in Chetwoot are naturally reproducing and there was never a population decline in either lake. Gold was last stocked in 1969 and the cutthroat reproducing there were stocked in 1954. Chetwoot was last stocked in 1984. Both lakes are still full of small fish.

The Dollar Lakes are much more difficult to reach these days with roads gated way down at the bottom of the valley. Although they are now in the Wild Sky Wilderness that wasn’t designated until 2008 and at least ’til the early 90s the upper lake had an obvious helicopter camp. Both lakes have some very limited naturally reproducing fish and are supplemented with stocking so there would have definitely been fish there when you visited, even if they were hard to catch. I should note that between 1973 and 1986 the Dollar Lakes were not stocked. Starting in 1986 they began to be stocked regularly.

Jerry, the state if Idaho is doing a lot of very creative work trying to figure out ways to control stunted populations. I’m assuming that other western states are also using the same philosophies.

You should take up backpacking and fishing. High lake fishing is the best fishing! I mean, catching one is just a bonus to being able to fish in the midst of gorgeous scenery.

Jerry

I typed a long response to the salmon spawning situation, but it dissappeared, thought I hit submit, but poof, it’s gone.

That subject is extremely difficult, there are so many parties involved with different priorities and objectives that very little gets done.

Back to the subject of eating fish you catch in the backcountry. I normally just catch and release everywhere, the fish are typically small and its a hassle. And the absolute worst fish I’ve eaten in the backcountry were from Dollar Lakes. The red fleshed fish were good, but a significant number had white flesh that was terrible. Sometimes theres a difference in flavor between the two and sometimes not, but the white ones from these lakes were horrible.

I don’t keep fish anywhere though, except for lings and halibut when I’m in Alaska. The salmon and steelhead I catch are either given to the people I’m with or released.

I catch a lot of trout and walleye from the bank where I live, but I dont keep any of them. I have my drift boat on the bank year round, but rarely use it, it’s too easy to catch them without it. And my jet boat hasn’t been in the water since I moved from the Skykomish river 8 years ago.

Make fish soup. The seasoning……. it’s all about the Seasoning;)

FWIW Discovered today that Cabela’s offers a 2 year no questions asked warranty on the the Bass pros telecopying rod, in Canada $10, in US probably pocket change.  I stomped my rod tip last week in an early onset seniors moment, so that’s a good deal.

So, how did you cook them?

Thanks Andrew!   I was in the right place at the right time.  Some might consider my lure carry heavy (4.9oz), but I try to make sure I have something for multiple options of depth, retrieve speed, horizontal vs vertical, and open vs heavy cover.  It pays off.  I caught something on everything as the conditions changed.  This time of the year on Ontario lakes while backpacking, this is what I consider the lightest necessary lure carry: 2 spinner bait, 4 spinners, 1 pitching jig (for heavy cover), 6 tubes, 1 grub, 2 worms, 1 stick bait, 2 Texas rig hooks, 2 Texas rig slip sinkers, one splitshot, 5 swivels, extra fluoro line leader, small freezer bag as tackle box.

Jon, what do you suggest for non stick options?  ;)    Catch and release only while backpacking.  There are many nuisance rodents and bears in these parts and I don’t want to attract them with fish smells.  I wash my hands with soap when done at the last lake of the day (200′ from water etc.), and leave my rod outside my tent in the open at night with the risk some creature will eat at the handles.  Its another reason I use a cheap rod on trail.