Just when anglers thought fishing on Flaming Gorge Reservoir was enticing enough on its own, Buckboard Marina is once again hosting the ‘Pup’ulation Control Contest for lake trout.
Anglers will be able to participate in this contest now through mid-June 2021 for only $20 per angler. Registered participants will be entered for prizes and immediate cash rewards for catching a tagged lake trout. One hundred lake trout under 25 inches were tagged in Wyoming with a bright green external tag and these fish are worth $100. Additionally, there are more than 80 lake trout with orange external tags remaining from last year’s contest that are worth $50. The goal of the contest is to make anglers aware of the abundance of small lake trout (<25 inches) in Flaming Gorge Reservoir and encourage harvest of these fish. Only those registered will qualify for cash and prizes. You can find more information about the contest including rules at Buckboardmarina.net.
“Flaming Gorge Reservoir is experiencing its highest densities of small lake trout, those less than 28 inches in total length, and this increase is predominately occurring in Wyoming,” said Game and Fish Green River Fisheries Biologist John Walrath. “Furthermore, we know that lake trout are currently growing slower than they were in the 1980s and early 1990s. A decrease in growth is usually linked to competition for food resources and there being too many mouths to feed for the available resources. The main prey for lake trout in the Gorge is kokanee salmon, a prized sport fish for many anglers. In order to maintain our other sport fisheries, we need to harvest small lake trout, especially those less than 25 inches, to bring their population back into balance with the available prey base.”
The Buckboard “Pup”ulation Control Contest encourages anglers to target small lake trout in hopes of catching a tagged fish from 2019 or 2020. Registered anglers who catch a ‘tagged’ lake trout will receive $50 or $100 when the tag is presented to a Buckboard Marina employee. Those who turn in a ‘green’ tag will be entered in a drawing and have a chance to win one of five grand prizes: a 17’ boat with a 150HP motor, a guided kokanee trip for four, and cash rewards of 50%, 30% and 20% of the collected registration fees. Orange tags are not eligible for grand prize drawings. When youth anglers catch a lake trout they can be entered into a drawing for best photo. Check out the rules at Buckboardmarina.net for detailed information. All anglers registering for the contest will be entered into a drawing for prizes.
Anglers can learn more about the impacts of an abundance of small lake trout and find tips on how to catch these fish on the Flaming Gorge page of the Department’s Green River webpage at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regional-Offices/Green-River-Region/Flaming-Gorge-Management.
Anglers can acquire a copy of the 2020 Wyoming Fishing Regulations at any Game and Fish regional office, most license selling vendors, or at wgfd.wyo.gov. For questions and or more information call the Game and Fish Green River Regional Office at 307- 875-3223.
