BPA Pikeminnow program

[flyfisher31]

Yes the tigers have made a difference. ANd from what i hear they dont prey on trout that much as trout are quicker and arent as easily caught by them. But stilll you can have a thing of chicken liver and sit by the shore all day and catch 150 squawfish. Easily.

[muskyhunter]

I'm not sure how much money the WDFW puts into the Pikie Minnow project. But I'm pretty sure its close to zero $.. Bonneville Power sponsors and pays out the cash. I believe the WDFW and the Oregon Fish Dept collect the fish and hand out the vouchers. I also know its on the website. I think its good the WDFW biologists are there to collect the info. It keeps those folks employed and the fishermen I am sure are glad to collect the bounty. I spent alot of time on Merwin. More than 50, less than 100 hours this past year. There are some big, fat Tigers down there. Along with some big largies..Yes i said largies..Big ones too. Also seen some big smallies. Not alot of them but they are in the lake. And the KOKANEE are doing very well. Most of the boats that i saw were bringing them in on a regular basis.And big kokes too boot. So the tigers are doing there jobs in Merwin. Plus some of the Musky fishermen are catching some very healthy, big tigers. So if there is a pikie problem down there it looks as though..to me..that the tigers are doing their intended job. Plus there is only one river flowing into Merwin which is alot different from Mayfield Lake. I have spent over 100 hours on Mayfield this past year..2010..this lake has a legitimate problem. The Cowlitz and the Tilton both flow into Mayfield along with the creek that flows in from Winston Cove. The Pikies and sucker population is huge. Any of the three bring in huge populations of pikies. The suckers are not that big of a problem. They are a natural food source for the Muskies. Just like back East. They are used as live bait. But the pikies are eating the young salmon and steelies that are let into the lake from the Cowlitz/Riffe lake and they are also up the Tilton. If you have spent anytime on Mayfield or up the Cowlitz there are huge pods of pikies from the "Friends of the Cowlitz" nets and up the river to the first low bridge there are 100's of 1,000's of those pikies up there. Unless the WDFW plants all of the new baby tigers in Mayfield I still do not think that would even put a dent in the pikie population. I have also seen clouds of suckers and pikies up in the Tilton too. You think its the bottom then the bottom moves. Its huge clouds of pikies and suckers that run up and down the Tilton. If you've been up the Tilton you get up past the clay walls and the banjo music starts playing..thats where alot of the pikies hang. If Tacoma Power would like to step up like Bonneville does and pay a bounty on those pikies that would be great.And seeing how much they raised and lowered Mayfield last year Tacoma Power had to have made a lot of dough selling the power to the public. Folks would make a killin' on Mayfield. Though I will say that since the Muskies have been put into Mayfield the trout and salmon fishery has improved very much. Which I am sure is a good thing for those fishing for trout and salmon. I have even caught a nice silver on a bucktail 2 seasons ago off the big flat. Tapps though has a big carp and sucker problem. The only way to help control the sucker problem is easy..more muskies planted in that lake. The carp problem..well..you could use a bow and have a carp bowfishing tourny. It happens on moses. I thin kthe Bowfishing folks could help erradicate some of those fat carp that are destroying the vegetation on the lake.I spent 220 fishing hours on Tapps last year and saw more suckers taking over the spawning areas that the Smallies used to use. The suckers are a problem. Not many pikies out there that I have seen. This whole pikie minnow debate is an interesting one. It seems especially more a prominant problem on the Columbia. Along with the sealion problem. I am for the program 100%. People like it. People make money by doing it. But again the WDFW doesnt put any of our tax dollars into it.And it keeps the WDFW folks employed. So I would email the BPA or even Tacoma Power and see if they could get a program started on Mayfield. If its Merwin.. Pacific Power. Thats my 2 bits worth. I hope it helps. Thanks, Todd

[flyfisher31]

Have heard of bass in there. Havent found any hotspots for those yet. Kokes are doin good. Tiger muskys are doing AWSOME. I seen them swimmimg alot. Trout is doin good too. Have notice some fish in the summer must be going up the rivers and spawning. CAught some huge rainbows in the creek that go in.

[Stacie Kelsey]

Yes the tigers have made a difference. ANd from what i hear they dont prey on trout that much as trout are quicker and arent as easily caught by them. But stilll you can have a thing of chicken liver and sit by the shore all day and catch 150 squawfish. Easily.

I've watched them go after the kokanee in Speelyai Bay when the kok's were moving into the hatchery. I think they likely have put a dent into the squawfish populations because there is a considerably large amount of squawfish in Merwin then there are kokanee. So it's a good thing in that respect. I just don't want people thinking that tigers only eat squawfish because they don't.

Musky - the Pikeminnow project is funded by BPA, however WDFW and ODFW continue montioring programs on the squawfish. Mayfield continues to get stocked with tigers. The great trout fishery in Mayfield has been in large part due to Don Glaser and his group, Friends of the Cowlitz. They raised some of the most beautiful trout I've seen.