Introducing a true apex predator fish to Taneycomo

[zander]

If you ever wonder what brown trout had to worry about in the native waters of Europe it was the Danubian Salmon (Hucho hucho). It is a primitive salmonid that is land-locked and lives off of small trout and grayling in the waters of of the Danube River drainage (they do not go to the sea). My wife is from Croatia where I first learned of this fish and although I have tried and tried, I haven't been able to catch one yet, although people with better luck routinely do. This would be a perfect species for Taneycomo in my opinion. If browns are there and a million small rainbows, why not something else that would eat them? Here are some pictures of the fish locally known as "mladica" and a couple videos from youtube. Wouldn't that be incredible?

[Phil Lilley]

For such a big fish, they it didn't fight much.

[Thom]

I spent a couple of weeks working (and fishing) on a guest ranch in Wyoming on the Wind river. Tough job but someone had to do it.

We went to a couple of Large no name lakes in the mountians where it required that every Lake Trout be kept or destroyed. Lake trout had so devastated the rainbow and brown population that they had been trying with little success for several years to erradicate them. The large ones were oily and not to good to eat.

The lake Trout were introduced with the intention of attracting sportsmen to the possibility of catching a lunker but actually ruined the lakes with overpopulation. Not many came because of the difficulity of getting to the lakes so no pressure allowed the problem.

They were also like hooking into a big log with heavy test line no fight and no runs.

You just horsed them in and took a pic.

I am surprised that the giant squid at dam at Taney hasn't caused the same problem since most of them are asexual. Squids not strippers.

[zander]

I can see what you are saying about it seems like they have little fight, I don't know first hand but I have have heard from my brother in law and some of his uncles that they fight quite well. The remote mountain lakes of the west without a doubt have less fishing pressure than Taneycomo on its worst days. This fish's cousin Huchen taimen is the species that causes people to fly all the way to Mongolia to fish for, and there is probably a reason for it. Unlike lake trout these are fish that require a riverine environment, they are not found in large deep lakes in Europe. With the output of the hatchery into Taneycomo I doubt that it could impact the trout population significantly. If I win the lottery I'll commission a study.

[skeeter]

Thom, Reading your post about required lake trout removal...didn't some mis-guided individual sneak them into Yellowstone Lake too ?

I can only hope this Danube River fish stays in the Danube River. From the pics it looks like one ugly fishy. For some reason it reminds me of a Coelacanth ( sp ? ).

[Thom]

Skeeter:

If I recall correctly the lake that I visited was at the head of the Wind river but we hit several lakes on that particular trip and also into the Indian reservation Just our of Jackson hole.

Being an avid birder almost every habitat that I have visited there were species that were imported with good intentions of ridding some insect, providing food for some animal or they just looked nice. Hence overpopulation of starlings, purple finches, some sparrows that originally had natural preditors that were absent here. Kudso that has devastated the south was another well intentioned idea initiated on the premise that God made a mistake and needed our help.

Intoducing species where are not indigent to the habitat seldoms works out in the long run is is often nearly irreversal.

[damselfly]

when we went to yellowstone in 2001, and at that time, they were posting bulletins saying that any lake trout caught in yellowstone lake must be killed......

[zander]

i understand about invasive species, but aren't rainbows and browns exotic species themselves in our waters? not to mention muskies in Missouri stripers etc etc. so while that arguement holds some water, it has holes in it tooall I am saying is it could be studied.

[brownieman]

True...trout and are not native but generate millions of dollars for the MDC...go figure, lol.

Muskie are in a few select lakes and imo the number of muskies that become huge are numbered.

I doubt little attention would be given unless some revenue or notariety could be achieved by producing them...

A fish of this size could possibly do some real damage to about any existing fish population, native or not...but imo could be another good money pit for the MDC bioligists and fisheries section...my thinking is it would get a ton of resistance from every which direction.

bm

[Chief Grey Bear]

True...trout and are not native but generate millions of dollars for the MDC...go figure, lol.

Interesting statement. Could you share your data? I would like to see what the profit margin is on this cash cow?