Release Data

[tjm]

About what proportions of guided anglers to self-guided regulars fish that area? half and half or more guides than regulars?

[Seth]

I know I haven’t done a good job of reporting all of the fish over 20” that have been landed in my boat. Most come during tourneys. We are too busy fishing during the tourney to get pics and measurements. Afterwards we just want to get them weighed in and returned to the water asap.

[Phil Lilley]

On 1/12/2024 at 4:08 PM, tjm said:

About what proportions of guided anglers to self-guided regulars fish that area? half and half or more guides than regulars?

That would be a good stat to see.  Off the top of my head, I would say 60-70% of the trophies turned in are from guided trips.  May be more.  Guides are honed in on the bite daily and they have the equipment needed for that bite.  Plus the instruction.  Guided anglers definitely have an advantage catching a big trout.

[tjm]

My thoughts were that guided anglers would be more apt to report (at guide's suggestion?) than self guided locals would be. Depending on the number of locals not reporting;  the number of large trout taken and released could be far higher than the numbers show. many self guided anglers might not even be aware of your program. Others might be lazy like myself, or  catch so many large trout that it is routine. It's definitely a good fishery and that indicates that MDC management isn't as bad as some people believe. 

Thanks a lot for the report and for the program that provides the data, Phil. Very interesting stuff.

[Ham]

I didn’t know about this program.