Did You Know…?
Strawberry Reservoir is the most heavily fished water in Utah.

•	In 2001, anglers on Strawberry spent more than 1.4 million angler-hours and harvested nearly 380,000 trout that weighted a total of 274 tons
•	Strawberry receives 13 percent of the total fishing pressure statewide
•	Anglers who fish Strawberry keep more than half of all the fish they catch. On all Utah waters combined, anglers release three out of every four fish they catch.

Too many Utah chubs have ruined the fishery in the past and would do it again if left unchecked.

•	Chub numbers in Strawberry have fluctuated since the reservoir was last treated in 1990 but were generally increasing.
•	This was not yet an emergency situation , but rather a trend that would likely become a problem in several years if no action was taken.

Strawberry’s cutthroat trout are important to the well-being of the fishery.

•	Strawberry's cutthroats are actually a strain called Bear Lake cutthroat.
•	The Bear Lake cutthroat was planted in the reservoir in the early 1990's because they are an efficient predator of Utah chubs and should help keep the numbers in check.
•	Larger cutthroats eat more chubs and maintain the cutthroat population through spawning.
•	75 percent of the fish harvested from Strawberry are Bear Lake cutthroats

Contrary to many anglers’ perceptions, Strawberry has always been and continues to be managed as a family fishery by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). The emphasis is on producing a good fishing experience for everyone, not on producing trophy fish.

So, What Was the Problem?

•	Due to harvest and other reasons, the numbers of larger cutthroat in Strawberry had been reduced.
•	Chub numbers in Strawberry were rising.

Neither of these presented a critical problem at the time. But if things were left as they were, in a few years Strawberry’s heavy fishing pressure combined with the high cutthroat harvest rate would have reduce cutthroat numbers and threatened their ability to keep the chubs in check.

If Utah chub numbers increased out of proportion to the predators in the reservoir it could have crashed again, taking years and costing millions of dollars to get the fishery back, if it was possible at all.

How Strawberry’s New Regulations Are Designed to Help

Rather than wait until the problem became serious, DWR biologists elected to pursue a proactive approach. Based on extensive data, past experience with the reservoir and exhaustive discussions with anglers on how to best meet their needs, the new regulation change was designed to protect Strawberry’s cutthroat trout, the predator that keeps the chubs in the reservoir in check.

The change allowed anglers to still keep four trout or kokanee salmon in the aggregate. Of these four fish, anglers can have no more than three cutthroat trout in possession, which are subject to new size restrictions—no more than two cutthroats under 15 inches in length and no more than one over 22 inches in length. All cutthroats in the 15 to 22 inch “slot” must be immediately released.

There are no size restrictions on rainbows or kokanee salmon.

This Regulation Accomplishes Two Important Objectives:

•	It reduces the overall number of cutthroats harvested, which maintains adequate cutthroat numbers in the reservoir in the face of ever-increasing fishing pressure.
•	It protects the most prolific spawning segment of the cutthroat population with the 15 to 22 inch slot. This segment of the population also consumes a substantial number of Utah chubs.

As part of the approval process, these regulations successfully went through a public comment process at the five Regional Advisory Councils and at the Wildlife Board.

How Will The New Regulations Affect Fishing?

Because of the size of cutthroats currently in the reservoir and the fact that 75 percent of the fish anglers keep are cutthroats, these regulations will likely affect how many fish anglers will be able to take home for the near future. To offset this, the numbers of sterile rainbow trout available to anglersefforts have been increased. (Sterile rainbows cannot interbreed with the Bear Lake cutthroats. Interbreeding reduces the cutthroat’s predatory nature.)

For More Information

These regulations went into effect in 2003 and the fishery has already been experiencing many positive changes. For more information on these changes please contact:
Jim Carter, President, (801-269-0619), or Roger Wilson, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (435-649-9368).

More information on Strawberry is also available through the Strawberry Anglers Association and the Utah DWR.

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