What started as a normal ice-fishing day at Island Park Reservoir in Idaho turned into a real “wait…what?” moment on Jan. 3, when an angler expecting a trout instead pulled up a 5-inch yellow perch…a fish that flat-out doesn’t belong there.
To the angler’s credit, they did exactly the right thing and kept the fish and called the Citizens Against Poaching hotline, which led to conservation officers from Idaho Fish and Game to meet up right on the ice and confirm Idaho’s first-ever perch sighting in the reservoir.
Because there is no natural way perch could have gotten there, officials say it was almost certainly an illegal stocking, which is really bad news for a water managed specifically for hatchery rainbow trout.
As fisheries manager Brett High explained, perch and trout compete for the same food, and perch often win, which can spell trouble for trout growth, water quality, and years of restoration work.
That is why anglers are now being asked to harvest any perch they catch…no limits, no restrictions…and to keep speaking up when something looks off, because one quick call can help protect an entire fishery.
Read the full story via Wired2Fish here.
Photo credit: Emholk from Getty Images Signature
