Post
by River-haven » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:10 pm
I attended the meeting in Newport and appreciate the WDFW & Kalispel Tribe's efforts to explain the intent of their upcoming surveys. Noxon Reservoir (located upstream on the Clark Fork in Montana) was brought up and I'd like to again address the similarities between Noxon and Box Canyon reservoirs. Noxon is 34 miles long, Box Canyon is 55 miles in length. I agree with the WDFW that our pike are likely descendents of Noxon's pike migrating downstream through/over the dams during heavy springtime runoffs. Noxon and Box Canyon both have similar habitat with weedy bays and sloughs punctuated by deep, open and flowing channels and pools. Similarily, both reservoirs have large and smallmouth bass, walleye, brown, rainbow, cuthroat trout and PIKE. More importantly, both reservoirs have huge forage fish populations including: peamouth suckers, perch, sunfish, crappie, pike minnows and others. The point is, these two reservoirs are nearly mirror images of each other. One exception, Noxon has had pike for over 40 years. Yet, the pike in Noxon have not "eaten themselves out of house and home" as frequently threatened. But rather, they have thrived to the point where Jon Hanson, a fish biologist with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks stated in the Missoulian, June 2, 2010, "It's got probably some of the best bass and pike fishing in the state, right up there with Fort Peck." Furthermore, there are pike up to 20 pounds or more and in 2009 a state record largemouth bass (8.8 lb) was caught in Noxon. I don't know what,if anything, Montana has done to maintain this superb fishery. The point is, in 40 years they haven't "eaten themselves out of house and home." I believe the key to the ability of the gamefish to coexist is the diversity of both habitat and forage fish in both reservoirs. I hope we can all agree to work together to protect this trophy fishery.
