Strawberry Reservoir is the crown jewel of Utah's fishing waters. Chubs overpopulate the lake and reduce the forage for game fish. In an attempt to remove the overpopulated Utah chub, the reservoir was poisoned in 1961 and again in 1990. In order to prevent having to poison the reservoir in the future, the Bear Lake cutthroat trout was planted to keep chub numbers down. I propose that German browns be introduced to help keep the chub population under control.

The Bear Lake cutthroat is a poor choice because:

1) It is not the best choice for keeping chub numbers down. Because
the cutthroats in Strawberry do not live in the same water as the chubs
year-round (and are instead often suspended in 30 feet of water in the middle of the Reservoir, where the rainbows are), the cutthroats are more likely to eat rainbows than chubs at certain times of the year.

2) The Bear Lake cutthroat is poor table fare compared to the other fish in the reservoir.

3) The Bear Lake cutthroat, pound-for-pound, is a poor fighting fish compared to the rainbows and kokanee salmon in the reservoir.

4) Bear Lake cutthroats and rainbows spawn at the same time, producing undesirable hybrids.

Proposed Solution: German brown trout

1) German browns are a better choice for keeping the chub under control. According to a 2013 study done by the Wyoming Game and Fish, the German brown is the top chub predator among trout varieties and stays in the same habitat as the chubs year-round (unlike the Bear Lake cutthroat).

2) German browns are better-eating. Out of several types of fish in Fish
Lake, the brown is the best eating.

3) German browns are better fighters and can grow to 30 pounds.

4) German browns spawn in the fall, so there will be no hybridization issue between browns, rainbows, and cutthroats.

This petition will be submitted to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.