Tribe, Fish and Game to discuss Windy Bay pike management plans
<p>Jonathon Nomee wades through the waters of Lake Creek as crews with the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Fisheries erect a fish trap to catch cutthroat trout Wednesday near Rew Road south of Coeur d’Alene. The Lake Coeur d’Alene-native cutthroat populations are being affected by the top predator, non-native pike.</p>
<p>Lake Creek flows toward Lake Coeur d'Alene's Windy Bay near Ness Road.</p>
PLUMMER - The Coeur d'Alene Tribe Fisheries Program and Idaho Department of Fish and Game have scheduled a public meeting in Coeur d'Alene on Wednesday, Feb. 25, to discuss proposed plans for managing northern pike in Windy Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene this spring in an effort to boost survival of lake-run cutthroat trout.
At the meeting, biologists with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Fish and Game will present a summary of two years' worth of research that examined the effects of pike predation on native cutthroat trout in the lake and will discuss the activities proposed to manage northern pike in Windy Bay.
To guide the project's implementation, attendees will be asked to provide input on several ideas under consideration including incentivized fishing tournaments or relocating pike from Windy Bay to other areas of the lake where they will be accessible to anglers.
"Neither the Tribe nor the state are proposing a large-scale, lake-wide pike suppression effort and fortunately, we don't have to because the research indicated the main problem with pike predation on cutthroat trout is very localized," said Jim Fredericks, regional fishery manager for Fish and Game.
As a result, the proposed activities will be specific to Windy Bay.
"Ideally, we can maintain a relatively pike-free zone to help cutthroat trout, but do it in a way that doesn't come as a big hit to pike anglers," he said.
Fredericks added that Fish and Game is supportive of testing whether pike removal is effective in improving cutthroat trout survival, but is also interested in incorporating procedures to minimize the impacts to the popular northern pike fishery.
"In the coming years we'll evaluate the effectiveness of the program by monitoring the survival of juvenile cutthroat trout and the number of adults that return to spawn," said Angelo Vitale, fisheries program manager with the Tribe. "We're looking forward to writing the next chapter in this recovery effort and if all goes well, we hope to find ourselves in the position to open the Lake Creek cutthroat fishery after a nearly 25-year moratorium on harvest."
The plan will be implemented over the course of approximately six weeks in March and April for the next three years and could involve capture of up to 300 northern pike.
If the program is effective at bolstering the migratory cutthroat population from Lake Creek, then the Tribe would continue to monitor the populations and use results from the program to inform the level of effort required to keep pike predation on this population in check.
For the past 20 years, the Lake Creek area has been the focus of a large-scale restoration effort targeting habitat improvement and recovery of the cutthroat trout fishery.
The meeting is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Fish and Game office located at 2885 W. Kathleen Ave. in Coeur d'Alene.