DWR official is the authority on Lake Powell

Then, as largemouth numbers started to go down, Gustaveson started to look at alternative catches. "So we introduced the smallmouth. Smallmouth bass habitat is broken rock, and we have lots of broken rock, I knew they'd do well," he recalled.

"And the smallmouth have taken off. It was a good move and has provided a fish anglers can pretty much catch year-round."

His newest challenge is the gizzard shad. For years, Gustaveson fought to try and get a second forage fish in Lake Powell to offset the rise and decline of the threadfin shad. Politics involved in introducing a new fish made this impossible.

But then, a few years back, a federal hatchery in Texas mistakenly introduced a load of game fish into a lake in New Mexico. Mixed in with the game fish were gizzard shad. Eventually, the shad made in from the lake to the San Juan River, which feeds into Lake Powell. Gillnet surveys are now picking up gizzard shad in the northern half of Lake Powell.

This new introduction could be a blessing or a curse. At this point it appears it will be a benefit, "but it's something new we're going to have watch closely. But that's what makes this job so exciting. There's always something new and challenging."

Along with his duties at the lake, Gustaveson also overseers Utah's only warm-water hatchery in Big Water, Utah, just north of Page. The hatchery started with six small ponds dug out of the sandy soil. Today there are 35 concrete and lined ponds raising everything from wipers (a hybrid between a white bass and striped bass) for Willard Bay, tiger muskies for Pineview and native fish, such as the razorback chub, bony tail chub, woofin chub and least chub under a program to build populations of threatened fish.

This year fishing is expected to be the best it's been since back in the early 1980s and could well be the No. 1 fishing hot spot in the country. Smallmouth are plentiful, the stripers are numerous and big, averaging between four and five pounds, and the largemouth, crappie and walleye are all showing signs of recovery.

All this in a lake Gustaveson was told was too big and unmanageable.

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