Rainbow trout restocked in Bear Lake

GARDEN CITY, Rich County (AP) — The Division of Wildlife Resources has restocked rainbow trout in Bear Lake for the first time in about 25 years.

Wildlife officials released about 5,000 of the fish into the lake last week. They hope to create fishing opportunities for people who plan to fish from the shore this summer.

Division fisheries biologist Scott Tolentino says it's hard to catch fish from the shore at Bear Lake during summers because the lake's native cutthroat trout population moves to deeper waters as it warms up. Rainbow trout will stay close to shore, Tolentino said.

Wildlife officials had stopped stocking rainbow trout in the 1980s because they were worried about crossbreeding with Bear Lake Bonneville cutthroat trout. All the trout stocked in Bear Lake this year are sterile.