Illegal fish plant — Walleye may wreak havoc in reservoir

"We have no way of replacing those mature bass or browns. Rainbows we can always put back in. And, because Red Fleet is not a particularly productive reservoir, it's likely these populations will crash."

What is likely to happen is a cycle will begin where the walleye will eat most of the fish in Red Fleet, get big and fat and then, when the food is gone, die. Biologists will then try to bring back the reservoir as a family fishery, but when numbers start to increase, any walleye that survived will begin the eating cycle again.

The same cycle occurred in Lake Powell with the striped bass. That is, when the shad numbers were high, the stripers ate their fill and got big and numerous. But when they depleted their food supply, the big fish died. When striper numbers were up, fishing was excellent. But in one year it could crash, the big fish would die, and fishing would be poor.

Regulations removing the limit on striped bass has moderated the cycle. Last year, for example, striped bass caught were around 7 pounds. This year they are typically around three pounds.

Walleye are different in that they are more difficult to catch; therefore limitless fishing may not help.

"And there are other concerns," said Johnson. "Red Fleet and Steinaker are connected by a pipeline, so there's a possibility of pushing the walleye into Steinaker. Also, it's a short run from Red Fleet down Brush Creek to the Green River and all the endangered fish that are in the river. And, just 30 minutes away is Flaming Gorge. If someone were to move walleye there it would be disastrous."

Flaming Gorge is, in fact, currently dealing with an illegally planted fish — the burbot. It, too, is a voracious predator and has wildlife officials very concerned. The same emergency rules apply to the burbot — all those caught must be killed, and there is no limit.

"We don't know how effective the regulations at Red Fleet will be, but hopefully they will discourage anyone from moving around fish," said Johnson.

In the long term, biologists will investigate the feasibility of chemically treating the reservoir to try and remove walleye.

"Treating a reservoir of this size is expensive and also is complicated by the fact that Red Fleet Reservoir provides culinary water to the Vernal area," said Roger Schneidervin, regional director. "On the other hand, we simply will not accept and manage a fish species that some irresponsible individual has illegally introduced.

"It's difficult to emphasize just how much damage an illegal introduction can cause to a fishery or an entire aquatic ecosystem, for that matter. The monetary cost and lost fishing opportunities are going to be felt by anglers and taxpayers alike."