"We put Bear Lake cutthroats in Strawberry Reservoir after we treated the reservoir in 1990. The cutthroats in Strawberry have been protected by a limit that's similar to the one we're proposing for Scofield," said Roger Wilson, coldwater sport fisheries coordinator for the DWR.

"The cutthroats have kept the chub populations in Strawberry in check. ... We hope they'll do the same thing in Scofield."

Biologists are anxious to see which of the two trout is the most effective predator — Bear Lake cutthroat or the tiger trout.

"The information we gain will help us control chub populations better in other areas of the state," Wilson said.

Illegal fish introductions could greatly affect fishing at two popular waters in northeastern Utah.

Someone illegally placed burbot in a drainage above Flaming Gorge Reservoir several years ago. Now the burbot have made their way into the reservoir. Then just last spring, walleye that were illegally placed in Red Fleet Reservoir started showing up in biologists' gillnets in big numbers.

To deal with these illegal introductions:

• Anglers would be required to keep and kill all the walleyes they caught at Red Fleet Reservoir.

• Anglers at Flaming Gorge Reservoir must already kill every burbot they catch. Starting in 2009, anglers could also use up to six poles to fish through the ice at the reservoir. A second pole permit would not be required when fishing through the ice. However, a second pole permit would be required to fish with more than one pole at Flaming Gorge when the water is open, including when the water is open in the winter.

Wilson said the ice-fishing season is the best time of year to catch burbot at the reservoir.

"They're not an attractive fish, but burbot are a great fish to eat," he says. "This proposal would give anglers a chance to help the fishery and take more burbot home to eat."

Also at Flaming Gorge, spear fishermen could underwater spearfish for burbot 24 hours a day, throughout the year. They could also use artificial lights, but only when pursuing burbot. These underwater spearfishing changes should result in additional burbot being taken.

A change at Panguitch Lake would allow anglers to keep fish they must currently release.

The limit at the lake would stay at four trout, but anglers would be allowed to keep one cutthroat or tiger trout between 15 and 22 inches long.

"Cutthroat and tiger trout start eating chubs when they reach about 17 inches in length. By the time they reach 20 inches, they're excellent predators," Wilson added.