The Courier
NEWS
Overlooked ‘Mountain’ Fishing
Winter is taking its time in bringing snow to our mountains, but perhaps... it's the perfect excuse to wonder out and drop some flies or jigs in our mountain streams. It's also an opportunity to take on one of Idaho’s native unsung heroes: the mountain whitefish. Mountain whitefish, the disco ballish, tight-lipped river dwellers that populate a majority of Idaho’s streams and rivers, are often overlooked and underhooked. In the words of Rodney Dangerfield, they “get no respect,” but where do these unfavorable allegations come from, and are they even accurate? It’s fair to say that many passionate anglers who’ve seen their rod tip dip, thinking they have a feisty trout on the other end, only to reel in something else, have muttered the words: “Ahh. It’s just a whitefish." However, that whitefish on the end of your line has earned its stripes in Idaho, a fish that has called these waters home for thousands of years. While they might not be as charismatic as the rainbow trout, regarding them as “trash fish” or “bottom feeders” can not be further from the truth. “Mountain whitefish are a fun species to target, especially in late winter when trout and other mountain stream species feed less,” said Joe Kozfkay, Fish and Game’s State Fisheries Manager. “Anglers have a pretty cool opportunity to catch these fish during this season, a lost tradition that often gets forgotten or overlooked.” Whitefish tend to hunker down in deeper parts of the river. Their placement in the water, combined with their mouth’s puckered appearance located beneath their face, often earn them the misnomer “sucker fish.” “Whitefish are actually members of the Salmonid family, which include salmon, trout, char and grayling,” said Kozfkay. But if whitefish are more closely related to trout, does that mean they’re outcompeting their distant cousins? Not according to stream surveys. Some anglers might have concerns about the whitefish/trout dynamic in mountain rivers and streams. Fish and Game fish managers have been studying this relationship for decades and learned from research that trout populations can be affected by flow, habitat conditions or even harvest, but competition with whitefish is not a real concern. Quick & Easy Guide to Mountain Whitefish Fishing Whitefish check a lot of the boxes for stream fishing in winter and early spring (or any other time of year). They’re plentiful, bag limits are usually 25 fish per day and they’re found in rivers and streams all over the state. You can see them shimmering when the water’s low. More aggressive than other fish during winter, they slurp up a fly or bait just as readily as a trout would. more on page 2...
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
December 11, 2024
Vol 48 Num 50
Risch Blasts Biden BLM For Pushing Lava Ridge
Press Release
U.S. Senator Jim Risch released the following statement on Friday regarding the announcement of the final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). "Today's decision on Lava Ridge flies in the face of the people of Idaho. Despite the outcry from Idahoans and the broader Japanese American community, the Biden-Harris White House refuses to listen. Instead, this administration will spend its final days attempting to inflict irreversible damage on Southern Idaho and the Minidoka National Historic Site. This is far from over. I will continue to fight Lava Ridge and this abuse of our public lands," said Risch. Risch has led the Idaho delegation in introducing legislation and other measures to block the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, which would build hundreds of wind turbines on nearly 150,000 acres of public land in Southern Idaho. In September, the Idaho delegation urged the Department of Interior to adopt the "No-Action Alternative" on the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project. The delegation's letter followed the decision by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and Idaho State Historic... continued on page 8...