Preliminary studies are promising for the return of the trout stocking program at Upper Blue Lake. Department of Fish and Game (DFG) biologists have completed their survey of Upper Blue Lake for the red-legged frog and have another study to do on the hardhead minnow.
The results show no presence of the red-legged frog in or around the lake. A report will be sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and if the agency concurs with the DFG findings, a motion will be made with the Superior Court in Sacramento that Upper Blue Lake be removed from the list of lakes that are possible habitat for the frog. This could take several weeks to a couple of months.
Upper Blue Lake was included in a lawsuit as a body of water where trout couldn”t be planted by the DFG because of possible red-legged frog habitat. The problem is that the two environmental groups that sued the DFG over stocking 175 waters in California with trout have to agree to take Upper Blue Lake off the list, and there is no guarantee they will do so.
In previous columns I said there was no evidence that the red-legged frog has ever been found in Lake County. As a reader pointed out, I was wrong. In 1967, red-legged frogs were found near Cobb and Middletown but nowhere near Upper Blue Lake.
According to DFG fishery biologist Jay Rowan, Upper Blue Lake has been planted with large numbers of trout in the past. For example, the DFG put 24,000 catchable-sized trout in the lake back in 2007. The lake was stocked 10 times in 2007 with an average of 2,400 trout in each stocking. This was the same allotment as was put into Lake Folsom and several other large lakes around the state.
Of course, it”s not only the red-legged frog that is keeping Upper Blue Lake on the no-stocking list. The hardhead minnow is also a species that is listed as threatened by the lawsuit in question. Officially the hardhead minnow is listed as a species of “special concern,” but it”s still on the list.
The DFG placed several gill nets in Upper Blue Lake in an attempt to see if there were any hardhead minnows there. The initial results didn”t turn up any of the minnows but the DFG biologists will be doing further research to see if any minnows exist in the lake.
The hardhead minnow is fairly common in Lake County and nearby counties. The Russian River has hardhead minnows as does Cache Creek. They can grow as large as 2 feet and closely resemble the Sacramento pike minnow. It is omnivorous, meaning it feeds both on aquatic plants as well as insects and small fish.
The good news is that even if hardhead minnows are found in Upper Blue Lake it doesn”t necessarily mean trout can”t be stocked in the lake. According to the DFG, Upper Blue Lake can be stocked privately with trout. That means private or county funds could be used to purchase trout, which must come from a private hatchery approved by the DFG. They cost a little less than a dollar per fish.
This is being done in many small urban lakes throughout California. The problem is finding the funds to purchase the fish. There could be various fundraising events put on by the resorts that are located at the lake. That”s how striped bass are stocked in Lake Mendocino. No public money is used.
The trout are vitally important to the local businesses. The reason most of the tourists come to Upper Blue Lake is because of the excellent trout fishing. The lake hasn”t been stocked with trout for more than three months and now it”s rare to see a boat on the water. Few tourists are now staying at the resorts. In fact, the annual trout derby normally scheduled for April has been canceled.
