October 5, 2006

St. Anthony - Idaho Department of Fish and Game will use an unusual looking trout to help improve fishing at the Sand Creek WMA ponds. Fishing in the four Sand Creek Ponds has declined in recent years and biologists are hoping that a better understanding of overwinter trout survival in the different ponds can help improve the fishery. Like albinos, the fish, known as "yellow" or "banana" trout are rainbow trout with a lack of melanin pigment that gives them a light yellow color. They don't have red eyes, however, and aren't true albinos. They were offered to the Fish and Game by a commercial hatchery in the Thousand Springs area, which had several thousand surplus fish.

Seeing an opportunity for an inexpensive, but interesting study, Jim Fredericks, Regional Fishery Manager, jumped at the opportunity. "Typically, when we do a fish survival study, we use fin-clips or some other sort of mark to know how well a batch of stocked fish survive" Fredericks said, "In this case, we have what amounts to a very visible identifying characteristic that we can use to see how well these fish survive and grow for the next couple of years-and it's very cost-efficient."

The fact that the yellow trout will provide a novelty fishery is an added bonus. "The real benefit is that the study will help us to better manage the ponds" Fredericks said, "but I think a lot of anglers are going to enjoy catching something so out of the ordinary as well".

Fish and Game believes the low winter water levels in recent years due to drought have hurt winter survival of fingerling fish. To test survival and growth, 2,000 yellow rainbows, averaging about seven inches, will be stocked in each of the ponds. Fredericks says biologists plan to survey the lakes next summer and fall to assess survival. "Ponds with good winter survival can be managed with fingerling trout," Fredericks said, "but those where we see little or no carryover will need to be stocked with catchable sized fish in the spring".

For those who prefer a rainbow tint over yellow on their trout, an important feature of this study is the fact that the Sand Creek Ponds are isolated, so there's no risk of the pigment-starved fish turning up in the Henrys Fork or any other waters.