Round Valley Reservoir Question.

[Billfish715]

In a time long, long ago, when the "Valley" was being created, the original fisheries' design was for the reservoir to be a smallmouth bass impoundment and would be managed as such. The state did supplemental stockings of trout, but it was thought the "Valley" would provide a possibility for trophy small mouths.

Lake trout were not even on the menu until much later. The continued stockings of browns and rainbows paid dividends due in major consequence to the abundance of herring as a forage base and small mouths were often ignored. The continuing erosion of the shoreline added to the expansion of silt which began to interfere with the development of the smallmouth's preferred environment and production.

Now, add lake trout to the mix. Essentially, the reservoir would have a two layer trout fishery. Lake trout could be found on the bottom and rainbows and browns from mid depths up to the surface. Small mouths would occupy the flooded timber areas. All of these fish dined on the protein-rich herring and then something happened that is still being debated. The herring population seriously declined and the trophy brown trout did also. The lakers were now reproducing and were it not for supplemental brown and rainbow trout stockings by the RVTA and the state, there would be no trout fishing for the shoreline fishermen since the browns and rainbows don't naturally reproduce in impoundments with no natural freshwater inlets.

Before asking for any improvements or changes to the "Valley", remember how it has been managed over the years. Be careful of adding more so that you can harvest less. There needs to be a balance. Something is out of balance in the "Valley" and I think they were man made. Long gone are the early morning lines outside the little bait shop in the shadows of the dam with fishermen waiting to buy herring.

Maybe someone makes a weighted scud fly that will get down to 50'.