# Red Butte Creek Fish Transplants



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Thought this was an interesting read. Since I am no biologist I may be speaking from ignorance, but isnt it a bit late in the season to be introducing these young fish?



> Right now, going into the winter, their fats are good and they should survive real well,


I guess this DNR guy knows more than me, but still seems like a long shot in my eyes. I hope it works out alright for these cuts.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=14...-gets-new-fish-after-oil-spill-wipes-them-out


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

That's great news if they feel confident enough to let the fish in there again.


----------



## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

The biologist in the article knows well what he is doing. I went along with him a number of years ago to put fingerling bonneville cutts in the upper diamond fork drainage and they took very well. That planting was done on halloween and at a much higher elevation. I remember asking Slater as I was pouring 3 inch cutts into a very small tributary to DF about such small fish making it through the iminent winter in such a small feeder stream and to my recollection, he basically told me that they evolved to those types of conditions and they would be just fine. We hiked above a small waterfall and planted more so that if anything went wrong down below there would still be a pure population of bonnevilles above a natural barrier in the drainage. It was a very interesting day and I would encourage anyone who gets the chance to work with our fish biologists in the field to seize the opportunity. 

Something like half of the fingerlings planted into red butte will die of natural causes in the next several weeks, but that would have been figured into the total number of fish planted. I'd imagine they will do further plantings in the next couple of years in red butte so there are a few different age classes as that is what Slater did on the Diamond Fork project.


----------



## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

Good to see the river ready for life again! Funny how they kept fisherman (and hikers) out of there and yet the real damage happend without anyoned there. Oh well that is why they call them accidents. Luckily nothing was permanent.....this time.


----------



## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

ScottyP said:


> The biologist in the article knows well what he is doing. I went along with him a number of years ago to put fingerling bonneville cutts in the upper diamond fork drainage and they took very well. That planting was done on halloween and at a much higher elevation. I remember asking Slater as I was pouring 3 inch cutts into a very small tributary to DF about such small fish making it through the iminent winter in such a small feeder stream and to my recollection, he basically told me that they evolved to those types of conditions and they would be just fine. We hiked above a small waterfall and planted more so that if anything went wrong down below there would still be a pure population of bonnevilles above a natural barrier in the drainage. It was a very interesting day and I would encourage anyone who gets the chance to work with our fish biologists in the field to seize the opportunity.
> 
> Something like half of the fingerlings planted into red butte will die of natural causes in the next several weeks, but that would have been figured into the total number of fish planted. I'd imagine they will do further plantings in the next couple of years in red butte so there are a few different age classes as that is what Slater did on the Diamond Fork project.


Thanks for the intel.... Good to see a scotty P sighting as well!


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Thanks for the input ScottyP! 

Constructive thoughts like that really make this forum a neat place to learn. Great insight


----------



## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

tye dye twins said:


> Good to see the river ready for life again! Funny how they kept fisherman (and hikers) out of there and yet the real damage happend without anyoned there. Oh well that is why they call them accidents. Luckily nothing was permanent.....this time.


Anybody know if this creek is fishable (legally) anywhere along it's course? Does it go below ground for good at Liberty Park? I like to do the occasional city fishing in some of these creeks but so far have only found that the cottonwood streams pop up in urban areas (like the Kinkos on 7th east and 3900 south) or at the IMC hospital on State Street in Murray. Kinda fun to toss some flies and actually catch some fish 10 feet from the front door of a 7-11. Anyone else like random little spots like that?


----------



## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

And why is Red Butte off limits when all the other small streams around it are fair game? Ive heard the reasoning for the land above the U property being a no-no has something to do with preserved land for research purposes or something like that? Would be nice to be able to hike to the upper reaches and wet a line.


----------



## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

[quote="doody]. Anyone else like random little spots like that?[/quote]

My favorite spot in inner SLC is next to a car wash by I-15. The buzzers going off sucks but the looks people give you are priceless when they see you with a fish splashing in the water! 

As for where you can fish it I have no idea. I used to try and hike the place but ran into the signs telling me to go away.  I love the idea of finding the magic line! :mrgreen:


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

doody said:


> Anyone else like random little spots like that?


Love'em! Nothing better than blowing off steam at the local creek on lunch break or right after a rough day at work.


----------



## HunterGeek (Sep 13, 2007)

doody said:


> Anybody know if this creek is fishable (legally) anywhere along it's course?


There's good access to the creek at Miller Park, but it's not legal to fish there. The DWR Fishing Guidebook lists the entire creek as closed to fishing.



doody said:


> And why is Red Butte off limits when all the other small streams around it are fair game? Ive heard the reasoning for the land above the U property being a no-no has something to do with preserved land for research purposes or something like that?


Here's more information on Red Butte Canyon: http://redbuttecanyon.net/

Basically, it used to be the water source for Fort Douglas, and the army kept the canyon closed. In the late '60s, it was turned over to the Forest Service for use as a natural research area. It's, more or less, administered by the University of Utah, and they want to keep it in a natural state, so they don't let anyone in without a permit. The permit is nearly impossible to get unless you've got official business in the canyon or working on some sort of research. Also, the DWR uses the small reservoir in the canyon a repository for endangered June Suckers.

When I first moved to Salt Lake to go to college, I went on a hike in the hills above the campus, and found my way down into the canyon. I hiked from up toward the top down through the entire thing. I didn't know until months later that it was off limits and that I had been trespassing.  :O•-:


----------



## Georgeforuofu (Sep 19, 2011)

I watched the video and had a question since im new. How long will it take for those little guys to grow? whats the growth rate of fish, I have always been curious and never knew.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Georgeforuofu said:


> How long will it take for those little guys to grow? whats the growth rate of fish, I have always been curious and never knew.


It depends. The amount of avaliable forage and type/size of forage will be a factor. It will vary from location to location.


----------



## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

I'm all for restoring native fish for the fishes sake, but I hope the funding for the project came from those who are not allowing fishing (or the oil company) and not from license sales.


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Is the whole stream bordered by private land? Is this why no one can fish it? (sorry for the uneducated question)


----------



## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

I dont know anything about the legality of fishing Red Butte, but I can tell you anywhere with pure Cutts is a good thing. 

Transplanting Cutts is best done in cold temps. In the smaller streams, warmer months can be quite tough for them. It has been my experience that november, just before ice over, Cutts in small streams seem to be doing really well. I witnessed the DWR pulling natives out of the Deeps in late Oct, for transplanting.


----------

