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Completed Report on Recent AG&FD Canyon Lake Survey

3K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Nummie 
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(This was E-mailed to me from Jim Warnecke this afternoon to share)


Bass and Other Fish at Canyon Lake Ace Their Physical Exams and Weigh In Big

Anglers who enjoy fishing at Canyon Lake between Mesa and Payson will be happy to hear that bass and other fish checked out in a routine Arizona Game and Fish Department survey there have a clean bill of health and are sizing up big. The department has regularly tested bass at several central Arizona lakes over the past three years for Largemouth Bass Virus (LMB Virus), and Canyon Lake was the most recent checkup site.

Biologists set eight gill nets at the lake in mid-July. They caught and tested more than 70 largemouth bass for LMB Virus and inspected other fish species for general health assessments. All of the largemouth bass tested negative for the virus. Similar tests at other Arizona reservoirs have also been negative. The Canyon Lake fish had no sores, were clean of parasites, and had large amounts of visceral fat, indicating that they’re eating well.

Recent reports from regular bass fishermen at the lake say they’re bringing in a good catch at Canyon Lake during daylight hours. On some days, more than 20 bass are brought in, several up to 8 pounds, and all fat and healthy. During the survey, biologists caught four bass that weighed more than 6 pounds each. Most were in the 2- to 3-pound range.

The survey also brought in 25 walleye, all from one age class, that averaged almost 13 inches in length. These were probably 13-month-old fish the department stocked in June of last year. That’s when Arizona received 900,000 sac-fry (less than 1/16 inch long) free of cost from a federal fish hatchery in North Dakota. The fish were shipped to Mesa and stocked in the upper portion of Canyon Lake. Biologists calculated about a 30 percent mortality of the baby walleye because of warm water conditions. However, looking at the number of walleye caught during the survey, a good number of these fish will be incorporated into the lake’s population. Walleye anglers will be pleased to see such positive results from the walleye stocking program the department has in place for several central Arizona reservoirs.

Threadfin shad were also abundant in the survey. Some nets caught literally hundreds of the 3-inch fish in the small mesh net panels. Crayfish were observed eating everything they could get, too. This indicates a good prey base at the lake because predatory fish like bass, catfish and walleye rely heavily on shad and crayfish as major food items in desert lakes.

Lots of yellow bass in a variety of sizes were also caught. Some topped 13 inches, with the largest weighing about 2 pounds. This species rarely exceeds 1 pound, so the yellow bass collected come close to world-record size. Biologists caught more than 35 channel catfish, most averaging about 5 pounds. Two large crappies estimated at more than 2 pounds each were caught in the Boulder area.
 
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