Please Help with an Eagle Scout Project.

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wayne gustaveson

wayne gustaveson

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We have a young man who is conducting his Eagle Scout Project at Lake Powell. His assignment, from me, is to collect Largemouth, Smallmouth bass and Walleye which will be used in a stable isotope study performed at BYU to determine which fish eat Quagga Mussels and how much value the fish receive from mussels in their diet. Some fish eat mussels but cannot break the shell and digest the soft tissue which has food value. The BYU Study will help identify which fish are effective mussel predators.

The fish collection will begin August 13 through August 18. The location where fish can be dropped off is Padre Canyon. The Midnight Magic houseboat is the drop off point. It has a black awning and there is a red Koi fish Flag displayed. Contact phone numbers are listed below for Jon and JJ Woozley.

When collecting fish for this survey it is best to try to harvest the smaller size (9-13 inch) fish rather than trophy size adults. My plan for smallmouth bass has always been to harvest the smaller fish (9-12 inch) and release the larger fish to reduce competition and have a larger average size for the bass population. The same plan is in place for largemouth bass. Try to collect the smaller bass and return the larger fish. Walleye of any size should be harvested as they are under harvested at Lake Powell. The goal is to get a minimum of 30 fish of each species. It would be even better to harvest 50 of each species. Walleye will be the hardest to catch while smallmouth will be the easiest.

Dates: August 13-18
Camp site: Padre Canyon
Houseboat: Midnight Magic (black awning)
Marker: red koi fish flag

Contact:
JJ 385 241-6729 Eagle Scout Candidate
Jon 801 836-0309 Father


RED KOI FLAG on houseboat

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Wayne-
I found this and read it BUT I have a layman's limit on specific field of this scientific paper.


Was this paper part of your study prep?

My question would be "is the length of time that quaggas have been in the lake long enough to set up a strong enough traceable trail for such a study?" I presume it is and my lack of knowledge is to blame for my question.

Its interesting that there is a test to determine how much value a certain organism has in a food chain rather than just a speculative guess of empirical study and observation.

Final observation- what role do carp play in Lake Powell or would we be better off if they disappeared (like that could ever happen)? I know many in England make a big sport of carp fishing. It would be nice if a GOOD recipe could be found for them. Easy to catch and good fighters on the end of a line.

I do hope that many on the lake contribute to the scouts project Its very important to him. Thanks for giving him that opportunity.
 
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