Wildlife officials, fishermen rescue Nevada trout

Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003 | 5:49 a.m.

REGIONAL ED: Attribute to nvren

RENO, Nev.- Fly fishermen joined state wildlife officials in rescuing hundreds of trout from a Truckee River canal before a drought-induced drop in water levels leaves them stranded high and dry.

Some of the rescuers acknowledged an ulterior motive as they helped net and remove both large and small fish from the canal just west of Reno on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I've got my eye on this one right here," Gary Whitfield of the Truckee River Fly Fishers said as he pulled a 4-pound brown trout from the canal to be deposited later safely in the river.

Hundreds of fish ranging in size from fingerlings to prize 6-pounders were stunned with electricity and pulled from the Verdi Ditch Tuesday in the rescue effort organized by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The idea was to remove the fish before they are isolated from the Truckee River by drought-lowered water levels, a nature-induced death sentence.

"I kind of view this as selfish on my part," Whitfield told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I just want to make sure there's enough fish in the river to catch."

For each of the last four years of drought, the state has gathered volunteers to remove fish from canals feeding hydroelectric plants along the river before they are doomed by low water levels.

The Truckee, which flows out of Lake Tahoe and is used to irrigate farms east of Reno, is the only Nevada river where such a program exists.

The lake recently dipped to its lowest level since 1995 and parts of the river downstream were dry before a snowstorm helped improve the situation over the weekend.

About 700 fish were removed from the canal Tuesday with more planned Wednesday. They included game fish such as rainbow and brown trout - the largest captured Tuesday was a 6 1/2 pound brown - as well as whitefish, sculpins, speckled dace and suckers.

The rescue, which has saved thousands of fish over four years, is not a make-or-break effort in preserving the Truckee River's fish population, said Kim Toulouse, volunteer coordinator for the Department of Wildlife.

But it is important, he said.

"These are fish that would not exist if we didn't salvage them," Toulouse said.

The rescue has the added value of getting anglers and other volunteers actively involved in wildlife preservation, he said.

"One of my goals is to get people to have a sense of ownership with the resource, and this is a way to do it."

Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal