Newcastle Reservoir Spring Survey - 7-pound wiper and big 'bows

It's spring and for Utah fisheries folks that means survey time at waters across the state. I'll be posting these reports as they are provided throughout the spring.

Newcastle Reservoir Trend Net Survey report from Michael Hadley in the southern region office.The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conducted a trend net survey on March 26, 2014, to monitor fish populations in Newcastle Reservoir, west of Cedar City. The survey yielded some exciting results. We caught a lot of wipers – most were in the 3- to 5-pound range, but a few weighed six and seven pounds. We also saw good numbers of rainbow trout, with quite a few in the 16- to 18-inch range. These larger rainbows were fairly rare in the past, so this increase attests to how well wipers were able to reduce the population of illegally introduced golden shiners. Trout fishing should be good throughout the spring as the water remains clear and the reservoir level is high. Look for wiper fishing to pick up with warming water temperature, possibly in May.Photo captions:Ben Brown of the Utah Division of Water Quality holds a couple of nice wipers caught during a trend net survey at Newcastle Reservoir on March 26, 2014.Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fisheries technician Weston Cleveland shows off a 6-pound wiper caught and released during a trend net survey at Newcastle Reservoir on March 26, 2014.Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fisheries technicians Josh Verde (left) and Weston Cleveland (right), with a couple of 16- to 17-inch rainbow trout caught and released during a trend net survey at Newcastle Reservoir on March 26, 2014.Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fisheries biologist Mike Hadley shows off a 7-pound wiper caught and released during a trend net survey at Newcastle Reservoir on March 26, 2014.