[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by fishpro

Yes, I will completely agree that the rainbows are spawning. However, as was mentioned either earlier in this thread or in the other one, there is a very small amount of spawning occuring, as there simply is not a lot of suitable habitat for it and hence the lake would not be able to sustain a large population of rainbow trout or cutthroat trout no matter how strict the regulations were. This is the very reason that they are stocking these lakes. As far as I know there is no successful spawning by fish in the upper lake, hence the lake would be supported simply by stocking.

Additionally, a size restriction of 50cm will still protect some spawning fish where spawning can occur and allow the fish to spawn once or twice before being harvested. I agree with your postings that a larger fish will contribute more eggs, but you must consider natural mortality as fish age. In turn, although 1 large fish will produce more eggs than a medium sized fish, more eggs in total will come from the medium sized fish simply because there would be more of them.

Some lakes can maintain a very large population of fish through natural reproduction and therefore are not stocked. However, SRD has realized that Kananaskis Lakes cannot support a large population of cutthroat and/or rainbow trout, therefore have decided to continue stocking the lakes. The goal is not to develop a full self-sustaining population and I doubt that will ever be the goal. It will remain as a stocked fishery, and the proposed will be an effective way to maintain and improve it.

Did I read this right? If so, how can the lake sustain a large population of even larger trout as proposed?