Is the pike population in Lake Davis increasing/decreasing/not changing?
Electrofish catch-per-unit-effort as well as overall field season harvest can give an indication of changes in pike density. Pike catch during boat electrofishing has increased from 1 pike per hour of “pedal-down time” in 2000, five pike per hour in 2001 and nearly ten pike per hour in 2002. Seasonal harvest of 2-year and older fish was about 200 in 2000 and 2001, increasing to 1,206 in 2002. 2. Is impact to Lake Davis trout fishery increasing/decreasing/not changing? An examination of pike (> 16 inches) stomach contents in 2002 indicated that trout constitute about 70% of the volume of pike diet. Smaller pike do not have as many trout in their stomachs, in part because the Department only plants larger trout (>8 inches) in Lake Davis. A rough calculation of pike food requirements combined with the Lake Davis stomach content data indicates that a 16″ pike eats about 14 “catchable” size trout annually. Since it appears that the number of larger pike in Lake Davis is increasing, impact o
