Show rt HP iwaptM Page 12 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday August 14 1998 Don’t throw ’em back smoke those mooneyes By Bob Hodge It’s likely a lot of fishermen have boated mooneye misidentified them as gizzard shad and threw them back “They resemble shad and herring but they're neither one" Dinkins said The snout of a mooneye is more pointed than that of the gizzard shad and mooneyes do not have the elongated single-ray on the backs of their dorsal fins Mooneyes also have very large eyes relative to the size of their heads and that’s where they get their name But even if a fisherman had correctly identified his catch as a mooneye it's unlikely he would have thought about dropping it in the livcwcll For years Dinkins and Shute were no different They caught a lot of mooneyes while fishing for bluegill on the Holston River but since the flesh of a mooneye is soft and bony eating one never crossed their 8cripps Howard News Service Anglers like to identify themselves as bass fishermen or fly fishermen or catfish fishermen Few identify themselves as mooneye fishermen In fact not too many anglers even know a mooneye is a fish And if you ask how many East Tennessee fishermen have eaten a mooneye it’s likely Gerry Dinkins and JR Shute would stand alone “It's not a fish that a lot of people can readily identify" said Dinkins a biologist who makes his living in part identifying fish “I've seen people catch them and not know what they are When you tell them it’s a mooneye they just scratch their heads" minds Shute and Dinkins went to the Holston and caught a good number of mooneyes They replicated the process for preparing goldeyes as closely as possible drying their fish in a freezer for several weeks then smoking them on a grill for about three hours "We wrapped them in aluminum foil then put them in plastic bags to freeze them' Dinkins said 'You have to dry them out to toughen them up first but when you’re thawing them out they stink like crazy" The result was so good Dinkins said he now calls mooneyes “Moon Pies” in honor of their sweet taste He said the best places to catch mooneyes are the Eagle Bend area of the Clinch River and just above the Forks of the River on either the Holston or French But three years ago Shute read in a culinary magazine that smoked goldeye are considered a delicacy in parts of Canada That set off the light bum Goldeye are the western cousins of mooneye and became extremely popular as a food fish in die late 1800s A butcher named Robert Firth accidentally over-cooked some goldeye he was smoking and the resulting dish became so popular it was used as money in some parts of Canada Overfishing all but wiped out goldeye populations in some of the US and Canada Smoked goldeye is still ered a delicacy north of the border Shute shared what he read with Dinkins and they both reached the same elusion: If smoked goldeye is this good smoked mooneye houMbef as good 1 insects and small minnows and can be caught by a variety of methods Dinkins said he has fished for mooneye using crickets popping bugs and dry flies and has seen them hit small crankbaits Even though mooneye put up a good fight in relation to their size — they average about a half pound and the state record is 14 ounces — Dinkins said the best thing about them is how they taste j "I’ve served them at a New Year's Eve party and people loved them" said Dinkins who readily shares credit for the creation with Shute “This was one of the few times we put two and two together and it came up four" the Bob Hodge wrttss tor Broad rivers Mooneyes eat aquatic KnoavMa Naws-8an-on- n lonnMfM High country offers few guarantees Mountain marathon By Ed Gentry Scripps Howard News Service There are no guarantees for anglers seeking trout in the hundreds of lakes sprinkled across Colorado’s high and rugged country except the guarantees that come with picturesque lofty climes Fortunately most anglers who seek trout in alpine and subalpine haunts are happy just to be there for reasons perhaps best described by the late Robert Jraver in his essay "Testament of a Fisherman: "I fish because I love to because I love the environs where trout are found which are invariably beautiful and hate the environs where crowds of people are found which are invariably ugly" But while the opportunity to find solitude at a cool camp high in the Rockies may be appealing most anglers go there expecting to catch a few trout knowing the odds often are stacked against them brimming with visibly cruising trout Tempermental is a word most commonly applied to these liquid gems viable trout reproduction most must be stocked by air with fingerlings traditionally every other year In recent years the Colorado Division of worse before it gets better Division policy keeps trout that have been exposed to whirling disease out of the high country Special care js taken not to expose Western Slope waters to whirling disease So while the division revamps its hatchery system to eliminate the disease only a few thousand whirling disease-negatitrout mostly cutthroats and rainbows are available for aerial stocking tTbe (Situation is aggrAvptl in nprfowest ve Lakes between 9000 ahd 12000 feet ih elevation are notoriously fickle even when they are brimming with visibly cruising trout ‘Temperamental" is the word most commonmarmot ly applied to these liquid gems where " whistles echo off reflections jagged crags “ Marker He pitched his de Wildlife's supply of fingerlings that are acceptable for stocking in high lakes has dwindled and the situation is likely to get Lakes between 9000 and 12000 feet elevation are notoriously fickle even when Continued fhmt Page The fishing is on or it is off On most high lakes it tends to turn on in late evenings — when the wind dies the sun’s harsh rays are slanted water temperatures have risen to their daily peak atjd insects are popping off everywhere There arc other brief windows of opportunity — sometimes just after sunrise or after a thunderstorm But there are few windows of opportunity wherever trout are scarce or absent A backpacker may struggle up 10 miles of difficult trail in rarefied air only to find a favorite lake barren from winter-ki-ll which often happens in lakes under 20 feet deep shortOther lakes suffer from a man-main of trout recent age particularly years Because only a small percentage of Colorado's 1800 lakes above 9000 feet support 11 committee's idea to local mountain biking enthusiast Greg Beveridge and it didn't take the bunch long to agree their idea was worthy and doable With the design part of the class project complete the next objective was getting it approved by the Logan Ranger District and finding money to do it No small tasks Storey said the committee Colorado because a prime source of trout IVappcrs Lake contains "jwityq" cut throat trout that are slightly genetically restoration impure Under recent native-troagreements with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and environmentalists the division no cut- longer can stock Trappers Lake-strai- n ut tion to their efforts With tall he signs up the five USU business students including Storey completed their community service project "It worked out great" Storey said this week when the last sign was planted at the Jatdine Juniper trail “Everything has gone well and it's all volunteers that got it done" Management and human resources classmates taking part in the trail marking jject included Storey April Shipley scheduled Saturday throats as "natives” in the high lakes So it must wait for the hatchery cleanup and for more production from genetically pure Colorado River cutthroats "On the Western Slope aerial stocking will be quite a bit reduced for waters we are stocking with Colorado River native trout” said Robin Knox die division’s sportfish coordinator Knox said high lakes trout stockings might be even more meager next year The division currently produces 39 million trout But the number is expected to rise to 55 million in 2000 as more "clean" hatcheries come on line to 89 million by 2001 and 99 million by 2002 Meanwhile natural reproduction of rainbows cutthroats and brook trout is occurring ry in some waters and many veteran trekkers say they believe it is happening in more waters than biologists expect Brook trout have proven espixially prolific i much so that anglers are offered a bonus limit of 10 brookies under 8 inches long in addition to their daily Western Slope limit of four trout from lakes two from streams The upshot for now is that anglers are likely to find slim pickings among few but bigger trout left over from past stock- Left Fork of Blacksmith Fork is the starting point for an athletic endeavor dreamed up by Smithfield's Leland Barker A former marathoner turned trail runner Barker said about one e trail race set dozen ultra runners have signed up for a for 6 am Saturday Fran the registration and starting line about one mile south of Friendship campground in Left Fork the race course climbs Richards Hollow tracing another course called the Bear 100 From the Hollow the race will go down Ricks up Willow Creek then down Ifemple Fork and up Blind Hollow The finish is at Tony Grove Lake Baker expects the winner to complete the arduous run in less than five hours The registration fee is $35 and runners interested in taking part can sign up the morning of the race Barker said 30-mil- high-count- high-count- First Continued from Page Shaffer 11 thru-hike- again in d and completed the trail in 99 days That southbound hike begins on the hardest part of trail where the path is steepest and sftalr WookieKiptH'- -1 and cherishing the environs where they are found Nam MDM- - five-memb- er each thru-hik- He has fallen e twice during this trek first-eve- n r 'tin i Jtorturmymcrimes: oh this one” "People ask me what it is to make me go off and do something like this’’ Shaffer says “It’s the beauty” itit m" BBS t - - f!sS 4 J ' BICSCREENTV Si fr ' : ' V HITACHI CACHE DEMOCRATS hike His left shoulder often aches — a pain that has bothered Mm on tfCaS :QD9fflXMiaw tions and Storey exclaims “information on trail etiquette” Although a final grade is up to business professor Gaylen Chandler it’s a safe bet the student committee’s efforts will be well noted and endure long after summer quarter marks are posted ke resupply stops are farthest apart Fewer than 300 hikers have ever sdecefeted Hie highlights' of a'Kalf-o-f hftingMnbff Shiffiet V on a good day: watching a trio of eagles soar above Bald Mountain NC hearing whippoorwills 40 nights in a row standing atop pnKxigh-S- y anglerVbSSS ' may lie in catching and ‘releasing trout — Waqua Demuli Don Johnson and Dave Chapman In addition to marking foe individual trailheads sings also will post information on trail condi "You can look at it from so ways” he says "and it looks different every time” This thru-hiis Shaffer’s last The most he’ll do again is a day many different 1965 walking south from Maine hump and with help from restoration plans anglers in a few years will be catching mostly native cutthroats — Rio Grandes in foe south Colorado Riven in foe west and Greenbacks along the Front Range the Ed Danby wiNas tor the Rocky Mountain Maine ry ings But the high lakes will get over the aVApbpAVated beautiful Mount Katahdin in Stereo nminrniiRi ni Vote Democratic It’s OK chose to contact local bike stores to solicit contributions pay for the John Neuhald 75MM4 signs Responding positively were Sunrise Cyclery Adventure Sports Al’s and Notda’s all of Logan he said Next goal: getting the signs built That was done by Bridgerland 0232 Applied Technology Center J like New Rental Return with warranty which also contributed time and material to the project With the quarter’s end drawing to a close and the signs ready Storey and his committee along with Beveridge sought the help of the Cache Valley Diversion program Intended as a diversion d from other juvenile sentences the program 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