DeWayne Smith

Fishing for roundtail chubs at Fossil Creek in northern Arizona

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[Source: DeWayne Smith, Special for the Arizona Republic] — How many Verde trout have you caught lately?  No, we’re not talking about rainbow trout in the Verde River that drains into Horseshoe and Bartlett lakes in central Arizona.  We’re talking about the roundtail chub (taxonomically known as Gila robusta and more informally as the Verde trout) that can be found in perennial streams and rivers throughout the state, including the Verde River where there is a somewhat formidable population.  Yes, they are legal to catch and currently the limit is one fish measuring 13 inches or longer.

Roundtails are also found in Fossil Creek, the recently returned-to-nature stream that flows out from under the Mogollon Rim southwest of Strawberry.  And if the Arizona Game and Fish Department has its way, a stretch of the creek will become the state’s latest put and take fishery that will only be available to anglers during winter months.  That is one of seven proposals Kirk Young, state fisheries chief, is talking around during a series of public meetings prior to a formal proposal before the Arizona Game and Fish Commission in October.  “Since the reclamation of the stream, parts of it have a lot of roundtails in it and the fish are not fully established in other parts,” said Young of the chub which can get as large as 3 pounds.  [Note: to read the full article, click here.]

Arizona State Parks loses its improvement funding

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[Source: DeWayne Smith, Arizona Republic] — Although the Game and Fish Department was hit quite hard in the recent fund sweeps to balance the state’s budget, Arizona State Parks, which administers the State Lake Improvement Fund, found its coffers empty, thanks to the Arizona Legislature.

According to State Parks Director Ken Travous, the Arizona State Parks Board had to cancel all of its improvement-fund grants for this year, about $4 million.  “The Legislature swept everything except but what we need to operate,” said Travous, whose agency is a favorite place for legislators to find extra dollars to bolster general-fund agencies when times are lean.  [Note: to read the full article, click here.]

Arizona Legislature dips into Game and Fish Dept.’s funds

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[Source: DeWayne Smith, Arizona Republic] — Larry Voyles, Director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, likens the recent “sweep” of dedicated funds from his agency by the Arizona Legislature to balance the state’s massive budget to going unarmed into a knife fight.

“If you are not willing to get cut, you will be killed,” said Voyles.  “So, you want to take the cut on the outside of the forearm where there is no critical vein and bone is hit pretty quick, but not to the brain, liver or the heart.”  Voyles pointed out that Game and Fish didn’t want to lose anything, but the situation being what it was, “The main thing was to protect funds that are eligible to be used for matching federal excise taxes,” the heart of the wildlife agency’s budget.  [Note: to read the full article, click here.]