Fishing derby nets numerous burbot

While ice was mostly nonexistent on the Flaming Gorge, it didn't stop more than 100 dedicated anglers from catching hundreds of pounds of burbot.

"It was different, I like ice fishing more, but it's fun in a boat too," 12-year-old Jamie Sprecher said.

The rules for the Burbot Classic fishing tournament were modified to allow fishing from the shore and from boats this year in recognition of poor ice conditions throughout the Flaming Gorge. A previous tournament, the Burbot Bash, was cancelled due to deteriorating ice conditions and the death of a fisherman near Lost Dog prior to the tournament.

Dave Hanks, CEO of the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, an event sponsor, said the tournament normally brings about 600 competitors.

"This is the first year we haven't had much ice," Hanks said.

Lance Toomey, a fisherman from Rock Springs, said ice around Firehole was still strong enough to fish on during the tournament. However, he also noticed a decline in the number of burbot he caught, catching 6.12 lbs. of the fish. The amount would give him a third-place finish for individual total weight caught.

It's definitely slowing down, that first year, we caught 86 pounds," Toomey said. "Hopefully we're knocking a dent in them."

Burbot, also known as ling, are an illegally introduced fish that have had severe impacts on other aquatic species living in the gorge. Burbot are aggressive predators and have had a visible impact on the gorge's small-mouth bass and crayfish populations. Robert Keith, the regional fisheries supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish in Green River, said burbot examined by game and fish employees often have crayfish and small-mouth bass in their stomachs.

Burbot's impact on crayfish numbers specifically is a cause of concern, as other species feed off crayfish.

Fortunately for fishermen and the game and fish department, burbot are sensitive to fishing pressure placed on their populations. Keith said other locations where burbot are a natural species have had problems with overfishing negatively impacting burbot populations. Keith said he's hopeful the Flaming Gorge burbot population will be brought under control by winter fishing, but concedes that the fish is here to stay.

"We'll never get rid of them," Keith said.

The game and fish officials are still unaware of exactly how burbot established themselves in the gorge. Keith said they strongly suspect burbot were introduced to the gorge during the late 1990s, but aren't sure of who introduced the fish or where they were placed. However, Keith admits there is another possibility as to how they came to the gorge. Burbot were illegally introduced to the Big Sandy Reservoir and Fontinelle Reservoir previously and believes some of the fish could have made their way into the gorge.

While Keith said the game and fish department has heard rumors about burbot's placement in the gorge, there's no real way of finding out for sure who placed them.

The only way of dealing with burbot now, is to manage their numbers through events like the Burbot Classic and encouraging fishermen to continue harvesting them.

Burbot Classic results

Individual total weight:

1st place: Kasey Thomas -- 79.00 lbs.

2nd place: Tory Thomas -- 45.75 lbs.

3rd place: Lance Toomey -- 6.12 lbs.

4th place: Jerry Cover -- 3.60 lbs.

Team total weight:

1st place: Team Slagowski -- 242.5 lbs.

2nd place: Team Egbert -- 106.5 lbs.

3rd place: Team Wilde -- 93.00 lbs.

4th place: Team Franz -- 67.00 lbs.

Adult largest burbot:

1st place: Blake Robertson -- 8.36 lbs., 33 inches

2nd place: Luke Slagowski -- 8.10 lbs., 33.4 inches

3rd place: Tyler Asay -- 8.04 lbs., 34 inches

4th place: Kasey Thomas -- 7.71 lbs., 31.6 inches

Adult smallest burbot

1st place: Nate Beck -- 0.02 lbs., 4.5 inches

2nd place: Nate Frolic -- 0.02 lbs., 4.7 inches

3rd place: Lance Grimshaw -- 0.03 lbs., 5.6 inches

4th place: Luke Slagowski -- 0.21 lbs., 10.9 inches

Youth largest burbot

1st place: Tobia Curtis -- 2.56 lbs.

Youth smallest burbot

1st place: Tobia Curtis -- 1.40 lbs

Tagged burbot caught

Luke Slagowski -- Tag #475546

Kasey Thomas -- Tag # 4943

Team Robert Curtis -- Tag # 50