Patrick,
I believe that's the WDFW's hope; that the triploids, with their longer
lifespan due to not having to breed, will grow to larger sizes and remain in
better condition. I know that some of the triploids planted in Lenice last
year were pretty large, but by last fall we were catching plenty of
fourteen- to sixteen-inch fish which I assume were the smaller triploids of
that spring's plant. These same (I assume) fish are the dynamite
eighteen-inchers we've been catching this spring. These fish are uniformly
fat, chrome-bright and, when hooked, seem to want to spend almost as much
time in the air as in the water. As to their growth rates in Chopaka, I
wouldn't hazard a guess. It's higher and colder than Lenice, but certainly
has plenty of feed. I don't think the Callibaetis hatches of Lenice can hold
a candle to those of Chopaka and Chopaka's damselfly hatches are certainly
as good if not better. Two years ago I had a long (and somewhat boozy)
conversation with an old-timer who claimed to have been fishing Chopaka
since the 'fifties, and he maintained that eight-pounders were, if not
common, at least not unheard of in those days. I'll be going up there for
four or five days around the Memorial Day weekend and am looking forward to
whatever the lake has to offer. In my years of fly fishing there have been
few experiences that can match a full-on Callibaetis hatch at Chopaka.
Preston
