Book Review

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Cast_and_Blast
Cast_and_Blast's picture
Book Review
<p>I would highly recommend the following book, &quot;An Entirely Synthetic Fish&quot; to anyone interested in the history of fish management practices used in America from the beginning of the US Fish Commission to today.&nbsp; It amazes me how management practices have changed over the years from planting stocker Rainbows everywhere to practices of removing Rainbows.&nbsp; The ramifications of early management practices are clearly laid out in this great read.&nbsp; Some early practices will&nbsp;surprise and disgust&nbsp;as you read about rotenone poisoning of native fishes&nbsp;or&nbsp;the hybridization that occured&nbsp;between Rainbows and Cutthroats that&nbsp;have almost entirely lost a pure&nbsp;strain of Westslopes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Excellent Read!!!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc281/mjchanning/shovelnose/IMG_zpse78c8c32.jpg" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>
the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
One of the saddest days I

One of the saddest days I have ever experienced as an angler was in August 1992.  I was hiking near l’Âlpe d’Huez, France with some friends and friends of friends.  We stopped by a beautiful natural lake a couple of miles from town, a couple miles up in the Alps.  That location should hold brown trout, Mediterranean trout, and the Alpine char (a subspecies of Arctic char that I suspect will eventually be spun off to its own species).  We spoke to a guy who was fishing there, and hung around a few minutes.  He caught a fish.  It was a 9-inch rainbow trout.  That was the day I swore off rainbows entirely (and I hadn't even caught one before).  I've still only caught 10 of that species in 31 years of fishing, because I mostly avoid areas where they are stocked.  I just really get aggravated when I think about how they've been propagated everywhere by narrow-minded humans at the expense of much more interesting native species.

 

 

 

Let there be fire!

TonyS
TonyS's picture
I've been meaning to get this

I've been meaning to get this book - I remember hearing an interview some time ago with the author that was very interesting.

 

Nice book review!  Too bad that people have screwed up so many places trying to spread the Rainbow Trout everywhere

Cast_and_Blast
Cast_and_Blast's picture
I was amazed to find out that

I was amazed to find out that the non-native Rainbow was the state fish for Colorado and Utah at one time.  Also, 2 out of 3 fish in Colorado were non-native species at one time.  I was also amazed to find out how Trout Unlimited were actually some of the first proponents to the native fish push, at least they had the political clout to sway public policy.  I just can't say enough about this book.  I learned a lot.

TonyS
TonyS's picture
I bet the fish populations in

I bet the fish populations in Colorado are still almost 2/3rds non-native.  Some waters in Colorado to this day are still 75%-90% non-native fish.  Only a small minority of waterways in the state are native-dominated.

 

TU has made some progress, seems like they realized the value of different trout species a while ago.  They have seen the damage that Rainbows, Browns, Lakers, and Brookies can cause outside their native range - they can virtually elimnate native trouts (and other fish).

Gunnar
Gunnar's picture
Synthetic Fish author interview (podcast)

Two podcasts relevant to this topic.

The Itinerant Angler, Season Eight, Episode Two: An Entirely Synthetic Fish with Anders Halverson
Dr. Anders Halverson is the author of the new book, "An Entirely Synthetic Fish," which is a killer read about the rise and mass promulgation of the rainbow trout worldwide. How did a fish we put so much value on come to be so widespread, and does it really deserve the credit we give it?

http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/2012/10/podcast_an_entirely_synthetic_.html

 

The Itinerant Angler Podcast: Season Two, Episode Thirteen: A Life of Trout with Dr. Roberrt Behnke

Dr. Robert Behnke is one of the (and maybe just the) world's foremost authorities on trout and salmon species. Listen to his down-to-earth explanations of the creation of cutthroat trout, the salvation of the Greenback and Lahontan cutthroat subspecies, and a little fish called onchonychus clarki behnkeii.

http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/2007/05/the_itinerant_angler_podcast_s_10.html

 

In the archive there's an episode with Joe Tomelleri, who tells some stories about traveling to remote places to find pure native trout.

 

I think the over-emphasis on rainbows, and the resulting homogeneity and boredom, is one of the factors that pushed me to the margins of fishing, where I found this site and joined the roughfishing religion.

 

Redhorse ID cheatsheets, gars, suckers: moxostoma.com


2020: 10 days fishing 11 species 0 lifers. 2019: 34/45/13 2018: 39/40/5

Eli
Eli's picture
I've heard about this book

I've heard about this book but didn't know what to make of it. Going to add it to the 'to read' stack.

Eli

 

 

johnny
johnny's picture
I found this book at half

I found this book at half price books about a week ago after reading this post and have read most of it.  It birngs in interesting perspective.  I never thought the impacts on the biodiversity of introducing any fish-- let alone bows, into lakes that previously had no fish in them at all.  Coming from an angler's perspective I can see why they wanted to do it, but at the same time it seems to ruin the natural balance of how nature has had it, way before human intervention.

At the same time there are other species (not even fish), like the ring necked pheasant, that were introduced from China.  How many times do you hear of people complain about them (besides farmers after planting a fresh crop)?  Not many I bet.  You could arguably say they were introduced for also the soul purpose of sport  as well.  Granted I don't see it on the same scale as the bows.

I guess my point is if you are going to complain about propagating non-native species (be it fish or whatever have you), to some degree it is hypocritical to single out just one.

 

Just your run of the mill Orvis Boy.  Fly fishing elitist.  I cannot hear you over my false casting.  All guided trips every day.

Fishing for compliments since 88.
 

TonyS
TonyS's picture
I guess my point is if you

I guess my point is if you are going to complain about propagating non-native species (be it fish or whatever have you), to some degree it is hypocritical to single out just one.
 

Agreed.  Which is why I go out of my way to complain about all introduced species and never hestitate to harvest them (within legalities).

 

I do like that Bubbajoe coined the phrase Lake Superior AIS (aquatic invasive species) Slam, catching Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Rainbow trout, and Brown Trout

Cast_and_Blast
Cast_and_Blast's picture
Hypocrite seems to be a very

Hypocrite seems to be a very strong word to say.  However, I can't think of any negative impacts from the pheasant unless they had something to do with the disappearance of Prairie Chickens which I doubt. 

TonyS
TonyS's picture
Yeah not sure if Pheasants

Yeah not sure if Pheasants have had much negative impact or not.  I mostly point out non-native animals for the sake of remembering that they are.  Lots of people honestly don't know that Pheasants, Brown Trout, and whole wack of other species have been spread far outside their range. 

 

 Speaking on WI/MN because that is what I know best.  One thing to remember is that changes to the landscape have been arguabily even greater than than the changes to the water.  Not too many places left in the upper midwest where you can see vast oak savanhas and prairies anymore (or bison and prairie chicken).  You no longer see Elk in the driftless region or Caribou in MN's arrowhead region.  Sharp declines in Moose too.  Deer, Turkeys, and Coyotes are everywhere but once were rare to nonexistant.  That doesn't even get into the subjects of non-native invertibrates, small vertibrates and plants...