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Baker Lake fisheries staff propose targeted perch transfers pending disease and invasive-species testing
Summary
County fisheries staff told Fallon County commissioners that a rapidly growing yellow-perch population at Baker Lake may justify removing a few hundred adult perch to other waters; transfers would require aquatic invasive species and pathogen testing and are likely to wait until results return in fall or next spring.
Mike, a fisheries staff member who briefed the Fallon County commissioners, described a growing yellow-perch population at Baker Lake and a proposal to remove a few hundred adult perch to other waters to reduce competition with walleye. "It wouldn't hurt to take a few 100 out," Mike said, adding that the move could improve fishing opportunity for larger predator fish.
The commission heard that staff prefer two windows for any transfer: late fall (September–November) before freeze-up, or next spring (March–April) to coincide with pre‑spawn timing. Mike said the preferred approach is to move adults pre‑spawn so they spawn after being transferred: "We generally like to do it in the spring pre‑spawn," he said.
The fisheries presentation emphasized biosecurity. Any transfer would require two layers of testing before fish are moved: an aquatic invasive‑species screening of source waters (run by Helena staff) and pathogen testing on a sample of fish (60 fish to be collected and necropsied). Mike said those tests are already queued and that the earliest realistic timeline for results is mid to late September, while a more conservative schedule would defer action until spring. "We've gotta do a kind of a panel of aquatic invasive species screening," he said, describing the required screening and lab process.
Commissioners asked about public reaction and communications. Staff said they would notify the community in advance because seeing nets or boats removing fish could trigger calls and concerns. Mike noted that transfers are a standard management tool but acknowledged the need for transparency: "Before a member of the public sees some nets out there and hears or sees us loading up fish and taking them away," he said, "that instantly can create phone calls."
Next steps: county fisheries staff will proceed with the planned sampling and testing, report results back to commissioners, and return with a transfer schedule only if tests clear the water and fish for aquatic invasive species and pathogens. No transfer was authorized at the meeting.
