This study is evaluating trout movement, migration, and habitat use in the lower Henry’s Fork. Little to no scientific information has been collected about the trout populations in this part of the Henry’s Fork that is altered by diversion dams and irrigation canals. This multi-year effort seeks to understand the factors that govern trout distribution and abundance in this part of the river.
On the 10th and 15th of October 2008, the Henry’s Fork Foundation, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game captured 23 adult brown trout by electrofishing from a drift boat. Fish were collected from the base of the Chester dam downstream 5.3 kilometers (about 3 miles) to the Fun Farm backwaters. Radio transmitters (tags) were then implanted into the abdominal cavities of captured fish during a short surgery and then the fish were released. Radio transmitters have a life span of about one year. An antenna is visible outside the fish, extending from behind the pelvic fins to the tail. Radio-tagged fish range in size from 14 to 24”. Fish will be tracked every four days through the completion of their spawning, likely October through December. During the summer and non-spawning times, fish movements will be tracked less frequently.
At completion of the study in 2009, the movements, migrations and spawning characteristics of the radio-tagged brown trout and the previously radio-tagged rainbow trout will be analyzed. This is the first data of its kind in this dammed and diverted stretch of the Henrys Fork.
This project is being funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Mr. Robert Bardin and sponsors such as yourself. Thank you to all those who sponsored radio-tagged trout. To view your fish and its stats, please scroll down to the table below and click on "Tagging Locations." To view the movement of your fish and the other fish in the study, click on the dates given. To view the implantation of a radio tag into a sponsored fish, please click on the video below.
You must have Google Earth to view the map locations.
If you do not have Google Earth installed on your computer, you can download it FREE.
After you have downloaded Google Earth, click on Location below. When prompted with popup, click "OPEN" to see that location date on the map.
