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Caddis
07-11-2009, 08:52 PM
I was just up on top of Fairview and was talking to some kid (early twenties) who said that Electric Lake has Whirling disease, and that they are going to kill it out. Can anyone confirm this?
That a shame if it is true!

LOAH
07-11-2009, 09:05 PM
I don't know about killing it off, but whirling disease has been detected and known of for several years.

As if that weren't enough, they've found zebra mussels in there now, as well. Those are nearly impossible to get rid of.

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with a CO about it and she didn't give me any reason to think that it will be poisoned.

I'm not really sure that's even possible, considering the HUGE underwater spring on the north end and the other smaller ones throughout. The poison works by depriving the water of oxygen and the springs would counteract that in the vicinity of those.

Short of draining it and scrubbing out the entire basin, I think the WD is there to stay.

The rainbows are the most susceptible to it, but cutts are known to also contract it. I've even seen a twisted cuttie out of there. The tigers that they've been stocking will be more resistant to it and if they were to stock browns, they would also do alright.

It's just sad because the cutts in there are a wild, naturally reproducing population of the Yellowstone subspecies, which are not being stocked here anymore. The DWR is trying to only stock native strains nowadays.

I pay close attention to E-Lake, as it's one of my favs in that region.