SUCCESSFUL Reclamation of Diamond Lake. A Look Back CHAPTER 1

A day on the water is always a good day especially when spent with a bunch of friends and family. This November marks the end of the High Cascade fishing season for 2007. From this time through April of next year the lakes of that region will lay quietly at rest, or do they? This November also marks the time of a successful reclaimed season to one of our favorite Douglas County Family Fishing destinations, Diamond Lake.

Just over one year ago all or most of us new about the restoration project going on at Diamond Lake. The projects goal was to eradicate the Tui Chub and re-stock the lake with rainbow trout plus the micro organisms they feed on. All pieces in place the plan and restocking program went very well. Anglers from all over traveled the Diamond Lake to partake in their favorite pass time throughout the 2007 season.

Because the fishing season is over doesn't mean the lake has gone dormant. Those fish that survived this season will continue to forage throughout the winter growing and growing on small fresh water shrimp and other tasty morsels.

By next spring those fish will be there providing smiles to each and every angler that tries his luck on Diamond Lake, provided some other uneducated angler doesn't bring back the CHUB!

This series of articles are being written to honor all the persons, agencies, and contracted labor for a job well done. Also to educate we the people why we have laws in place that prohibits us from transporting fish from one body of water to another.

A brief look at the history of Diamond Lake: After visiting with ODFW officials in Roseburg they shared information that Diamond Lake was originally stocked with Rainbow Trout in 1910. The lake became a fantastic fishery till about 1940 when Tui Chub first appeared. On going unsuccessful treatments to get rid of the chub were on going till 1954. That was when a rotenone treatment was deployed followed by a restocking of fry and fingerlings (young trout) in 1955.

After allowing the fish to grow foe a year the lake was reopened to angling in 1956. Diamond Lake again became an awesome fishery till the late 1980s.

Tui Chub, a strain native to the Klamath Basin, were more than likely brought in by live bait fisherman. How ever this is only an assumption. It's believed that these live bait fisherman thought they were doing the right thing by feeding their remaining live minnows to the trout the survivors of this illegal method of fishing went on to reproduce at such an exponential rate that devastated the environmental quality of Diamond Lake for the following 20 plus years.

In our next chapter we will take a look at that were tried. Plus a much closer look as to why such a small fish had such a negative impact on Diamond Lake.