1. Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Coldwater Sportfishing Vision

2. Coldwater Vision
Establish the State of Arizona as a recognized and desirable Coldwater fishing state in the Nation, providing a wide variety of Coldwater fishing opportunities.

3. What are the Coldwater species?
All trout
Rainbow
Brown
Brook
Cutthroat
Tiger
Apache
Gila
Grayling
Cool water species (Walleye, Pike, Chub) will be included in the Warm Water Vison.

4. Who are our customers? Over 360,000 anglers fished in 2013
For over 6 million angler use days
One angler fished and avg. of 17 days
83% male
73% over the age of 45
87% white
48% from Maricopa County
69% fished for a Cold water species in 2013 (17% for Native Trout)

5. Angling Economics in Arizona
Anglers spent and est billion on fishing trips and fishing related expenditures (Not an Impact Statement)
Arizona Game and Fish Department received million+ in license sales and Sportfish restoration dollars (avg. $2.69 per Angler day fished)
Cold water angling accounts for 36% of the total Angler Use Days
Cold water Benefit to the State – $ M
Cold Water Benefit to the Department – $5.71 M

6. How are we currently doing?
86%
overall public satisfaction
83% satisfied with fishing experience
Highly Satisfied with:
Access (78%)
Consumption safety (69%)
Availability of water where you can use bait (68%)

7. Diversity of our Anglers
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8. What’s the Plan? Last revision of a Coldwater Plan-1995
Plan focused on Supply and Demand
No catch or population goals
Strategic Plans that have followed the 1995 plan have combined Coldwater and Warmwater species and have focused on opportunity, and supplying angler use days.
History: The Fish Branch has never wholly offered concrete guidance to fisheries managers. With the increasing need for watershed and individual water based management plans, it is more important than ever to provide a statewide perspective and visionary goals for the regional programs to tier management plans to. We must move as a whole unit going into the future instead of working in 6 or more parts independent.
Fisheries leadership has been reluctant to “go out on a limb” and provide clear objectives historically (fear of failure). We’d like to set out clear objectives for the Team to strive for. Some goals will be difficult to achieve with the limitaitons on our waters productivity and the mandate to stock triploid trout (among other things). But if we never set them out there, the result is certain.

9. What’s the Plan? We want to refocus on: Transparency with our anglers
Satisfaction by giving anglers a variety of what they are looking for in sizes, quantity and quality of fish.
Getting Back to the Basics of fish management.
Productivity-is the water quality and nutrients sufficient?
Forage-Is there enough food in the sizes needed?
Species -are the species there in the sizes we want? Can the water provide it?
Access-can the anglers get to the fish
Habitat-is the habitat there to grow and support the fish we want
Catch-are anglers catching what they want?
Satisfaction-Maintain or exceed 85%

10. Core goals
Identify and manage for the Coldwater Fisheries in Arizona as of the following management approaches : 1. Intensive Use 2. Basic Yield 3. Blue Ribbon 4. Quality 5. Featured Species 6. Wild Trout (Native and Non-Native) In addition: 8. Ensure impacts of Coldwater Fisheries on native aquatic wildlife are addressed and offset.
Multiple mgmt approaches can be utilized at each water. Waters may be one type for one species and another for additional sp. I.E. Intensive Use for RBT and Blue Ribbon for BNT
Current: 107 Intensive Use, 10 basic yield, 3 BR, 6 Quality, 5 featured sp., 58 Wild trout, 38 native trout
Future (from PM’s): 103 Inten use, 4 basic yield, 6 BR, 19 Quality, 6 featured sp., 39 wild trout, 49 native trout. (Based core goals on these)

11. Intensive Use
Management intent: Provide for harvest by stocking catchable fish where the demand for harvest cannot be supported by other management techniques.
Angler demand is met by regular stockings of catchable and incentive fish that are harvested at about the same size as they were when stocked. Fingerling or subcatchable fish may be stocked but are not the principal stocking strategy. This is also limited by our mandate through CAMP to stock only triploid RBT.
Prime Intensive Use waters include Woods Canyon Lake, Lower Salt River, Community Fish Program Lakes, etc.

12. Intensive use
Currently 107 – With the increase in our Community Fishing Program waters managed under this management approach will increase during the winter months

13. Basic Yield
Management intent: Utilize the natural productivity of water to grow fish without special regulation. Angler demand is met by seasonal stockings of fingerlings or subcatchables.
Although the Basic Yield fishery is not sustained by stocking catchables, the fishery may be augmented with catchables.
Management strategies for Intensive Use trout waters are focused on maximizing stocked fish return to the angler and spreading angling opportunity throughout an entire season and among anglers. Conversely, Basic Yield waters and Wild populations seek to provide angling opportunity yet ensure populations are maintained through time. Again, this is somewhat constrained by stocking triploid trout.
Basic Yield waters are: Big Lake, Cresent Lake, Pratt Lake, Long Lake (Show Low) and Carnero.

14. Basic Yield
Currently 10 – As we are dealing with lower water years and higher temperatures, there is a strong likely hood that some of the current Basic Yield waters will be converted to other management styles.

15. Blue Ribbon
Management intent: Utilize the natural productivity of water to grow trout with the use of special regulations. These fisheries may also be managed to provide the opportunity to catch large >20 inch trout.
Blue Ribbon management requires special regulations that encourage "catch-and-release" by implementing low daily bag limits, size limits and gear restrictions. Under this concept the harvest of fish is limited. Blue
Ribbon waters can be maintained through natural reproduction or by stocking, but natural reproduction is preferred. This concept can be used anywhere the resource and the angler will support this management. BR waters include Lees Ferry, Becker, East Clear Creek, Silver Creek

16. Blue Ribbon
Currently 1 – Our anglers have indicated they would rather catch few trout but larger ones. This approach ties to meeting our customers requests.
We anticipate focusing more of these waters into this approach
Potential Waters include Canero, East Clear Creek

17. Quality
Management intent: Utilize the natural productivity of water to grow fish with or without the use of special regulations. These fisheries will be managed to provide the opportunity to catch large trout through stocking or natural productivity. However, focus will be on the experience that may include sizes, quantities or uniqueness of a fishery.
Quality management may also require special regulations that encourage "catch-and-release" by implementing low daily bag limits, size limits and gear restrictions. Under this concept the harvest of fish may or may not be limited. This concept typically is used in waters that have good productivity but may be ephemeral or unable to sustain large fish or large numbers of fish consistently.
Quality waters include JD Dam, Elk tank, Middle tank, Perkins tank.

18. Quality
Currently 7 - Our anglers have indicated they would rather catch few trout but larger ones. This approach ties to meeting our customers requests.
We anticipate focusing more waters into this approach

19. Featured Species
Management intent: Provide anglers the opportunity to catch species considered to be uncommon or to have unique or unusual qualities. Featured Species are species or subspecies that would not otherwise be commonly available to the Arizona angler.
Waters managed under this concept may feature Apache trout, Arctic Grayling, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Gila Trout, Tiger Trout, rare species, or fish that demonstrate unusual characteristics worthy of unique status. These fisheries are supported by either natural reproduction or stocking. This concept will be integrated with other concepts.

20. Featured Species Currently only 5
Potential Projects Include Stocking Tiger Trout, Gila Trout, And Apache trout all for recreational opportunity.
A plan to stock “conservation” gila trout has been approved by the USFWS and will lead to future stockings of Gila Trout that purely offer angling opportunity and awareness for the sp.
Feature sp lakes are: Perkins (brook), Lee Valley (grayling), Mexican Hay (apache), Akre Lake (Apache and grayling)
Beginning in 2016 Tiger trout will be stocked in Becker Lake, Carnero Lake, Woods Canyon Lake, and Willow Springs

21. Wild Trout
Management intent: Provide anglers the opportunity to catch fish that are naturally reproduced in the wild. Wild fisheries are sustained entirely by natural reproduction and are not augmented by stocking hatchery spawned or reared fish.
Presently all Arizona wild trout waters are streams and most are in relatively pristine settings. They frequently have poor access which partially serves to limit angler density and protects the fishery from over harvest. A designation of Wild trout Management does not preclude reintroduction of trout after a catastrophic loss of the fishery.
Populations may be composed of a single species or include several species. Wild trout waters can include Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Apache and Gila Trout. Most Wild trout waters are subject to the statewide daily bag limit of 6 fish per day while others have special regulations. These fisheries will typically not have the capability to sustain larger, trophy fish to any extent.
Wild trout streams include: many small creeks in the Wt. Mtns. (Bear, Upper Black, Benny, Benton, Fishhook), Chevelon, Barbershop Canyon, East Clear Creek.

22. Wild Trout
Currently 58, includes some native

23. Wild Native Trout
Enhance, conserve, and protect native trout populations 50% of our Wild Trout waters
Apache Trout
Gila Trout
Recovery -50% of our Wild Trout waters
Two threatened species of trout in AZ. Opportunities to fish for both but first must typically create barriers, renovate and ensure isolation from other trout sp. May involve interim periods where streams must be closed to fishing.
Management intention is to recover and ultimately provide quality and BR, Quality or Wild Trout fishing opportunities for these species. Conservation Stocking for Gila trout will occur in several areas to promote opportunity and awareness of the sp.
The Department may want to designate a stream or lake “native trout” just for awareness and promotion.

24. Apache Trout Recovery Needs
Currently 30 recovery streams for both Apache and Gila

25. Gila Trout Recovery 2 Recovery Units San Francisco Recovery Unit
Mixed Lineage Recovery Unit
15 Populations in AZ and NM
Occupy 80 km of stream
Two Recovery units in Arizona:
San Francisco-Blue River tributaries: 8 streams total approximately 40 km of streams
Mixed Lineage-Tributaries to Eagle, Verde, Agua Fria rivers, and Tonto Creek: 4 populations and 40 km of stream
4 populations in AZ
Occupy 40 km of stream

26. Getting Back to the Basics
Establish water specific management plans
Ensure fisheries managers understand and can reasonably predict and focus on the management of:
Productivity
Forage
Habitat
Species composition
Access
Angling success
Productivity – The ability to maximize nutrients within the constrains of nutrient availability. Ie managing for different levels of nutrients within waters without sacrificing water quality
Forage – Manage a food base to meet species growth and condition to satisfy angler demand
Habitat – Establishing habitat to increase catch rates
Species Composition – Managing for specific species and managing against nontarget and invasive species
Access – Ensure access is sufficient to meet angler demand
Angling Success – Address concerns to meet an 85% satisfaction rate on all waters

27. Public Outreach Campaign
Arizona Trout Challenge-developed to encourage angers to learn more about fishing opportunities.
Two ways to complete the challenge:
Catch all five species of wild trout that include Apache, Brook, Brown, Gila and Rainbow.
Catch six of the eight total species of trout (including hatchery raised) including Apache, Brook Brown, Cutthroat, Gila, Grayling, Rainbow and Tiger Trout.
Lists of waters are available on our web-site.
Rules for the Challenge
Anglers must submit a completed application with species, location caught, and date caught.
Anglers must submit photographs of each species caught.
Fish must be caught legally in Arizona waters.
Anglers will only be eligible to complete each Challenge once. After completing one Challenge, in order to be eligible for the second Challenge, all fish submitted must be from different waters.
Waters not listed for a given species will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The program committee reserves the right to accept or deny any application

28. Offsetting our impacts
Conservation and Mitigation Program: Developed in 2011 to reduce and offset impacts of the sport fish stocking program through implementation of the CAMP over a 10-year period. The intent of CAMP is to not only offset impacts of stocking, but to contribute to the recovery and conservation of CAMP species.

29. Offsetting our impacts
CONSERVATION AND MITIGATION PROGRAM
Developed to reduce and offset impacts of the sport fish stocking program through implementation of the CAMP over a 10-year period. The intent of CAMP is to not only offset impacts of stocking, but to contribute to the recovery and conservation of CAMP species.
If we fail to implement native trout and CAMP, management for the other waters will be taken away.

30. Timeline for Coldwater Vision
Finalize proposed water specific delineations with the Regional Fisheries Program Managers – February 2016
Begin Angler Roundtables throughout Arizona – February through May 2016
Finalize delineations – May 2016
Final Plan – July 2016