Preferred Management Optioni 



Management options considered included current management for both rainbow and lake trout, 

 management for lake trout only, management for trophy lake trout, increased rainbow trout plants, 

 kokanee plants, yellow perch enhancement, or introducing lake trout prey. There were 84 

 comments on McGregor Lake. 



Under the preferred management option, McGregor Lake would be managed as a lake 

 trout/rainbow trout fishery. Through monitoring and adaptive management, lake trout regulations 

 might be altered to promote larger fish. This might include slot limits and/or liberalization of take 

 of smaller lake trout. Rainbow trout would be stocked with emphasis on multiple planting sites 

 to decrease predation by lake trout. Interested anglers would be recruited to assist by making mid- 

 lake boat plants. Rainbow trout stocking would be monitored and might be modified if current 

 stocking prove to be fruitiess. 



LUTLE MCGREGOR LAKE 

 Lake Description! 



Litde McGregor Lake is a medium-sized lake north of McGr^or Lake that connects to McGregor 

 Lake through an intermittent unnamed creek. The maximum depth of Little McGregor Lake is 

 33 feet, mean depth is 13 feet and it has a surface area of 33 acres (Figure 3). Between March 

 1, 1993 and February 28, 1994, FWP estimated that as many as 1,212 anglers, of which 100 

 percent were Montana residents, fished at Littie McGregor Lake (Montana Statewide Angling 

 Pressure Report). 



Ijike Management Status! 



Management of Littie McGregor Lake commenced in 1938 when 7,000 cutthroat trout were 

 planted. In 1961, the lake was poisoned to remove a well-established population of illegally 

 stocked black bullheads. With the exception of an unsuccessful bull trout plant in 1945, Littie 

 McGregor Lake was maintained as a brook trout fishery until 1985 (Table 3). In the mid-1980's, 

 the angling public expressed a desire for more angling opportunities in the region. Because brook 

 trout fishing can be slow during sununer months, FWP planted cutthroat trout in Littie McGregor 

 Lake to create a "two-tiered" fishery. The experiment met with good success and the two-tiered 

 management continued. Since 1988, the cutthroat trout have been replaced with rainbow trout to 

 better compete with the other species illegally transplanted into the lake. 



Littie McGregor Lake was surveyed with gill nets in 1992. We found that sometime between 

 1983 and 1992, yellow perch and largemouth bass were illegally introduced into Littie McGregor 

 Lake. Yellow perch are now well established while largemouth bass are in low numbers in the 

 lake. Relative numbers of rainbow/cutthroat trout are still good (9. 1 per net) and their condition 



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