The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has not verified the presence of whirling disease at Strawberry Reservoir. We provide samples to our Fisheries Experiment Station in Logan on a yearly basis for disease testing, and fortunately we have been negative for whirling disease at Strawberry. Many people have turned in fish that they believe have this disease, and these samples also have turned out to be negative. Many think that a deformity in the spine is a sure indication of whirling disease, and yet in most cases it is not. Fish will often have spinal deformities caused by numerous other problems, such as injuries from being handled in the hatcheries, injuries from being caught and released, and from a variety of other less serious diseases.
Fish are very resilient, and can survive very well after having a serious spinal problem.
We have been very fortunate thus far at Strawberry Reservoir, and we can only hope that whirling disease stays out of the system. It is very important that we continue to spread the word to fellow anglers about how whirling disease is spread, and how to prevent to from becoming an issue at Strawberry. Making sure that fishing gear is cleaned thoroughly after being used in an infected area is a must by all anglers to prevent the spread of whirling disease. Please spread the word, not the disease. If your club or organization would like to place an announcement here, please click on the mailbox at the bottom of the left panel.