Blue Ribbon fisheries

A Blue Ribbon fishery is a designation made by government and other authorities to identify recreational fisheries of extremely high quality. Official "Blue Ribbon" status is generally based on a set of established criteria which typically addresses the following elements:

* "Water quality and quantity": A body of water, warm or cold, flowing or flat, will be considered for Blue Ribbon status if it has sufficient water quality and quantity to sustain a viable fishery.

* "Water accessibility": The water must be accessible to the public.

* "Natural reproduction capacity": The body of water should possess a natural capacity to produce and maintain a sustainable recreational fishery. There must be management strategies that will consistently produce fish of significant size and/or numbers to provide a quality angling experience.
* "Angling pressure": The water must be able to withstand angling pressure.

* "Specific species": Selection may be based on a specific species.

Criteria as used by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources [ [http://wildlife.utah.gov/blueribbon/good_idea.php Utah Blue Ribbon Fisheries] ] . Specific criteria may vary by state.

Many quality recreational fisheries are informerly referred to as "Blue Ribbon" by government agencies, tourist, media, environmental, sportsman organizations and writers, but are not officially designated as such by established criteria.

tates with official Blue Ribbon fishery designations

* Michigan [ [http://www.trailstotrout.com/blueribbon.html Michigan's Blue Ribbon Trout Streams] ]
* Montana [ [http://fwp.mt.gov/FwpPaperApps/fishing/class1and2.pdf MFWP Stream Fishery Classification] ]
* Utah [ [http://wildlife.utah.gov/blueribbon/map.pdf Map of Utah's Blue Ribbon Fisheries] ]
* Wisconsin - Classified as Class I trout streams [ [http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/species/trout/wisconsintroutstreams.pdf Wisconsin Trout Streams] ]

Books on Blue Ribbon Fisheries

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Notes