It’s big, hungry, it doesn’t belong and it’s out of control. It’s the burbot.

It’s also delicious, burbot’s often called “the poor man’s lobster,” and that’s why Ryan Mosley, with the Utah Division of Natural Resources hope anglers will help them take the burbot population down a notch during the upcoming Burbot Bash.

The Bash, set for Jan. 25 - 28, is a chance for anglers to go after the burbot, an invasive species that is wreaking havoc on native fish populations in the Flaming Gorge reservoir. Cash prizes are up for grabs for different categories.

Anyone who catches a tagged fish will be up for a cash prize also, Mosley said.

Last Wednesday, Mosley and counterparts from Wyoming Game and Fish and Trout Unlimited, went ice fishing far back in the Wyoming portion of the lake. The wildlife officials were catching and tagging burbot, then releasing the fish back into the lake in advance of the Burbot Bash.

Any burbot caught that night were implanted with a tiny microchip, encoded with specific information that can be read by a scanner.

The hope is that people will catch a tagged burbot, providing Utah and Wyoming wildlife officials with valuable information about the burbot population’s size, travel habits and density, said Matt McKell, a biologist with the Utah DNR. McKell said that should help officials determine the burbot’s strength and survival rate.

Last year, crews tagged more than 500 burbot. During the bash, fishers caught 4,022 burbot. Sixty of those had been previously tagged, Mosley said. Mosley said that crews estimate Flaming Gore holds a population of about 289,000 of the invasive fish.

“That is a whole lot of burbot,” he said.

Burbot are a problem in Flaming Gorge because the illegally-introduced fish eat native fish and their eggs, and also because they out-compete the native fish for prey, McKell said.

But there is hope, Mosley said. Studies have shown that one of the biggest detriments to burbot population is fishing activity. Utah already has a policy that forbids caught burbot from being returned to the lake. But with the cash bounty provided for in the burbot bash — especially for tagged fish — anglers will have even more of an incentive to go after the fish.

Mosley said the bash is also a good chance to expose people to ice fishing on Flaming Gorge, educate the public on the threat posed by burbot, why they need to be removed from the lake and also just how tasty the fish are.

Burbot are most active at night and in cold weather. That’s why the wildlife crews were ice fishing at night deep in a secluded cove of Flaming Gorge. Anglers have the best luck after dark on the ice.

Miles Hamberg, with the Utah DNR, said burbot like to feed on rocky areas near shorelines and other areas where crayfish, their favored prey, gather. Anglers will have good luck with glow-in-the-dark baits, grubs, or sucker chub meat.

“My advice to fishers is to dress warm and bring lights to see the holes you’re fishing in,” Hamberg said.

Past burbot bashes have seen huge numbers of the pest fish pulled from Flaming Gorge.

They’ve also seen large crowds come out for a good time, good food and the chance to win cash prizes. It’s a win-win for local economies as their economy is given a shot in the arm from the extra crowds, for the state wildlife officials seeking to ward off a burbot population boom, and for fishers who can win cash and get a few tasty meals out of the deal.

All that will hopefully lead to increased fishing pressure on the burbot, and hopefully restore the natural balance of Flaming Gorge, Mosley said.