Trout stocking in Ohio

[TheCream]

This is something I have been pondering for a little while. A lot of lakes in Ohio have been getting stocked with trout recently, and from what I have seen, the lakes get rainbows only. Obviously trout in Ohio, much as they are stocked everywhere, is a "put and take" fishery. The DNR stocks them, anglers catch them, and eat them. I'm curious why at least some browns are not stocked? Or maybe other lakes I do not fish do get brown trout stocked? With their higher temperature tolerances, I could see some browns making it to being holdover fish and surviving in Ohio's lakes. Is this not done out of fear that browns could thrive and compete too much for food with naturally occuring species? Are browns in some way more expensive for a hatchery to raise? :confused:

If you're going to stock trout, why not stock some trout that have a better chance of surviving if not caught?

[uglykat26]

there hav been some browns stocked, but not in any lakes that i know of, clearfork river gets stocked every couple years

[TheCream]

there hav been some browns stocked, but not in any lakes that i know of, clearfork river gets stocked every couple years

I think Clear Creek in Hocking County gets browns, too. I'm just curious if there is any particular reason why the lakes do not.

[bill dowler]

im not sure why they dont, but i do know that fish do hold over in the lakes......u can go to dow or wolf run in july and september and still catch fish......they r usually in the deepest water, but suspended in about 20 to 25 feet of water.......:whistle:

[bilge]

From what I understand its a lack of funding. There is no trout stamp here in Ohio so there is no extra money for stocking. To me a 15 dollar a year investment in developing a trout fishery doesn't seem like a waste or too much money think about how much you spend a year on bait lures fly gear all that stuff. A lot say no one wants to pay cause there is little access to a lot of the rivers, but that gives the fish a sanctuary, a place to relax eat get big and spawn and then you have more fish that eventually move up and down the river to all the access points. Brownies are tough fish and I've seen them thrive in waters you wouldn't think a trout could live. Its a matter of money I guess but 15 bucks a year seems like a good insurance policy to keep trout and steelhead stocking going, what if for some reason the state decides to cut back funds for the steelhead up north? A trout stamp would be an insurance policy to keep that from happening and provide the funds to create a larger scale trout fishery, we pay for it its ours but I guess it wont fly, I know you were talking more about lakes but there a plenty of rivers around here that could most certainly sustain a good population of browns.

[TheCream]

From what I understand its a lack of funding. There is no trout stamp here in Ohio so there is no extra money for stocking. To me a 15 dollar a year investment in developing a trout fishery doesn't seem like a waste or too much money think about how much you spend a year on bait lures fly gear all that stuff. A lot say no one wants to pay cause there is little access to a lot of the rivers, but that gives the fish a sanctuary, a place to relax eat get big and spawn and then you have more fish that eventually move up and down the river to all the access points. Brownies are tough fish and I've seen them thrive in waters you wouldn't think a trout could live. Its a matter of money I guess but 15 bucks a year seems like a good insurance policy to keep trout and steelhead stocking going, what if for some reason the state decides to cut back funds for the steelhead up north? A trout stamp would be an insurance policy to keep that from happening and provide the funds to create a larger scale trout fishery, we pay for it its ours but I guess it wont fly, I know you were talking more about lakes but there a plenty of rivers around here that could most certainly sustain a good population of browns.

I do agree that a trout stamp, if it would help the DNR with it's stocking programs, could be beneficial and I would support it.

But as for money and stocking lakes with their current system, would it cost more to raise browns vs. rainbows? I'm just envisioning that if they stocked 3000 browns, or at least a mix of browns and rainbows, instead of all rainbows, there would be a better chance for holdover fish and a potential reproducing population. In my humble opinion, the current system is more wasteful in that if fish are not caught, they might not be able to tolerate lake temperatures and survive. Maybe some do survive in deeper water, but chances would be greater with browns vs. rainbows. It makes little sense to me to stock a fish that, if it doesn't make it to a dinner plate, stands little chance of survival where stocked. :confused:

[Lance]

I never really gave the much thought to adding browns to some of the lakes, that's an intersting idea.

I'd be all for a trout stamp as well but as far as boosting the stream trout fishery goes money is only a partial factor. Where it really comes into play is that due to marginal funds the state won't get caught in the game PA plays with stocking trout in waters that have zero chance of summer holdovers. The want fisheries that will sustain a trout all year long if it's not caught and kept. I mentioned Apple Creek down in Wooster in another thread. It's actually neat the top of their list in stream that have the "potential" to support trout year round. Right now it's being stocked by TU and Wooster parks dept. The state doesn't seem real anxious to jump in unless the private party stockings prove to be successful at getting holdover fish for several years.

I don't mean to rain on the parade but most of our streams are just too warm in the summer. Supposedly they stocked Little Beaver Creek with browns years ago but nothing took hold long term. Now you can't eat fish out of it anyway so I doubt they'd ever try it again. That and the idea of an intentional C+R area or any kind of special regs seems very contrary to the ODNR thinking.

The east branch of the rocky gets stocked with catchable rainbows in the spring by the Metro parks but I'm guessing they get fleeced out of there pretty quickly. It's a pretty small stream.

We've got a new local TU chapter in Akron now that's trying to cover the Akron, Canton and youngstown area. We have been talking about speakers for next fall and the ODNR was one of those that we mentioned having speak for us. I'm going to see if I can't get a hold of the report for coldwater fisheries evaluation.

[bilge]

Really I'll have to look it up on the tu site. How warm do the majority of these streams get? The Musky in NJ never really gets over 75 during summer and it supports wild brookies and browns, its more of a freestone style river but its fed by cold springs closer to the Deleware basin. I know I mentioned the Manasquan in another thread but I swear by it look it up man, hold over bows and browns with a searun population! What about the streach of the Cuyahoga from the cascade to gorge parks? I walked it not too long ago and noticed quite a few springs feeding into it as well as deep sections, I caught squat. It was fast and high and in my daydreaming I realized I walked too far into the gorge and had to scale a steep clay cliff to get back on the highbridge trail, I see the bank erosin you guys had mentioned and it looks like a tough wade too. Anyhow what I'm saying though is with continual efforts the fish adapt and find how to hold over, the Peaquest is a stream fed by warm springs and had a hold over population due to stockings going on well into June and when the trucks come on a monday the entire river is closed till 8 pm and no fishing after dark. You cant just dump a few thousand in the spring and expect that to last very long so all through spring there were designated days for stocking where no fishing was allowed. Its got to work both ways on our part and the states along with help from TU and other organizations.

[RRmike]

I raised the question with the aquatic biologist of the Cleveland MetroParks, Mike Durkalec. He is involved in a lot of the stocking programs they do. Of course, he can only speak for the Cleveland MetroParks, not the DNR. However, the reasoning would probably apply there, too. His response was as follows:

I would love stock more brown trout and am, in fact, trying to do so. The main issues are as follows:

- browns are much harder to raise in hatcheries
- browns are therefore much more expensive
- very few hatcheries have browns available in this region

Regardless, I’m still looking into ways to expand our fishery w/more browns, as many anglers are interested in this species. I’ll be sure to make information available if and when that progresses.

Thanks,
Mike

[TheCream]

I raised the question with the aquatic biologist of the Cleveland MetroParks, Mike Durkalec. He is involved in a lot of the stocking programs they do. Of course, he can only speak for the Cleveland MetroParks, not the DNR. However, the reasoning would probably apply there, too. His response was as follows:

I would love stock more brown trout and am, in fact, trying to do so. The main issues are as follows:

-browns are much harder to raise in hatcheries
-browns are therefore much more expensive
-very few hatcheries have browns available in this region

Regardless, I’m still looking into ways to expand our fishery w/more browns, as many anglers are interested in this species. I’ll be sure to make information available if and when that progresses.

Thanks,
Mike



Thanks for the post. I was honestly not sure how different species varied in terms of price to raise them, so that's good to know. The streams I fish in WV that are stocked seem to get a good mix. Browns, rainbows, brookies, and even some tiger trout now (yet to see one caught).

[coonskinner]

i doubt they want them in competetion or taking over native fish and maybe causing the native fishes decline...fish that are able to survive with little or no help from the department...don't mess with mother nature in other words...put a fish in that can't survive...be nice if that was true of the invaders in erie huh...:mischeif:

[TheCream]

i doubt they want them in competetion or taking over native fish and maybe causing the native fishes decline...fish that are able to survive with little or no help from the department...don't mess with mother nature in other words...put a fish in that can't survive...be nice if that was true of the invaders in erie huh...:mischeif:

That's sort of my point, coonie. Stocking these fish has to cost a lot of money, no matter is they are browns or rainbows or brookies. Yes, it provides a different fish for folks to catch, but if even the ones who avoid the hooks and skillet are going to die, it seems like a lot of waste...wasted money, wasted trout. I'm sure browns could compete viciously with anything in these lakes, but (I'm no expert) I can't imagine them pushing native species out.

If it is to promote interest in fishing in general, what's wrongwith promoting the native game fish? Crappies are easy to catch and great to eat, too...and I caught 18 at Strouds on my flyrod last night. :D They're not exactly hard to get a hook into, I'm sure kids would have a lot of fun with them, too.

[Lance]

If it is to promote interest in fishing in general, what's wrongwith promoting the native game fish?

You may have just pointed another peice of what part of the problem may be. Neither rainbows or browns are native species. The browns are imports from Europe and Rainbows are a product of the west coast. The only spcies of trout native to Ohio is the brook trout and they are the least tolerant of both chemical and thermal polution.

There are a couple os creeks tht have populations still and they are being strongly protected. I believe the brook trout might actually be listed as an endangered species for Ohio and I beleive you can be ticked for specifically targeting them in these areas.

[rutnut245]

I believe they stock only rainbows is because they are surplus fish from the states steelhead program.Same fish,but if they can't migrate into the big lake they're considered rainbows,not steelhead.

[CritterGitter]

I think it is mostly about stream habitat and conditions. A lot of our rivers, creeks and streams have been channelized, and don't have the necessary habitat to support the fish. Also, I believe trout having a cooler temperature tolerance need a creek or stream to have some sort of ground water aquifer in order to make it work. I beleive Clearfork and the Mad River have them, but I am not sure of any others.

[TheCream]

You may have just pointed another peice of what part of the problem may be. Neither rainbows or browns are native species. The browns are imports from Europe and Rainbows are a product of the west coast. The only spcies of trout native to Ohio is the brook trout and they are the least tolerant of both chemical and thermal polution.

There are a couple os creeks tht have populations still and they are being strongly protected. I believe the brook trout might actually be listed as an endangered species for Ohio and I beleive you can be ticked for specifically targeting them in these areas.

I was implying promoting native/naturally occuring fishes like sunfish, bass, catfish, and crappie. Maybe I'm in the minority, but they can be just as easy to catch and just as much fun, so if the stocking programs are to promote interest, I say promote what we have that doesn't need to be stocked! :D

[Lance]

Sorry I took it as the opposite. lol