Wild Trout

[ozark trout fisher]

I was just curious if anyone knows about how many wild trout there are in the Blue Ribbon Area of the Eleven Point. I know this area does receoves some stockings, but are there enough wild trout to expect to catch a few? I don't really care either way, because I'm sure the resident stocked trout are plenty of fun to make it worth coming down anyway, but just curious. I've heard some say there are a lot, and heard some say there are only a few.

[Brian Sloss]

There are wild trout on the Eleven Point and the percentage that you will catch will depend on when you are there. There are not enough that stocking isn't needed, they tried not stocking for over ten years once to see if they would take off on their own. This time of year you will catch a higher percentage because the stockers have thinned out. I think because the stockers didn't make through the spawn very well among other reasons. Also, if a stocker wanders out of the blue ribbon area they can be taken under the looser white ribbon regs. Also, as with all our rivers, poaching can play a role inside the blue ribbon area. Anyway, the blue ribbon area usually holds anywhere from 150-250 wild trout per mile. Just an estimate. I am going on the electroshock trip down that section tomorrow and will report what I see afterwards. I am hoping to see a lot of babies as they were spawning hard last Nov.

[Mark]

Brian,

We can always count on a stocking right before Easter in the past. Are they doing a stocking along with the electroshock?

[Brian Sloss]

Mark,

Stocking is a different animal altogether. Also, we will be in the blue ribbon area. The white ribbon area will get stocked starting some time soon if the past is an indicator. We will also be shocking part of the Turner to Whitten stretch, which never gets sampled, to see how many blue ribbon trout may have traveled down there. Very interested in the results down there. I will report on what I witness Weds. I highly recommend going on one of these trips on your favorite river with the MDC if you have an interest. Highly educational.

[Greg]

Brian just curious if when you are catching trout on the 11 point - if you can easily distinguish between the the wild and stocked trout? Also I would assume a certain # of the stockers do spawn? And then their offspring would then be considered wild?

Greg

[Brian Sloss]

I would consider anything bred in the stream as wild and yes you can tell easily. Fish stocked in the blue ribbon area have a clipped fin. 2008 right pelvic, the year before left pelvic and the year before that adipose. 4 years ago right pelvic and so on. The white ribbon stocked trout end up there sometimes as well with no clipped fins, but you can often tell because they have worn fins from the race way. The wild fish have perfect fins with white tips and their color is often more vivid. Thier fins are also a little bigger in proportion with their body size as the hatchery fish grow faster due the easy meals in the hatchery.

[ozark trout fisher]

I would consider anything bred in the stream as wild and yes you can tell easily. Fish stocked in the blue ribbon area have a clipped fin. 2008 right pelvic, the year before left pelvic and the year before that adipose. 4 years ago right pelvic and so on. The white ribbon stocked trout end up there sometimes as well with no clipped fins, but you can often tell because they have worn fins from the race way. The wild fish have perfect fins with white tips and their color is often more vivid. Thier fins are also a little bigger in proportion with their body size as the hatchery fish grow faster due the easy meals in the hatchery.

150 to 250 wild trout per mile alongside the stockies. That doesn't sound bad at all. I read in some book that the wild trout in the Eleven Point were at least partly McClouds. Any truth to that?

[Brian Sloss]

On my way out the door to shock with MDC and saw your question. They cross-bred McClouds from Crane Creek with the hatchery strain and stocked them when they tried to go strictly wild years ago. So there is McCloud blood in there. I understand that while they were not stocking that genetically the McCloud strain was coming to the forefront, but the numbers were just not sustaining at a high enough number to not need other stockings.

[Gavin]

I'd have to agree with that...before they started stocking again...a 4-5 fish day was pretty good in the blue ribbon area. After stocking a 10-20 fish day would be slow. When they started stocking it again, I emailed the biologist as for the reasons why. He said fish counts were incredibly low for the size of the river around 130-150 fish per mile, and they hadnt turned many young of the year rainbows when they sampled. His theory was that many of the fish were stockers that moved up from the White Ribbon Area. Will be interesting to hear what turns up this year. Cheers.

[Greg]

Thanks Brian.

Greg