Bennet 6/25

[laker67]

I've suspected some "number fudging" going on for quite awhile, especially with what they claim to be stocking in the river. But even in the park if they stocked as many as they claim they do then there would almost be too many fish, in my opinion. You just don't see THAT MANY people carrying out stringers of fish. Some are being kept for sure...but not as many as they claim to be stocking.

In all fairness I'd say that only 1 in every 10 people you see fishing at Bennett (on a given day) will have a stringer dangling off of him. So if they estimate a sale of 100 tags, and stock 225 fish, but only 50 fish get taken, and this pattern continues.....then you'd have a rapidly increasing density of fish in the stream. I may be totally full of crap, but this is what I see and percieve.

I agree with your math fw. I also agree with your suspicions. What I see is a steadily declining population over the past 6 weeks.

[JONBOY]

I have a couple ideas of my own... I might just be talking out of my a$$ b/c I have never been there, but there could be two other ooptions that I have not seen yet.... 1. is that the people that are keeping their fish are keeping and taking home way more than what they should be, and 2. is with all of the rain this year and last are they being washed out of the park and into the main river. I know trout have a natural instinct to get out of the current so they don't get tired, but the stockies have never been in actual river currents before. Just an idea. Thanks.

[Bird Watcher]

I thought everyone already saw this earlier in the year.....

They(MDC) already said they wouldn't be able to stock as many this year..

2008 rains affect 2009 trout stocking

Stocking will be down

10 percent in most waters.

JEFFERSON CITY 03/16/09 – The effects of last year’s record rainfall continue to be felt a year later, with an announcement that the Missouri Department of Conservation will reduce trout stocking.

2008 was the wettest year in Missouri history, with nearly 6 feet of precipitation falling during the year in some areas and more than 12 inches of rain falling in less than 24 hours in others. Conservation Department Hatchery Systems Manager James Civiello said these torrential rains affected trout hatchery operations in several ways.

The most significant impact came from the forced release of massive amounts of water from Table Rock Dam in Taney County. Prior to 2008, the most rapid release ever witnessed there was 31,000 cubic feet per second. Last year, the dam let as much as 47,500 cfs pass through turbines and flood gates.

“Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery sits right below Table Rock Dam,” said Civiello. “The enormous volume of water pouring into Table Rock Lake forced the Corps of Engineers into record releases in June, and that created less-than-ideal water conditions for trout in our facility.”

Civiello said the temperature of water flowing from Table Rock Lake through the hatchery reached 65 degrees at times. This is too warm to spawn trout eggs and keep hatched fish healthy. Water quality became an issue, too. As a result, the hatchery lost more than 30,000 pounds of fish to disease and parasites, compared to the normal annual loss of approximately 7,000 pounds. Most of these were 3- to 6-inch fish that otherwise would have gone to other hatcheries.

In most years, Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery produces approximately 1.3 million trout for stocking and smaller fish for transfer to other hatcheries, where they are reared to stocking size. Last year the number fell to 1.1 million.

Meanwhile, other hatcheries were experiencing rain-related problems, too. Bennett Spring Hatchery near Lebanon and Maramec Spring Hatchery near St. James both lost fish to floods that compromised water quality and washed fish out of rearing areas.

To compensate for losses, hatchery managers “pushed” small fish, feeding them more to hurry their growth to the average stocking size of 12 inches. While this helped keep last year’s stocking near target levels, it amounted to borrowing fish from 2009. The hatchery system no longer has enough fish in the pipeline to keep up with this year’s stocking goals.

Consequently, the Conservation Department plans to reduce stocking at Missouri’s four trout parks and most other waters by 10 percent. This includes trout management areas and Lake Taneycomo. Statewide, the cutbacks will result in stocking 180,000 fewer trout this year than expected.

“We stuck with the traditional stocking level for opening day at the trout parks,” said Civiello. “Since then, however, we have been stocking about two fish per anticipated angler instead of the usual 2.25 per angler. We should be able to sustain that level of stocking 12-inch fish for the rest of the year.”

One exception to the reduction is the trout stocking program at Fort Leonard Wood. Another is the winter trout fishing program at urban lakes, for which the Conservation Department buys fish from other hatcheries.

Civiello said he hopes to return to normal stocking levels in 2010. He said the agency will continue to monitor hatchery inventories, trout tag sales and other factors and make adjustments to minimize the effect on stocking.

[fishing_blonde]

I was at Bennett Sunday morning (6-28-09) from the buzzer to about 10 o'clock. Now any of you who know a little about me you know I just started this trout fishing thing (has me hooked already) This was only my second time... Here is my take. My first time was at Montauk and when the buzzer went off it was like a mad house. You couldn't keep up with everyone catching fish around you. At Bennett first cast I landed one, and then a few small ones that I put back. There were a good amount of people around me and only two sets of people were slaying them. We had a woman and two men that were there together that all three of them limited out within thirty minutes and they left. Now what they limited out with was smaller than what most limit out with at Montauk, but maybe they were bleeding and had to keep them or maybe not. Then there was a family of four that all limited out. We moved down stream into heavier current and started catcing some really good ones around 9am. Noone else that we could see was catching much of anything, but they were pretty far from us. It wasn't over crowded but it did seem like they were only hitting on a few certain things, but that's just the opinion of a newbie.

Hoping to get to hit up Montauk on 7-11 if I'm not at FanFest. hmm that's a hard choice....FanFest or Trout fishing....

take care,

A

[fishing_blonde]

I have a couple ideas of my own... I might just be talking out of my a$$ b/c I have never been there, but there could be two other ooptions that I have not seen yet.... 1. is that the people that are keeping their fish are keeping and taking home way more than what they should be, and 2. is with all of the rain this year and last are they being washed out of the park and into the main river. I know trout have a natural instinct to get out of the current so they don't get tired, but the stockies have never been in actual river currents before. Just an idea. Thanks.

I did see one guy who limited out by 7:30 back fishing when we left at 10. hmmm maybe this happens alot but I bet it happens at all parks. Doesn't make it right though.

Also, there were alot of dead trout in the water at Bennett. In the small area where we were at 6:30 I counted 5. Sad...and such a waste.

A

[fishinwrench]

Chris, Yes, but they are still reportedly stocking 2 /per est. tag. And I'm fairly certain that WAY less than 1/2 the people fishing are taking home a limit each day. If that's true (and I'm pretty sure that it is) then there should be an increase in fish density as time goes on. Think about it, if that many people were taking a limit every day the streambed would be covered solid in guts and heads, and everyone you saw would be attached to a stringer....but it isn't and they aren't.

Personally I think there are plenty of fish in the stream regardless. No complaints here as far as being able to catch fish within Bennett Spring State Park. But bogus reporting and claims from government based agencys is a major pet peve of mine....and I suspect the numbers have always been questionable, even before the loss of Trout due to floods ect.

What good are tax funded studies and reports if the resulting information is no more useful than a guess ? ya know, why even bother ? LOL

If they are truly hurting for fish, then why not temporarily declare zones 1 and 2 catch and release only until they get back on track ? I doubt that the majority of anglers would have a problem with that.

[DoveTail]

It is possible about the browns making the impact, but I would tend to doubt it personally. A big brown trout can maybe eat a few stockies, but it really would take a pretty large trout to be able to eat a 10-12 inch stockies. There are probably a few large enough, but imho not enough to cause a decline in the fishery.... Plus I'd take one of those big browns over 20 stocked rainbows

I'm not sure how many browns are in there or what the diet is. I wish I could find some pics of trout that were caught on lurers almost their own size. A big brown may get full on 1 or 2 trout? I don't know. How many big browns are in the deep pools that stalk at night?

Some photos from Bennett show some pretty large browns that look stuffed. They could be bottom feeding on the cleaned fish and not taking a toll.

Nothing scientific other than some guides mentioning - "it's a good thing they stock rainbows, otherwise there would not be any with all the brown trout". Just their opinion. The browns would be a great cleaning system if they only picked up gut piles.

I missed the DNR report they would be stocking less. Regardless, any day on any stream, I really can't complain.

[fishinwrench]

Regardless, any day on any stream, I really can't complain.

True that !

[JONBOY]

I did see one guy who limited out by 7:30 back fishing when we left at 10. hmmm maybe this happens alot but I bet it happens at all parks. Doesn't make it right though.

Also, there were alot of dead trout in the water at Bennett. In the small area where we were at 6:30 I counted 5. Sad...and such a waste.

A

I know I wish I had the power to give people tickets when they break the law. The state should start a program so normal people can issue citations... That would be awesome!

[ozark trout fisher]

Chris, Yes, but they are still reportedly stocking 2 /per est. tag. And I'm fairly certain that WAY less than 1/2 the people fishing are taking home a limit each day. If that's true (and I'm pretty sure that it is) then there should be an increase in fish density as time goes on. Think about it, if that many people were taking a limit every day the streambed would be covered solid in guts and heads, and everyone you saw would be attached to a stringer....but it isn't and they aren't.

Personally I think there are plenty of fish in the stream regardless. No complaints here as far as being able to catch fish within Bennett Spring State Park. But bogus reporting and claims from government based agencys is a major pet peve of mine....and I suspect the numbers have always been questionable, even before the loss of Trout due to floods ect.

What good are tax funded studies and reports if the resulting information is no more useful than a guess ? ya know, why even bother ? LOL

If they are truly hurting for fish, then why not temporarily declare zones 1 and 2 catch and release only until they get back on track ? I doubt that the majority of anglers would have a problem with that.

One thing you have to figure in is hooking mortality in released fish..... That could explain a good part of the discrepancy.

Really, the idea of making 2/3 of the park c&r sounds a bit much for me, heck the main reason why I go to the parks is so I can keep fish without feeling like I'm hurting the fishery... Considering they restock them tommorrow.

I always feel a bit bad when I keep fish out of the Blue or White Ribbon areas (not that I don't do it occasionally in a white ribbon area, but still), trout parks in my mind have always been the place that you can go and get a trout dinner when you want one, and have a heck of a good time doing it. When I want real, catch and release fishing, that's where our White, Red, and Blue Ribbon areas figure in. Plus, that would concentrate all the catch and keep anglers in zone 3 and "zone 4" aka Niangua River. That may well further hurt the fishery (and cause immense crowding) in both of those places. Just a thought.