Should Money Be Spent On A Put-and-take Trout Lake?

[ozark trout fisher]

It was a joke OTF. But concerning your comment, MDC operates 5 warm water hatcheries for native fish restocking. It stocks 864 waterways statewide. It also raises and stocks non native warm water fish such as muskie, stripers, and hybrids. It also operates one hatchery totally aimed at replenishing the endangered sturgeon from the missouri and mississippi water ways. I would say that this is a considerable amount of "maintainence". Not trying to start an arguement, just pointing out some facts.

The fact remains, though, that the vast majority of native fisheries are not stocked. Also, musky, stripers, and hybrids are all non-native species. None are native in any capacity to the state of Missouri. The pallid sturgeon, as you pointed out, is the only native species I'm pretty sure that is stocked in a natural Missouri stream. The 864 stocked waterways in Missouri are all small ponds and lakes. Also, the MDC does raise native species to be stocked on private farm ponds, but that doesn't count. Walleye, which are raised and stocked in some Missouri streams where they are native is another exception I suppose. But that only occurs on three rivers that I know of, the Lower Current, the Black, and the St. Francis. It's hardly a comprehensive stocking program.

It may have sounded like throughout this I'm being hard on the MDC, and I suppose I have been. But I do want to make it abundantly clear that I believe the MDC is a very good department. As Chief Greybear pointed out in another thread, I don't want to bite the hand that feeds. They really are better than the fish and game departments in most states.

[laker67]

. Walleye, which are raised and stocked in some Missouri streams where they are native is another exception I suppose. But that only occurs on three rivers that I know of, the Lower Current, the Black, and the St. Francis. It's hardly a comprehensive stocking program.

Well add two more to your list, big and little niangua.

[Phil Lilley]

... but they spend millions of dollars a year maintaining the fishery on Lake Taneycomo, where the banks are lined with resorts. ...

There are 12-14 resorts on 22.5 miles of Taneycomo. And they aren't building anymore. Actually they are tearing them down. More than half the rooms are gone since 2000.

[Phil Lilley]

One quarter of one percent of $103,000 is $257.50

103,000 X .0025 = 257.50

Or an easier way to think about it is: 1 percent of 103000 is 1030...one fourth of that is 257.5

But that's not my annual taxable income. It's the total sales tax we paid for the last 12 months. I got it right the second time. Thanks.

[drew03cmc]

But they don't die at Taney unless they are caught. They survive. No, they don't reproduce, but the stocked fish survive.

Maybe we're talking about two different things. Trout stocked at Busch will live about 6 months. Most trout stocked at Taney will live out the best part of their life expectancy, given they are not harvested. I do know that if the stocking program stopped there, they would eventually disappear from that body of water. My point is only that stocking Taney, to me, is not as ridiculous a program as stocking Busch, because individual fish can survive for years there, while at Busch they cannot.

As far as the idea that MDC should focus their efforts more on native species, trust me my friend, we are on the same page.

Your original post used the word indefinitely, and that is incorrect, however, I see your point.

[Phil Lilley]

This only goes to show there are all kinds of people, anglers with different opinions and we all have our favorite fishing holes with our favorite fish and we get to fish for these fish in a free country. And they're pretty good fishing holes too!

Praise God for that!

[eric1978]

But that's not my annual taxable income. It's the total sales tax we paid for the last 12 months. I got it right the second time. Thanks.

Oh, I thought you were saying that MDC gets one quarter of one percent of sales tax revenue, of which you had 103,000 in the last 12 months. That number would be 257.50. I guess I'm missing some other info for you to get that other number.

[eric1978]

Your original post used the word indefinitely, and that is incorrect, however, I see your point.

By indefinitely I just meant they are capable of living their expected life span without dying from heat or low oxygen levels 6 months after they are stocked. I didn't mean they would reproduce and become a self-sustaining inhabitant of Taney indefinitely.

[Phil Lilley]

Oh, I thought you were saying that MDC gets one quarter of one percent of sales tax revenue, of which you had 103,000 in the last 12 months. That number would be 257.50. I guess I'm missing some other info for you to get that other number.

If gross taxable sales were $100,000, then MDC gets .25% as their share. That amount would be $250. If it was 1,000,000, it would be $2,500.

Sorry for the confusion.

[kdan]

From the new guy on the pages. I have read with interest most of the posts on this subject. I think most of us pretty much agree, we just tell our "point" a little differently. I was pretty much under the impression that the native species as compared to the amount of money spent on trout (and every thing assosiated with trout) was on "welfare" also. One has to take into accout that not only do we purchase a fishing license just to fish but in addition we also purchase a yearly trout permit, and a daily trout permit at the parks. After reading "laker67" and the amount of stocking the MDC does I must reconsider. A person can pretty much go to any water in the state of Missouri and catch a decent stringer of fish (and release if so inclined). I am quite impressed with the MDC and the job they do of keeping our water ways full of good fishing. I know here on Lake of the Ozarks they stock by the 100's of thousand hybreds and walleye every year. I watched them dump 50,000 hybreds on the Niagua arm one day, and the guy told me they do that 3-4 times a year on this lake alone.

Man, I got way off subject. Should money be spent on a put and take tout lake? Heck no!!

Hey Eric, how did that new rod turn out???