Blue Ribbon Vs. White Ribbon

[Buzz]

Ok, let me ask that question in a different way...

What does Crane, NFOW, Lil'Piney, and the Eleven Point have that allows a reasonable amount of natural reproduction, that other streams such as the Niangua, Capps, and Current (for example) do not.

What exactly do trout require in order to sucessfully complete a spawn ?

I can't speak for the Niangua or the Current, but I can speak about Capps. There IS a population of "Streamborn"( I think that is the currently accepted term)trout in Capps. It may be a small population, but it is there. Over the last 2 years, I have witnessed being caught and caught myself several parr marked fish that are not of the MDC stocking variety. In the last few months I have caught at least 6 small fish that I believe to be wild. The local MDC biologist says that they don't reproduce in this creek, but I have to disagree.

What is different? I don't have a clue, but if enough fish are stocked for enough years they will find a way to reproduce. I strongly believe that if they are given time and space they will do exactly what they are supposed to do, reproduce.

Back in September I called the same biologist to tell him that I had been catching a lot of small trout from another White Ribbon stream and he said that they were going to survey this particular stream in a few days. Guess what? After the survey he told me that out of the 40 trout they found 17 were apparently not stocked fish ( several small parr marked fish were shocked up). He swears that they do not put fish in the stream that are smaller than 11 or 12 inches in length. When I asked if we might have a thriving population of streamborn trout he finally said that it was possible.

Bottom line is, if these fish are given enough space and time they will reproduce. Don't forget the fact that some of these steams have been quoted as being "TOILETS".

If there is enough of a documented wild population, I think that a Blue Ribbon section should be awarded to these streams.

JMEO

[rps]

When I re-read my early post I did not like the tone. Sorry if I offended anyone. I sometimes slip into pedantic mode. Maybe someday I will learn to avoid that.

I am going to try and say the same basic ideas I was thinking, but in a way that I hope is less strident:

If a habitat of a given size is and remains tolerable in temp and water quality year round and only blows out rarely, and if a reliable food source exists, then a desired species will stay and reproduce. The numbers will depend on the competition for the fixed habitat size and food supply.

If an agency stocks with thousands of adults/near adults every year, we cannot expect the young natural born to fare well against the competition/predators. If multiple species exist, the competition factor becomes more complicated.

If the goal is all natural reproduction streams, then stocking and taking would have to cease for a time to allow the stream to find its own balance. Then we could discover what that balance is and control/regulate taking to avoid destroying that balance.

The problem is that we would have to wait for several years to find out the answer and we may not like that answer. The natural balance may not be numbers sufficient to handle the demand, even if the regulations were barbless, artificial only with 100% catch and release.

In other words, the variables are so great and the political cost of change is so high, I don't think anyone can expect any state wildlife agency to be aggressive in seeking reclassification.

[Njardar]

What exactly do trout require in order to sucessfully complete a spawn ?

From what I've been told, two main factors are oxygen content and temperature. When the temperature rises the dissolved oxygen level goes down, which is why trout released in non-trout streams/lakes will not survive much past the spring release. This is waht I found for brown trout:

"Oxygen levels - The trout thrives on high dissolved oxygen levels therefore running water is essential in its production. The brown trout extracts 80% of the dissolved oxygen that passes across its gills and a minimal requirement of a 6 ppm saturation level is needed (Stevenson 1987).

Temperature - There is a direct relationship between dissolved oxygen and temperature with large fluctuations creating serious problems. The ideal temperature for growing trout is around 15°c, which holds a 9.96-ppm oxygen solubility level, but temperatures exceeding 24°c are lethal."

- Charlie