laker67 Posted November 29, 2011 Posted November 29, 2011 What did Art say about MDC stockings??? That is what I am most curious about. Hi Chief. Back in the early 80's, I have had some of the locals tell me about recent stockings at the city park. And I think it was FW who said someone told him of a 1984 stocking. Who knows? And I don't suppose it really matters that much. It is pretty obvious that they are reproducing in better than "average" numbers.
Gavin Posted November 29, 2011 Posted November 29, 2011 I know that they have sample fish to strip eggs & milt out of Crane on occassion...but I havent heard of any stocking activity...but who know's for sure...or if the fish they stocked in the 1920's were truly McClouds...the fish from that hatchery might have been mixed with something else by that point...Its just nice to have some wild trout to fish for..and some of them grow to a respectable size. Heck, my best wild Missouri rainbow 22" was caught on one of the wild trout creeks. I've caught bigger in the parks and on the tailwaters, but I've never topped 21" on the North Fork of the White.
Chief Grey Bear Posted November 30, 2011 Posted November 30, 2011 See, this is why I have to get my butt up to Columbia and see Spence. I have a lot of questions for him about Crane! One is if indeed Crane was stocked in the late 1800's, which I am not disputing, it wasn't done by rail. The line through Crane was not built until 1905. So were they stocked by wagon????? I have read that the MDC stocked up into the 60's. Is that really when they stopped?? Not saying your info is incorrect, just want to pin it down. Whenever they stopped, what and/or how many species were stocked??? And no, it won't change my mind about Crane. What a simply gorgeous place to fish. We should meet there someday. I'll bring the sandwich's. Chief Grey Bear Living is dangerous to your health Owner Ozark Fishing Expeditions Co-Owner, Chief Executive Product Development Team Jerm Werm Executive Pro Staff Team Agnew Executive Pro Staff Paul Dallas Productions Executive Pro Staff Team Heddon, River Division Chief Primary Consultant Missouri Smallmouth Alliance Executive Vice President Ronnie Moore Outdoors
Members Luke Langton Posted November 30, 2011 Members Posted November 30, 2011 This is an early spring male and one of the nicer fish I have caught at Crane. Sorry for the picture quaility it was taken from my phone, but you can see some of the redband traits. The fins are red with ivory tips, dark red band, and spots on both sides of the lateral line, and the back was a yellowish brown. The picture doesn't do him justice, for sure the prettiest fish I have caught in Missouri.
Chief Grey Bear Posted November 30, 2011 Posted November 30, 2011 The fins are red with ivory tips, That is actually an indicator of leprosy! And you handled that fish! Get to the doctor quickly! This is why nobody fishes Crane anymore. Some years ago a group of leprechauns from St. Louis came down on St. Patty's day and were accosted by some locals from Taney. I won't go into details at this time but just stay out of the water. It will usually effect the teeth first. Next time you are in the Barry - McDonald county area you will notice that few locals have their own teeth. But on a lighter note, that is a beauty of a fish! Great job!! Chief Grey Bear Living is dangerous to your health Owner Ozark Fishing Expeditions Co-Owner, Chief Executive Product Development Team Jerm Werm Executive Pro Staff Team Agnew Executive Pro Staff Paul Dallas Productions Executive Pro Staff Team Heddon, River Division Chief Primary Consultant Missouri Smallmouth Alliance Executive Vice President Ronnie Moore Outdoors
drew03cmc Posted November 30, 2011 Author Posted November 30, 2011 That is a nice fish, but I am even more curious about the genetics of these fish. Andy
Outside Bend Posted November 30, 2011 Posted November 30, 2011 Nice fish! Rainbow trout are a pretty diverse species complex, and it gets pretty tough trying to determine their origin through coloration and spotting pattern. There's just so much variation in populations that it's tough for even seasoned taxonomists to figure out where a fish came from, or what part of the family tree it comes from, without consulting a range map. And the fish we see swimming in Crane today may look markedly different from those that were stocked 130 years ago. What we see in Crane today isn't a time capsule of the McCloud's genetic diversity- what we see in Crane is a suite of genetic traits which has allowed a non-native fish to persist in a midwestern spring creek for more than a century. The differences in coloration and spotting pattern may simply be the result of genetic adaptation to new environs, a distillate of the initial stockings' genetic diversity. For what it's worth, I don't put much stock into the McCloud strain (no pun intended). The idea of genetically distinct populations wasn't common until the last half of the 20th century, much less the last half of the 19th. Rainbow trout were rainbow trout, and fish managers probably mixed genetic material from redbands, coastal cutthroat, isolated populations of each, and steelhead- all of which occur in the McCloud drainage. Even Behnke writes that the "McCloud strain," is a mixture of steelhead and resident rainbow trout collected within that (McCloud) drainage. Even if you wanted to test the genetics of the fish in Crane, it's unlikely you could trace them back to a specific population of fish. And mistakes happen. Especially back then. Maps were bad. Directions were bad. I'm not sure how California is, but in Missouri, where you have a dozen Bear Creeks, a dozen Turkey Creeks, a handful of Muddy, Spring, Dry, Elk, and Short creeks, it's easy to get confused. A label could've fallen off in Omaha. they could've taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque. A fire. A flood. Locusts. Whatever it was, it wasn't their fault So in a roundabout way yeah, I don't put much stock into Crane's biggest claim to fame. But it's a beautiful place, and a beautiful fish, regardless. <{{{><
stlfisher Posted November 30, 2011 Posted November 30, 2011 Maybe I am not understanding the thread, but I am trying to understand the benefit of a secret stocking of fish in Crane by the MDC? If they did need to stock why wouldn't they report it? Crane is a nice stream and the "McCloud mystique" is nice (whatever that maybe as others have stated), but is it a valuable enough commodity to essentially lie about the stocking dates? If so Why? Crane does not strike me as a national tourist hot spot,so what value would the MDC have by essentially covering up both the strain of fish and the date of the last stocking? Seems a bit of stretch to me.
Outside Bend Posted November 30, 2011 Posted November 30, 2011 Maybe I am not understanding the thread, but I am trying to understand the benefit of a secret stocking of fish in Crane by the MDC? If they did need to stock why wouldn't they report it? Crane is a nice stream and the "McCloud mystique" is nice (whatever that maybe as others have stated), but is it a valuable enough commodity to essentially lie about the stocking dates? If so Why? Crane does not strike me as a national tourist hot spot,so what value would the MDC have by essentially covering up both the strain of fish and the date of the last stocking? Seems a bit of stretch to me. Same reason they MDC lies about the black helicopters parachuting in rattlesnakes and mountain lions.... It gives folks something to talk about <{{{><
Root Admin Phil Lilley Posted November 30, 2011 Root Admin Posted November 30, 2011 http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2000/01/rainbows-crane-creek Doesn't say much about stocking rainbows...
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