Last Known Stocking

[Wayne SW/MO]

Redbands have a very distinctive coloration and I haven't seen that on Crane. I don't think it matters, if they hatch and mature in the creek they're wild.

[Bamboozle]

The records of the US Fish Commission show stocking of 500 rainbows in Crane Creek in 1891 (as well as 500 Browns!). There were at least four further stockings between then and 1919. So the oft-told legend of the happenstance stocking by railroad workers is clearly apocryphal.

The rainbows used for stocking by the Fish Commission were a mixture of coastal rainbows (steel heads) and McClouds (see Behnke on this.)

There was also a hatchery at Brown’s Spring, along Spring Creek, which certainly could have been a continuing source of stocking (and diverse genetics) to the Crane Creek/Spring Creek watershed.

As for the question of “redband” on the Crane Creek trout I’ve caught numerous trout in Crane Creek over the years with significant orange coloring on the underside around the pectoral fin reaching up to the gills. It does seem that this coloring is found mostly in immature and adolescent trout and not on the (very few) “big” fish I’ve caught in Crane Creek. That said the Crane Creek trout have very few spots below the band of pink on their flanks, which is typical of McCloud trout.

The timing of spawning seems an unlikely indicator of ancestry. Water temperature is a factor, and Missouri winters are much milder than those in the McCloud drainage. In addition simple natural selection has likely played a big part over the last 120 years: fish that spawned later, like in March or April, would have been less likely to see their off-spring survive due to the timing of Missouri’s spring floods. Conversely, earlier spawners’ off-spring were (and are) more likely to survive.

As others have pointed out on the string, at the end of the day the upshot is what matters: Crane Creek has lovely wild trout that are a privilege to pursue and, occasionally, catch. And yes energy devoted to worrying about this topic might be better aimed at old tires and Gatorade bottles!

[Trout Commander]

The records of the US Fish Commission show stocking of 500 rainbows in Crane Creek in 1891 (as well as 500 Browns!). There were at least four further stockings between then and 1919. So the oft-told legend of the happenstance stocking by railroad workers is clearly apocryphal.

Do you have a link to that document to add to the others compiled in this thread?

[Bamboozle]

You want me to let go my hard-won evidence just like that?

Ok. It's attached. Note under rainbows it refers to Crane River, Stone County, Mo. So I guess one could argue that's a "gray" area but I don't think it's too gray. Under the brown trout below it refers to Crane Creek.

In the interests of full disclosure I will say this came to me from a more knowledgeable source than I -- so I am not the piscatorial researcher I might seem.

[ness]

Do you have a link to that document to add to the others compiled in this thread?

Try here: http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cof/COF_1889-1891.PDF pp. 89-ish

[drew03cmc]

Wow, what a profusion of new information we have here. The presence of a hatchery on Spring Creek might be our scapegoat for the mixing of genetics on these fish. Now, that is not to say that at some point McCloud River fingerlings and eggs were not planted in Crane via wagon since the dates and railroad tracks don't work. Since then, there have been stockings through at least 1919, and this, for me, does not take the shine off of Crane as those fish are some of the most challenging that I have ever caught. They are gorgeous fish in a gorgeous creek and that is what makes me drive down there to fish for them. The fairy tale about these being pure strain McClouds has no bearing on it, even though it is a nice fairy tale to listen to.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I suspect that anytime you have a hatchery close the chance of an unscheduled stocking is great. An equipment failure, water shortage or food supply could probably trigger an undocumented stocking.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Heard from Spence -

To my knowledge Crane Creek has not been stocked by MDC since formation of

the department. It would be hard not to stock if you had a hatchery

nearby...Neosho. My perusal of the Neosho records suggest that it was not

stocked past the first few years, but records are limited...wonder if Heinz

has completely reviewed the two stocking record books and kept notes on

where trout were stocked. Years past I went through the books, but my

records have since been sent on to MDC, where I suspect they were "filed."

Anyway, the hatchery records from 1889 and 1890+ are still at the hatchery,

but I have no idea what condition the books are now in...might be worth

pursuing.

That pretty much seals the deal. I have been scouring this site all night looking for some of my links. I couldn't find what I thought I had posted. I did find this though:

http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12334

It has some really good info, and one mistake. Crane was not stock by rail in the 1880's.

I had also posted this link: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/25.pdf Its info is somewhat generic when it comes to the wild trout. It is somewhat dated but, a good read none the less.

Wow, what a profusion of new information we have here. The presence of a hatchery on Spring Creek might be our scapegoat for the mixing of genetics on these fish. Now, that is not to say that at some point McCloud River fingerlings and eggs were not planted in Crane via wagon since the dates and railroad tracks don't work. Since then, there have been stockings through at least 1919, and this, for me, does not take the shine off of Crane as those fish are some of the most challenging that I have ever caught. They are gorgeous fish in a gorgeous creek and that is what makes me drive down there to fish for them. The fairy tale about these being pure strain McClouds has no bearing on it, even though it is a nice fairy tale to listen to.

From everything I have read, Brown Spring hatchery was in St. Joe Missouri. Not on Spring Creek near the village of the same name. But that also does not mean there was not a "hatchery" there. There were many these "hatcheries" scattered throughout the Ozarks. I don't think they actually hatched fry there but, received fry and raised to stocking/selling size. I can't confirm that though at this time.

[ness]

I found where I read that there were stockings up into the 1960's:

Right here

[Wayne SW/MO]

I suppose it depends on what you want to read in that. The first point I took was that the original pool of fish put in Crane could have been hybrids. The second thing is they evolved into a wild strain and any stockings since have been re-stockings. If I read it right it suggest that these re-stockings were from Crane fish raised in the hatchery.

That was my take from a brief read.