Catch & Release And/or Barbless Only?

[Bamboozle]

Sorry Harps I don't know the name. Heard it from a friend who knows two guys who had been out with that guide.

So like a lot of things I guess the story could have changed in the retelling. Maybe it was really 30 minutes!

I was really just trying to make the point that "fighting" is hard on fish, whether the hook is barbed or not. Of course with a barbed hook the fish is less likely to get off, therefore more overall stress on the population.

[Andrew324]

I think Crane should be "watch and see" only. Like the National Speleological Society says about caves: "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time". In fact, those Crane trout are dang near endangered - just like gray bats. And if they truly are one of the last "pure strains" of McCloud then we ought to just prohibit fishing there, or maybe close Wire Road to the public like all the caves.

j/k...............

[rayfromcrane]

Andrew I do not agree about fishing . They have been their for moore than 100 years. The next time I see you I will explane why plus I will show you where the trout are. Allso any one see some body with trout turn them in. We have to take care of what we love. And yes rocks were new in town when I was a kid. ray from crane.

[troutbum479]

I don't think they're as PURE as everyone thinks. Wild yes, beautiful yes,100% McCloud questionable.Just my2 cents.

[rayfromcrane]

trout bum479 will try and run down more info.You may be right was not there when they dumped them. All so was told about a wrong dumping. All so was told locals may have caught them.Give me a few days. thanks rfc

[Bamboozle]

There was an extensive string on this several months ago. It's a matter of record from the US Fish Commission that CC was stocked with trout many times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was also a hatchery at Brown's Spring on Spring Creek which easily could have "leaked" fish into the watershed.

The more important point is that they may not be native but they're wild and fragile and gorgeous.

I am thrilled to see Andrew324 propose that there should be NO fishing in CC. I don't agree but at least it makes me only the second craziest guy on this string rather than the first. You're number one Andrew! Please understand I say that with my tongue in my cheek and a great deal of respect for you.

Since Andrew is officially crazier than I am I will say that I think it would be good for the creek if public areas were limited access, like the quail areas MDC has. Of course who knows what the repercussions might be: it could be that this would backfire by creating publicity and increase pressure on the resource.

In any case I do think something needs to be done to decrease fishing pressure on the MDC areas. I have heard that on private water in the area the fishing is better, which to me means fishing pressure is at least part of the problem on MDC. No easy answers.

[Andrew324]

I was only kidding about the creek. Just having some fun and offering perspective by introducing the speleological contrast. I actually think it should be catch-and-release, but am not overly up in arms about the current regulations. The only legal fish I've ever caught on the stream I released unharmed.

I agree with my friend Ray, that we are the key to protecting the resource we all love.

[pruett417]

I agree with my friend Ray, that we are the key to protecting the resource we all love.

Every argument, every restriction or regulation put upon this fishery hinges primarily on those of us that use this resource, that sums it up entirely, well said Andrew! And Ray!

Educate yourself and others, walk softly, fish barbless, land fish fast and equally fast releases, limit time taken for pictures or better yet take pictures with the fish in the water, get creative! And last but not least, I am to the point of being numb in reference to the argument regarding if these beautiful fish are in fact a pure strain or not, I personally don't give a crap, whatever they may be, they will always be Crane Creek Rainbows, a resource that is not found anywhere else but in Crane Creek in Southwest Missouri, appreciate them, study them, be grateful you have the chance to present a fly to them and most importantly protect them!

[drew03cmc]

There was an extensive string on this several months ago. It's a matter of record from the US Fish Commission that CC was stocked with trout many times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was also a hatchery at Brown's Spring on Spring Creek which easily could have "leaked" fish into the watershed.

The more important point is that they may not be native but they're wild and fragile and gorgeous.

I am thrilled to see Andrew324 propose that there should be NO fishing in CC. I don't agree but at least it makes me only the second craziest guy on this string rather than the first. You're number one Andrew! Please understand I say that with my tongue in my cheek and a great deal of respect for you.

Since Andrew is officially crazier than I am I will say that I think it would be good for the creek if public areas were limited access, like the quail areas MDC has. Of course who knows what the repercussions might be: it could be that this would backfire by creating publicity and increase pressure on the resource.

In any case I do think something needs to be done to decrease fishing pressure on the MDC areas. I have heard that on private water in the area the fishing is better, which to me means fishing pressure is at least part of the problem on MDC. No easy answers.

If you can find me any species of trout that is native to Missouri and still existing in the waters there, I will concede. There is NO native trout to the midwest. Hell, there are no native rainbows east of Nevada. There are no native Cutthroat outside of the Rockies, and there are no native Brookies west of the Appalachians

I know for a fact that Crane was stocked in the late '60s. Don't think for a moment that they brought trout from the McCloud River multiple times in the 1900s to stock a creek in Missouri. There is no way in hell that these fish are pure, despite what the state wants to claim or insinuate through their trout propaganda.

I don't think they're as PURE as everyone thinks. Wild yes, beautiful yes,100% McCloud questionable.Just my2 cents.

Beautiful, yes, wild, yes, 100% pure, hell no.

[Bamboozle]

Pure no. But it's a matter of historical fact that the creek was stocked multiple times between the 1880s and 1920.

Not directly from the McCloud river but from the Neosho national fish hatchery, just down the road. Those fish were from the McCloud river, as is, going way back, nearly every stocked rainbow in the world, from Crane Creek to Patagonia. See Anders Halverson's book, An Entirely Synthetic Fish.