Report 4-5-15

[Johnsfolly]

Do we know that the brown trout was not injured during the fight such that it could not be released? I have seen many small fish come drifting down that river that had been injured by folks that either had them break off due to too light a line, inability to fight a fish or deep hooked in the gills. I would rather see those fish harvested instead of slowly dying as if goes downstream. However, you can't write in the regulations that injured fish should be kept, because there are those that will intentionally injure fish just to keep them. If you were to make the upper Current a catch and release river, there will still be injured and killed fish as I described earlier.

I fish both with spin and fly gear and enjoy both activities. I also harvest and eat trout. Based upon the limited amount of natural reproduction if any for brown trout they are still very much a put and take population unlike many of the wild trout blue ribbon streams that support natural rainbow trout reproduction. I would not be an advocate of a C&R only for this river.

[Kayser]

The fisherman went out with the intention of keeping a fish. I don't blame him, I've kept a couple myself in years past.

What gets to me, though, is the people that come in mid summer and snag every legal fish from every hole with those giant white jigs. The ones you can see caught in the dorsal fin from 200yds away. And of course, they go right on the stringer. I've been gone a couple years, so haven't been around many fisherman in a while. But I know what it takes to grow nice trout, and that is poaching. It is senseless greed and it is one of the few things that damages my calm, not to mention the resource.

But I'm done with this- the scenery was great, fishing was nice, and I can't wait to get out again.

[mister]

I fish both with spin and fly gear and enjoy both activities. I also harvest and eat trout. Based upon the limited amount of natural reproduction if any for brown trout they are still very much a put and take population unlike many of the wild trout blue ribbon streams that support natural rainbow trout reproduction. I would not be an advocate of a C&R only for this river.

The logic fails me. To me "put and take" and what that entails refers to the trout parks, not fisheries that are occasionally stocked with small fish that take at least several years to grow to something you'd want to catch. Actually, it might make more sense to keep fish from naturally reproductive waters. When I started fishing in the mountain streams lakes of Calif. we kept what we caught, but this was from waters that had very little pressure, and because of the large number of steams, it wasn't often that we hit the same stretch more than once. Just too many hiking trails and new water to explore. I guess what it comes down to-at least in our waters- is that a trout has more value to me in the water as something to possibly catch then it does on the dinner table. If I want to eat trout I can go to Costco and buy all I want for $3.75 a pound.

[Gavin]

It's a put, grow, and take fishery below the wire but those who love the place rarely take. there are lots. of folks who fish with gear and limit their harvest down there. Why take an 18" fish? Nice but no big deal. 22-24" is a darn good one. Bigger than that is rare.

[Al Agnew]

One thing about trout is that they are inherently more difficult to handle than bass, no matter what you're hooking them on. You can't easily and safely hold them like you can bass, which you can lip and more or less immobilize, so trying to unhook one with a hook in a difficult place is tough. I'm pretty sure that lots of them are injured by handling while trying to unhook it, more so than they are damaged by the hooks themselves. I've caught them on jerkbaits, and in my opinion a good net with non-snagging rubber mesh is absolutely imperative if you're going to use lures with treble hooks. You can get by without it with single hook flies, but it's still not easy. I definitely mash the barbs on all the lures and flies I use for trout, not so much because I'm afraid of hurting the fish, but because I want to make the difficult job of unhooking the things a little easier.

The big brown trout fishery on the Current has the potential to be as good as it gets in a natural Ozark stream, and as such deserves protection, no matter whether you consider it a put and take fishery or not. The river can grow 24-30 inch browns when the conditions are right, and in my opinion is should be managed to produce those fish, because there aren't many places in Missouri where that's true. I too wouldn't be for pure catch and release. If I had my way it would be something like a slot limit on trout with a couple of rainbows 16-18 inches and one of either species over 24 inches, to allow those who want to keep a true trophy (not an 18.5 inch "trophy") and those who want a fish or two to eat to both have their way, while allowing those browns to grow big and get smart. Of course, to really do the job right, though, you'd have to also make browns within the park a protected species in July and August, to protect them during the hot summers when a lot of the river fish move up into the park for the thermal refuge. And you really need a lot more of an enforcement presence (and yes, PRESENCE, not hiding in the bushes trying to catch the guys who have already killed fish they shouldn't but instead being visible so that they don't feel comfortable doing it in the first place).

[fishinwrench]

You're not gonna find many agents hiding in the thickets these days, they're all afraid of tick bites. I haven't seen one more than 30 feet from his cruiser in decades.

[BruteFish83]

One thing about trout is that they are inherently more difficult to handle than bass, no matter what you're hooking them on. You can't easily and safely hold them like you can bass, which you can lip and more or less immobilize, so trying to unhook one with a hook in a difficult place is tough. I'm pretty sure that lots of them are injured by handling while trying to unhook it, more so than they are damaged by the hooks themselves. I've caught them on jerkbaits, and in my opinion a good net with non-snagging rubber mesh is absolutely imperative if you're going to use lures with treble hooks. You can get by without it with single hook flies, but it's still not easy. I definitely mash the barbs on all the lures and flies I use for trout, not so much because I'm afraid of hurting the fish, but because I want to make the difficult job of unhooking the things a little easier.

The big brown trout fishery on the Current has the potential to be as good as it gets in a natural Ozark stream, and as such deserves protection, no matter whether you consider it a put and take fishery or not. The river can grow 24-30 inch browns when the conditions are right, and in my opinion is should be managed to produce those fish, because there aren't many places in Missouri where that's true. I too wouldn't be for pure catch and release. If I had my way it would be something like a slot limit on trout with a couple of rainbows 16-18 inches and one of either species over 24 inches, to allow those who want to keep a true trophy (not an 18.5 inch "trophy") and those who want a fish or two to eat to both have their way, while allowing those browns to grow big and get smart. Of course, to really do the job right, though, you'd have to also make browns within the park a protected species in July and August, to protect them during the hot summers when a lot of the river fish move up into the park for the thermal refuge. And you really need a lot more of an enforcement presence (and yes, PRESENCE, not hiding in the bushes trying to catch the guys who have already killed fish they shouldn't but instead being visible so that they don't feel comfortable doing it in the first place).

I agree with much of what you're saying, Al. I honestly think that the Current has the food source and water quality to easily produce browns bigger than the Letort in PA or the DePuy in MT. Unlike those two streams though, we all know that the Current doesn't have the water temperature to sustain natural reproduction and must be stocked in high numbers. I'm no fisheries biologist, but I'm pretty sure that brown trout (not sure about rainbows) are the apex predators of that section and are territorial and competitive with one another over food and holding water. There's so much competition that they can't come close to reaching their full growth potential. If you've ever seen those 30+ browns caught from small New Zealand streams, it always looks like it was the only fish occupying that entire hole.

Regarding the MDC's policy of harvesting only one fish 18+, although I rarely do it, I definitely support it. They wouldn't enact that policy if it wasn't healthy for the stream and wouldn't produce larger fish. I don't think the purpose is to accommodate the meat fisherman necessarily, but to thin out the population. I know this sounds extreme, but I would like to see the MDC keep the park as a put-and-take fishery and allow one or two anglers per day in the section below the park - drastically reducing the pressure and damage to the stream. They could then stock it much lower and make the length limit higher.

[BruteFish83]

I think the C&R movement over they years is the very reason why we don't see 10lb fish anymore. That or maybe the river is being stocked too heavily. Anglers probably felt like they'd get hated on for harvesting legal fish from that section, so they stopped and the overcrowding and competition for food decreased the size of the fish.

My theory is that if all the usual anglers harvested just one 18-19" fish this Spring/Summer, we'd be seeing much larger fish this Fall and Winter - the 24" fish would have an easier time getting to 26". I think it'd be a pretty cool experiment to try.

[joeD]

The Current is exceptional for big fish because of its (the rivers) nature. Browns and rainbows do not reproduce in this stream. That's a given. However, the fish that ARE there, thrive in a way that we just don't know about. The idea of "harvesting" fish, in order to "improve" the fishery, regardless of size, in this particular stretch of water, is without merit. The assumption that more, and bigger, fish will develop due to the "harvest" of other big fish is completely false. The number of brown trout caught, and voluntarily released and allowed to grow larger cannot be overstated. Fish can only grow and be caught as long as they are in the water. Period.

There is also this, and it cannot be said more simply: Most people do not know how to catch big browns on the Current.

The Current thrives because of sound management from the MDC. Admit it.

Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, wherever,, all absolutely beautiful places to fish. You have a better chance of catching a bigger fish on the Current, in Missouri.

(White River Arkansas is a different category)

I don't think the Current gets the respect it deserves, given the amount of anglers who pound the stream on a daily basis, year in year out, without fail, yet, it still produces big fish for those who want it.

[BruteFish83]

Why put harvest in quotes? If you take a fish from a body of water and eat it-you're hrvesting it. I never said "harvest regardless of size." It absolutely has merit, Joe. Read the cited excerpt below:

As the brown trout grows it needs to ex­ploit larger food par­ti­cles in greater quan­tity; if food is scarce then growth rate is slowed down. In ad­di­tion, if there is a large pop­u­la­tion of brown trout or other species com­pet­ing for the same food source then this also lim­its growth. (Jenk­ins and Burk­head, 1993; Klemet­sen, et al., 2003)