The Accidental Trout Creek

[dpitt]

Hit Cane, made a short video of the trip.   

 

[Flysmallie]

Nice video but the train legend has been disproven. 

But one thing is for sure. Those trout have lived there for a long time without any stockings. We discussed the history that we have been able to find in this video. 

 

[dpitt]

24 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

Nice video but the train legend has been disproven. 

But one thing is for sure. Those trout have lived there for a long time without any stockings. We discussed the history that we have been able to find in this video. 

 

Great video, love shots and the music.  I remember when you published, but was interested in your cinematography and music and forgot about the history. Interesting that the Neosho hatchery is the origin. 

 

 

 

[tjm]

Quote

Rumors became facts in 1903 when grading machinery and gangs of laborers moved in. The Missouri Pacific Railroad reached Crane in December 1904, and made a division terminal there in June 1905. The roundhouse was built in 1906.

any stocking in the 1800s wasn't by train 

[Flysmallie]

1 hour ago, dpitt said:

Great video, love shots and the music.  I remember when you published, but was interested in your cinematography and music and forgot about the history. Interesting that the Neosho hatchery is the origin. 

I was bummed when I found out. The broke down train story is way better than reality. But no matter how they go there, they are still thriving to this day. We are headed back to spend another weekend at that lodge soon. Hopefully we get some rain before then. 

[dpitt]

5 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

I was bummed when I found out. The broke down train story is way better than reality. But no matter how they go there, they are still thriving to this day. We are headed back to spend another weekend at that lodge soon. Hopefully we get some rain before then. 

Me too, like the railroad myth, looks like I'm "Accidentally" spreading it

[ness]

1 hour ago, dpitt said:

Me too, like the railroad myth, looks like I'm "Accidentally" spreading it

You're not the first  

[Quillback]

1 minute ago, ness said:

You're not the first  

I always heard that Jesse James wanted a trout stream he could fish, so he hijacked the Fish & Wildlife Service trout stocking train, forced the conductor to drive the train to the creek where they dumped the trout into the water.

That's not true?

[ness]

45 minutes ago, Quillback said:

I always heard that Jesse James wanted a trout stream he could fish, so he hijacked the Fish & Wildlife Service trout stocking train, forced the conductor to drive the train to the creek where they dumped the trout into the water.

That's not true?

Well, now that the cat's outta the bag, I'll give you the rest of the story.

My great-great grandfather, Zebediah ness, was conductor of that very train.  A couple days after the hijacking, under the cover of darkness, he went back to Crane Creek. An accomplished fly fisherman and early proponent of catch-and-release fishing with barbless hooks (homemade), he caught a couple dozen of the fish, placed them into milk cans and transferred them to the steam at the old family farm a couple counties over. The trauma of the two moves led to only two of those fish surviving - the very largest, strongest and smartest of them all, according to family lore. Fortunately, they were cock and hen (That terminology is rarely used these days, but was common in fisheries management in the 19th century). Through some miraculous genetic mutation and decades of adaptation, a thriving population of supertrout developed in that creek. The family farm was sold years ago, but Zebediah put on a 500 year conservation easement for the benefit of his direct descendants. I've fished many times and they're really something to behold. I have petitioned for the recognition of this subspecies (I suggested O. mykiss ness) but haven't heard back from those guys. It's a closely held secret, and I have only allowed one other person to see and fish the stream: @ColdWaterFshr. If he'd like to chime in and substantiate, even embellish this story, I'm fine with that. He knows what not to say. 

[Flysmallie]

I can’t wait for AI to start adding this BS to search results.