Browns A Rare Catch?

[drew03cmc]

I found this on Walt Fulps MO Trout Hunter blogspot page. This details the problems with the way the spring branch is set up. The dams cause fish to not be able to migrate up the branch to spawn or to live in cooler waters. This is an intriguing blog, and I found it fascinating last night.

Proposals for management and/or regulation changes for the Maramec/Meramec Trout Fisheries

Problem #1:

The rock dam at the lowest boundary of Maramec Spring Park adversely affects fisherman success and satisfaction. Maramec Spring Park fishermen note that they catch almost no brown trout, while Meramec River fishermen note that rainbow trout populations are much lower in certain sections of the river than what can be found in other Red and Blue Ribbon waters around the state. As a comparison, the Current River starts in Montauk State Park, which receives daily stocking of rainbow trout. The park waters flow into the Blue Ribbon Area which receives seasonal stockings of brown trout. The Blue Ribbon Area then flows into the White Ribbon Area which is stocked with rainbow trout every 3-4 weeks. This management practice allows for free migration of both rainbow and brown trout between all three trout management areas, and it insures that fishermen who frequent any of the three trout management areas will have good opportunities at catching both rainbow trout and brown trout, including a large number of trophy-sized fish protected from harvest in the Blue Ribbon Area. The Meramec River and Maramec Spring Park do not enjoy this benefit. The rainbow trout found in the Meramec River Red Ribbon Area are all escapees from the park. In order for these fish to escape, the park waters need to flood, washing trout over the rock dam at the bottom of the park. At best, this happens only a few times each year, usually in the springtime.

Proposed solutions to problem #1:

(1) Enact a White Ribbon Trout Area at the lower reaches of the Meramec River near the Scott's Ford access. For example, MDC could provide six monthly stockings (i.e. March through May and October through December) of 500 rainbow trout using the Maramec Spring Park hatchery stock. This will encourage improved rainbow trout populations throughout the length of the trout management area, rather than the current situation where lower reaches are often devoid of trout during certain times of the year. It would also discourage poaching in the Red Ribbon area. This proposal would likely work best in conjunction with proposal #2, below.

(2) Stock brown trout within the park boundaries. When the hatchery trucks from Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery come to the area to stock the Red Ribbon Area each spring, a portion of the brown trout they would normally stock in the River could be added to the Maramec Spring hatchery stock. The number of brown trout added to the park stock should be approximately the same number as the rainbows removed for stocking in the proposed white ribbon section at Scott's Ford.

(3) Another option would be to remove the rock dam from the bottom of Maramec Spring Park to allow for the free migration of rainbow and brown trout into and out of the park.

Problem #2

The series of rock dams within the park boundaries concentrates the fish and therefore concentrates the fishermen. The addition of 1/2-ton boulders in certain sections of the park has helped with offering additional habitat and spreads the fish population out somewhat. Even so, there are still just ten or so primary fishing spots. This frustrates visiting fishermen, as they generally must choose to fish in a crowd or fish in sections of the spring branch with very few fish.

Proposed solution to problem #2

An unrealistic option is to revert the spring branch to a normal flow. This would entail removing the rock dams and the concrete walkways in order to allow a natural river to re-emerge, with riffles transitioning into pools, and then runs, and then back into riffles. This would likely be prohibitively expensive, and there is every liklihood, of course, that the James Foundation would not allow it. However, the idea has merit. By removing the artificial channelization and restructuring the rock dam materials to narrow the river's flow in certain areas, a hydrologist should be able to tailor the spring branch's flow to mimic a more wild trout stream with fish spread throughout the length of the park's waters. Even though this entire proposal will certainly not be enacted, any action in this direction would help the situation. A few boulders here and there have not changed the fishery in any substantial fashion, but we do see that there are pockets of fish now associated with those boulders. Continuing in this fashion to narrow the channel into notable riffles, for example, would continue to yield positive results. Likewise, altering the rock dam construction to incorporate chutes would allow for better trout migration between river sections would also help solve this problem.

Problem #3

It is difficult for bait fishermen, lure fishermen and fly fishermen to fish the same waters without conflict. Socially, park fishermen are generally gracious to one another. However, the fact that these three styles of fishing are not compatible leads to a higher than normal amount of crossed lines, increased frustration, and decreased fisherman satisfaction.

Proposed solutions for problem #3

(1) Institute zone fishing similar to the other three trout parks. Admittedly, this would be difficult due to the issue addressed in Problem #2, above. With such a limited number of fishing spots, you would likely receive more complaints from fishermen who are no longer allowed to use their preferred fishing method at the one primary spot they like to fish.

(2) Institute a catch and release fly fishing area from the spring pool dam to the bridge. This area is home to a large population of trout stocked by the MDC for harvesting purposes, but these fish have migrated out of the fishing area and are now protected. The water in this area is the best looking fly fishing water available in the park, and most of it is only accessible by wading. This would eliminate potential conflict between the needs of the fishermen and the needs of pedestrians viewing the hatchery and spring pool. If this area were opened to catch and release fly fishing, a majority of fly fishermen would spend at least some of their time there, easing the pressure on the rest of the spring branch and decreasing conflict with bait and lure fishermen. This would also make it possible to set aside the rest of the park for a bait fishing zone and a lure fishing zone. To be clear, the spring pool area would continue to be off limits to fishing, since it would not be safe for fishermen to be casting from the sidewalk among pedestrians.