The Missouri Department of Conservation is funding a 3 year research project investigating the spawning habits and movement patterns of catfish in the Missouri River and its tributaries.  While adequate data exists for other game species, little is known about catfish spawning ecology.  This research could provide fisheries managers with essential information needed to make recommendations about season, length and bag limits, which would likely result in more and bigger catfish for Missouri anglers.  The DOC is considering a number of regulation options to provide a better fishery, but plans to wait on research results before making regulation decisions.

Read more about the catfish research going on, and the options the DOC is pursuing here. 

I just received an email from Doug Megargle, fisheries biologist with Idaho Fish and Game, regarding the proposed Silver Creek regulation changes.

An open house is scheduled for Sept. 11th in Hailey, ID to gather comment on the Silver Creek and other proposed regulation changes.  See the information below.

Also check out my interview with Doug regarding the reg. changes.

PLEASE NOTE:  Idaho Fish and Game has scheduled an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. September 11, in rooms 301-302 at the Community Campus, 1050 Fox Acres Road in Hailey, to gather public comment on proposed statewide and

Magic Valley regional changes in fishing rules for 2008-2009. 

Directions:  Heading north on Highway 75 proceed through

Bellevue. Drive past the

Friedman Memorial Airport runway, which will be on the left. At the first traffic light in Hailey, turn right onto Fox Acres Road. Proceed down Fox Acres and go straight through the stop sign. Proceed around the curve to

Wood River High School. The Community Campus will be next door on the right. Pull into the driveway on the right, stay to the right and park in the lot.

Starting in January, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources imposed restrictive fishing regulations in the Upper Savage River system to protect brook trout populations.  The regulations included restricting the use of bait, and prohibiting the taking of brook trout.  While the regulations were probably well intentioned, they met a ton of opposition from local anglers and sporting groups, resulting in a petition with about 1,000 signatures handed over to the DNR. 

State senator George Edwards has voiced his opposition to the regulations quite clearly, but with little or no response from the DNR.  Edwards insists that some type of compromise could be made where some of the waters would be open to bait fishing, while local groups are further petitioning to completely overturn the regulations. 

Should local groups quit whining and conform to the regulations, or did the DNR bite off more than they could chew?  I think a compromise might be the best solution for both the DNR and anglers, but I can only hope…….

Read more here  

The concept of land ownership tends to vary widely from East to West in the United States.  In my personal experience, it appears that private land in the western United States is much more coveted by landowners, who often have serious problems with someone even stepping on their land.  Such a pattern is also evident when comparing urban to rural areas, with access more likely to be prohibited in urban locations.  Our great nation was built upon the successful concept of private property rights, and I believe that they should be respected whenever possible. 

However, property rights can often affect where and how we fish, and can therefore cause conflict between anglers and landowners.  In the northeastern U.S., particularly in states like Maine (although I’m not sure there’s another state quite like it!), a time honored tradition of public access to private land has been the norm for over a hundred years.  Hunters, fishermen and trappers alike have benefitted greatly from this partnership with private landowners, and we’ve often taken for granted the fact that such access has always been available.

But good things don’t always last, and the times are changing.  A recent article in a New York newspaper reports that Orleans County has purchased a 3 year lease agreement to open 4,000 feet of river along Oak Orchard Creek, a popular trout and salmon fishery.  The agreement will cost the County $22,500. 

In the short term, the deal sounds like a great one for anglers.  But in the big picture, might we be walking down a dangerous trail and setting a precedent for pay-to-access fishing across the Northeast?  

Only time will tell, but for now we should certainly enjoy the vast tracts of hunting and fishing land that we’re so lucky to have free roam upon. 

A couple of days ago, I linked to a Minnesota story about the destruction to a state fish hatchery caused by area flooding.  Apparently, human infrastructure wasn’t the only thing affected by the flooding.  Reports are showing that the flooding severely affected many trout streams, washing fish downstream, and widening stream banks and filling of holes that were once used by fish.  Wide, shallow streams are almost never good trout producers.  Let’s hope, for the anglers’ sake, that the damage wasn’t as bad as it appears.

See the story here

In a related story, storms in Summit County, Colorado appear to have killed a large number of fish in the Snake River.  Officials are unsure whether or not the fish died as a result of toxic inputs to the stream resulting from mining, or an incredibly high sediment load.

Story here

A local Wisconsin newspaper has a story on stream improvement being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Trout Unlimited, and Wisconsin DNR.  The Deerskin River, a class 1 trout stream, was used to transport logs to mills in the early 1900’s, and had a number of dams constructed on it, in addition to other habitat changes making it less suitable for trout.  Periodic habitat enhancement has been ongoing since the 1960’s.

See the story here

One of the stream improvement activities that puzzles me is the removal of alders.  Apparently, it is believed that alder branches are redirecting stream flow, which is widening the banks, so workers are removing these alders and instead placing brush piles in strategic locations.  I can’t speak from too much experience, but as far as I know, alders are almost always good for a stream.  They provide shade to the stream, which keeps the water cool and protects fish from predators from above.  I’ve always considered alders as important to maintaining a diverse stream flow regime.  If anything, they keep the banks stable, and redirect flow in a way that causes sinuosity in a stream, which almost always means more and better stream habitat, including pools and undercut banks.  Maybe the nature of this specific stream requires alder removal to accomplish restoration goals, but I would have to see alder removal work first hand before believing it actually does a stream any good. 

If you have experience with such activities as part of stream restoration, please contact me or post in the comments section.  I’d definitely like to hear more.

See the details of two fish ladder improvements at dams on Oregon’s Schooner Creek.  The projects should help more trout and salmon access stream habitat above the dams.

Recent flooding in the Midwest hasn’t just impacted homes and businesses.  At a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fish hatchery near Altura, MN, flood waters washed away and killed thousands of juvenile lake trout, which were destined to be stocked in Lake Superior this year.  The trout would have accounted for an estimated 30% of this year’s juvenile lake trout production in the portion of Lake Superior where they were supposed to be stocked.  About 40% of the hatchery’s splake, (a cross between brook trout and lake trout) were lost as well.  No juvenile brook trout were lost, as they had already been stocked earlier this year.

Full story here 

Remember the story about a road closure in a Washington wilderness area due to bull trout presence? 

Well a similar story has shown up in the news recently with some controversy over whether or not the National Park Service should re-build a severely flooded section of the Carbon Road, which usually sees about 100,000 visitors each year.

See the story here

Check out this recent article by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies about Colorado cutthroat trout restoration activities.