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Fillin' up the ole fishin' hole
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| Photo by Jack Elbert Klamath hatchery personnel count fingerlings for transport to wilderness lakes. |
August 8, 2007
Lakes in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness and the Sky Lakes Wilderness are not naturally home to any species of fish.
This means that we have introduced their fish populations and, in order for the lakes to continue to produce recreational angling, we have to periodically restock them.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has established a policy of restocking these remote wilderness lakes on a bi-annual basis. And, so it is, that the 2007 stocking program is underway.
Recently I watched ODFW officials load fish on the helicopter at the Klamath Hatchery. Unfortunately, old liability laws prevented me from riding along in the helicopter while it dropped the three-inch-long fingerlings from the special transportation rig.
It holds 30 compartments, and each compartment will hold approximately 2,000 of the wiggling, trout fingerlings. The stocking program began its odyssey at Mount Hood Meadows five days earlier.
According to Ted Wise, ODFW biologist, the agency will have stocked over 450 lakes between our northern and southern borders, including some lakes in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
I’ve helped stock remote lakes by packing in fingerlings on the backs of mules. In fact, I will be doing some of that the first weekend in August in the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness.
The problem is that transporting live fish is time sensitive. That means that lakes that are much beyond a two-hour ride are probably beyond reach of packing fish by mules.
Not, however, for the helicopter. A round trip from the Klamath Hatchery near Fort Klamath to Kalmiopsis Wilderness and dozens of lakes in between takes just over two hours.
The helicopter, from Precision Helicopters of Sandpoint, Idaho, and was flown by Jimmy Schuler. According to Jeff Sample, owner of the company, Jimmy is the best pilot in the business.
He also made a comment that our ODFW employees can be proud of. He said, “We’ve flown with several other state agencies and your state biologists and their program is the best!.”
The helicopter costs about $3,600 per hour in the air. That might seem like a lot but, when you include the extremely good survival rate of the fingerlings along with the cost of man hours, the bottom line is that it is a good deal for all of us.
Another thing I learned was that almost all of the trout we are stocking are triploid fish. A triploid fish is like a steer. It cannot reproduce. This has several benefits. Perhaps the most important is that we can stock them in lakes with native populations without worrying about them interbreeding and damaging the genetic heritage of the local species.
Another benefit is that they grow faster and fatter than diploid fish, fish that can breed. The assumption is that since they do not spend time worrying about reproducing, they can just eat, eat and eat.
This also makes them easier to catch all year around.
In one year, these little fish will grow to be 8-9 inches long and ready for the frying pan. In two years, they will top 10 to 12 inches.
According to Roger Smith, local ODFW district fisheries biologist, the best time to catch them is later this summer and into fall, and the best time of day is early in the morning or just before sunset.
” Jack Elbert
Lakes in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness and the Sky Lakes Wilderness are not naturally home to any species of fish.
This means that we have introduced their fish populations and, in order for the lakes to continue to produce recreational angling, we have to periodically restock them.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has established a policy of restocking these remote wilderness lakes on a bi-annual basis. And, so it is, that the 2007 stocking program is underway.
Recently I watched ODFW officials load fish on the helicopter at the Klamath Hatchery. Unfortunately, old liability laws prevented me from riding along in the helicopter while it dropped the three-inch-long fingerlings from the special transportation rig.
It holds 30 compartments, and each compartment will hold approximately 2,000 of the wiggling, trout fingerlings. The stocking program began its odyssey at Mount Hood Meadows five days earlier.
According to Ted Wise, ODFW biologist, the agency will have stocked over 450 lakes between our northern and southern borders, including some lakes in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
I’ve helped stock remote lakes by packing in fingerlings on the backs of mules. In fact, I will be doing some of that the first weekend in August in the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness.
The problem is that transporting live fish is time sensitive. That means that lakes that are much beyond a two-hour ride are probably beyond reach of packing fish by mules.
Not, however, for the helicopter. A round trip from the Klamath Hatchery near Fort Klamath to Kalmiopsis Wilderness and dozens of lakes in between takes just over two hours.
The helicopter, from Precision Helicopters of Sandpoint, Idaho, and was flown by Jimmy Schuler. According to Jeff Sample, owner of the company, Jimmy is the best pilot in the business.
He also made a comment that our ODFW employees can be proud of. He said, “We’ve flown with several other state agencies and your state biologists and their program is the best!.”
The helicopter costs about $3,600 per hour in the air. That might seem like a lot but, when you include the extremely good survival rate of the fingerlings along with the cost of man hours, the bottom line is that it is a good deal for all of us.
Another thing I learned was that almost all of the trout we are stocking are triploid fish. A triploid fish is like a steer. It cannot reproduce. This has several benefits. Perhaps the most important is that we can stock them in lakes with native populations without worrying about them interbreeding and damaging the genetic heritage of the local species.
Another benefit is that they grow faster and fatter than diploid fish, fish that can breed. The assumption is that since they do not spend time worrying about reproducing, they can just eat, eat and eat.
This also makes them easier to catch all year around.
In one year, these little fish will grow to be 8-9 inches long and ready for the frying pan. In two years, they will top 10 to 12 inches.
According to Roger Smith, local ODFW district fisheries biologist, the best time to catch them is later this summer and into fall, and the best time of day is early in the morning or just before sunset.
” Jack Elbert
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Bill Hoffman wrote on Apr 10, 2008 10:07 AM:
" Long live Matt Miles! He was the "Billy Kilmer" of Semi Pro Football: tough, gritty, fiery leader, winning mentality. I will never forget this "young gunslinger", he made this league better for being in it.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Hoffman
CO Stampede, #45 "
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Hoffman
CO Stampede, #45 "
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