Management

Quality fishing depends on quality water. Unfortunately, the loss of trees and denudation of cover along the streams by agricultural practices and lumbering have created erosion of soil and warming of the water. The eroded silt clogs spawning gravel and buries aquatic insects. The sun beating down on unshaded water can raise temperatures several degrees in a lay.

Free-flowing streams have been dammed for swimming holes and for Fishing. Ironically, the latter is useless For brook fishing since the fish cannot exist in warm swimming-hole waters.

Fisheries people have put considerable time into research about habitat improvement. They're discovering that there is a relationship between trout populations and nutrients which are found not only in trout water but also surrounding it as well. However, proper land use alone will not make the stream more suitable to trout productivity. A multiple-use program which considers both soil and water management is needed.

I have already mentioned that restocking streams with hatchery-reared fish is common practice, but one of the most effective ways of maintaining a population is to improve conditions for its natural reproduction. A water supply that is physically, chemically, and biologically suitable is something about which we all should be concerned.

If you're a "brookie" lover, you're already aware of the benefits of good management. You've discovered that proper habitats will produce a nine or ten-pound beauty while another fish of the same age in poor waters will weigh only a few ounces. On the other hand, going for trophy-size fish can be detrimental to the sport. Catching and keeping only the largest contributes to the breeding of small fish. Perhaps there's good argument here for selective voluntary release.

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