Ontario out of Doors

[katch moore]

I just got the new issue for the month, and was going through its first read, and on page 13 I read an article entitled "Borderline Stocking".

Here's my question; When fish were stocked last year, not this years stocking, was it done with the MNR's authority or through MRNF?

I think some of the fly'er's on this board can help me out on this.

[bobfly]

I have been told by MNR Pembroke that no stocking in any water is to be done without permission from the said district MNR. If you want to find out if any legal stocking has been done, contact the appropriate office and ask. If the stocking was done on private land you may not get very many details.
bobfly

[Fishboy]

Katch more: If you are referring to the brown trout stocking on the Ottawa, here's the Cole's Notes version.

There's a very good reason why the brown trout stocking takes place on the Quebec side of the Ottawa. The Ontario MNR used to help out, but a biologist in Ottawa protested this because brown trout are a non-native species.

As a result, the OMNR stopped its support and made vague threats of taking action against the Champlain Run Trout Club if the stocking continued. Apparently, stocking non-native species like brown trout is only possible in Ontario in places like the Grand River or Lake Ontario. The Ottawa River brown trout stocking program was in direct violation of the "How close are the waters to Toronto and how many of your well-heeled friends know people in Queens Park" funding formula.....

The Club switched to the Quebec side to avoid the problem. The Quebec government, which had been stocking off and on since the early 1980s, has no such worries about browns as an invasive species. It uses a fund-matching formula for its financial support. One of the participants in the volunteer program is a MRNF biologist.

The OMNR visited Green Drake about a year and a half ago asking questions and demanding to see the records of the stocking program. Vince politely refused and asked the visitor to leave. Nothing further happened. Nothing further can happen since the program takes place in Quebec.

So, we now have a developing brown trout fishery on the Ottawa River no thanks to the OMNR.

[Lonnie]

How successful is the stocking program? I'm new to the area, but to date, I've never seen one, and can't recall ever hearing of anyone catching a trout in the Ottawa. After the Pike/Musky/Bass and catfish get their share, are there any left for anglers? (lol) How big do they grow on the ottawa - is it possible to catch a 21 inch fish?
cheers and thanks,
LK

[Todd B.]

Lonnie,

We put around 1200 stockers (10") browns in this spring along with around 30 breeders (+20"). Given the size of the water, your chances of catching a breeder are probably like winning the lottery. LOL

It's not clear how many hold over for successive years but many are caught each year. I caught 14 last season, however I've been skunked the few times I tried for them this season. If you're going to target them I would suggest either first thing in the morning or in the evening and look for rising fish. If there's nothing rising it's easier to fish for bass.

[katch moore]

Katch more: If you are referring to the brown trout stocking on the Ottawa, here's the Cole's Notes version.

There's a very good reason why the brown trout stocking takes place on the Quebec side of the Ottawa. The Ontario MNR used to help out, but a biologist in Ottawa protested this because brown trout are a non-native species.

As a result, the OMNR stopped its support and made vague threats of taking action against the Champlain Run Trout Club if the stocking continued. Apparently, stocking non-native species like brown trout is only possible in Ontario in places like the Grand River or Lake Ontario. The Ottawa River brown trout stocking program was in direct violation of the "How close are the waters to Toronto and how many of your well-heeled friends know people in Queens Park" funding formula.....

The Club switched to the Quebec side to avoid the problem. The Quebec government, which had been stocking off and on since the early 1980s, has no such worries about browns as an invasive species. It uses a fund-matching formula for its financial support. One of the participants in the volunteer program is a MRNF biologist.

The OMNR visited Green Drake about a year and a half ago asking questions and demanding to see the records of the stocking program. Vince politely refused and asked the visitor to leave. Nothing further happened. Nothing further can happen since the program takes place in Quebec.

So, we now have a developing brown trout fishery on the Ottawa River no thanks to the OMNR.

that's exactly what i wanted to know, the juicy details!!


thanks Fishboy!!


and yes trout are in our waters, lot's of streams that empty out into the ottawa river further up north west, and from the Quebec side. so there must be some brookies in there. maybe not in Ottawa, but upstream...it's possible.

[Fishboy]

KM,

I'm not so sure that my post contains "juicy details", but it is accurate with regard to the reactions of the Ontario and Quebec governments. I helped out in the stocking program for 7 years and it was a lot of fun. It's one of the things I really miss since I've been gone.

As for the success of the brown trout fishery on the Ottawa, no one really knows. We never had the funding to do follow-up research. The best we could do was to conduct informal creel surveys by asking anglers to report their catches of browns. It would be great if those of you who catch them would report to the Green Drake.

You mentioned brookies in the Ottawa. Trout Unlimited biologist Jack Imhof gave a talk to the Ottawa Flyfishers Society about a year and a half ago. During his presentation, the subject turned to brookies in the Ottawa Valley.

Jack said the while rivers such as the Bonnechere and the Madawaska probably can't hold trout, their tributaries probably could. The fish would likely have to descend into the main rivers to winter over. No reason to suspect that they wouldn't do the same in some of the feeder creeks draining into the Ottawa River.

[katch moore]

Jack said the while rivers such as the Bonnechere and the Madawaska probably can't hold trout, their tributaries probably could. The fish would likely have to descend into the main rivers to winter over. No reason to suspect that they wouldn't do the same in some of the feeder creeks draining into the Ottawa River.

it's always fun finding cold streams in and around the Madawaska, i do alot of fishing out near Palmer Rapids and there's couple streams up that way that we were able to pull couple tiny brookies out of.


as for the browns in the Ottawa, Todd had mentioned that some breeders were released in the river. Has any "spawning grounds" been established, or any probable areas been located??

[Fishboy]

as for the browns in the Ottawa, Todd had mentioned that some breeders were released in the river. Has any "spawning grounds" been established, or any probable areas been located??

Wading around Bate Island, there appear to be some suitable spawning beds and water levels are usually pretty good year round - they might be too fast in spring.

There are an awful lot of predator species in the Ottawa, so any browns that hatch would probably end up as fish food. It was kind of sad one year when we were still stocking from Bate Island. We put the fish in at the beach and watch the gulls come down to pick them off in the slack water. From then on we've put them in faster moving water so they aren't such easy prey for the gulls

A few years ago I went out to Britannia to try my luck. I met a guy with a fly rod coming out of the river and I asked him how the fishing was.

"Good news and bad news. The bad news is I caught a 6" brown. The good news is that they stock them at 8"."

It's only anecdotal evidence, but it does provide a little bit of hope that the fish are spawning.