MONROE - Swimming underneath the ice now, our local fish population saw a big boost in the spring after the Department of Natural Resources stocked fish to build up the catchable-sized base population.
Kurt Welke, DNR fish biologist for Green, Rock and Dane counties, said DNR officials work on a rotational basis to sample streams, creeks and rivers to see what kind of fish population there is in a particular county. He said every three to six years they will build a base quota and try to stock the waters to ensure the population of fish stays strong. According to DNR stocking statistics, the DNR stocked almost 9,000 fish ranging in size from fingerlings to yearlings in Green County throughout the spring and fall of last year. Multiple water bodies received fish, including Bushnell, Dougherty, Erickson, Hefty, Sawmill, Story, Sylvester, Ward and Zanders creeks as well as the Pecatonica River, the Sugar River, the Little Sugar River, Beckman Lake and Lake Montesian.
"We stock to boost numbers where natural productions is limited, harvest is heavy and habitat may not be present to complete the life history (of the fish)," Welke said.
Welke builds a base quota for fish in each body of water and then works to a sum total of how many fish to stock.
"I sit down with my boss and horse-trade on precise numbers, they change based on recent survey, if a winter-kill occurred since the last stocking," he said.
Once a sum is agreed upon, the DNR stocks the bodies of water. For example, Beckman Lake was stocked in August with 818 large fingerling-sized largemouth bass, and Yellowstone Lake in Lafayette County was stocked with 446 large fingerling muskellunge in September. How many fish are stocked depends on each individual body of water. While the whole of Lafayette County only had 4,822 total fish stocked in its creeks, brooks and lakes, the difference between the counties is partly due to the rotational basis the DNR utilizes in stocking. In 2012, Lafayette County had more than 22,000 fish stocked in the same bodies of water.
Welke said they try to get the predatory fish like bass and pike out of the hatcheries sooner so they don't eat each other, but due to ice-over following the frigid winter, stocking was delayed. There were still fish stocked as early as March in Green County, but some water bodies like Lake Montesian, Beckman Lake and Dougherty Creek were stocked in August and June, though most of the species were warm-water fish like pike and bass.
The largest number of species of fish stocked in Green County were northern pike at 5,230 in the Pecatonica River and the Sugar River in 2014. Rainbow trout were stocked at 1,007 across multiple creeks in the county, and 1,090 brown trout were also stocked throughout the county in 2014. Most of the rainbow trout were yearling size, an average size of 9 inches, and brown trout ranged from small fingerlings to yearlings with an average size of almost 4 inches. Except Yellowstone Lake, where 446 muskellunge were stocked, strictly small fingerling brown trout were stocked in Lafayette County in 2014, at 4,310 fish.
Welke said most of the fish stocked this year will likely be harvested by fishermen, so Green County tends to be stocked more often.
"Mostly a put-and-take fish we expect people to catch and take since the stream quality is usually insufficient for long-term growth and survival," Welke said.
Kurt Welke, DNR fish biologist for Green, Rock and Dane counties, said DNR officials work on a rotational basis to sample streams, creeks and rivers to see what kind of fish population there is in a particular county. He said every three to six years they will build a base quota and try to stock the waters to ensure the population of fish stays strong. According to DNR stocking statistics, the DNR stocked almost 9,000 fish ranging in size from fingerlings to yearlings in Green County throughout the spring and fall of last year. Multiple water bodies received fish, including Bushnell, Dougherty, Erickson, Hefty, Sawmill, Story, Sylvester, Ward and Zanders creeks as well as the Pecatonica River, the Sugar River, the Little Sugar River, Beckman Lake and Lake Montesian.
"We stock to boost numbers where natural productions is limited, harvest is heavy and habitat may not be present to complete the life history (of the fish)," Welke said.
Welke builds a base quota for fish in each body of water and then works to a sum total of how many fish to stock.
"I sit down with my boss and horse-trade on precise numbers, they change based on recent survey, if a winter-kill occurred since the last stocking," he said.
Once a sum is agreed upon, the DNR stocks the bodies of water. For example, Beckman Lake was stocked in August with 818 large fingerling-sized largemouth bass, and Yellowstone Lake in Lafayette County was stocked with 446 large fingerling muskellunge in September. How many fish are stocked depends on each individual body of water. While the whole of Lafayette County only had 4,822 total fish stocked in its creeks, brooks and lakes, the difference between the counties is partly due to the rotational basis the DNR utilizes in stocking. In 2012, Lafayette County had more than 22,000 fish stocked in the same bodies of water.
Welke said they try to get the predatory fish like bass and pike out of the hatcheries sooner so they don't eat each other, but due to ice-over following the frigid winter, stocking was delayed. There were still fish stocked as early as March in Green County, but some water bodies like Lake Montesian, Beckman Lake and Dougherty Creek were stocked in August and June, though most of the species were warm-water fish like pike and bass.
The largest number of species of fish stocked in Green County were northern pike at 5,230 in the Pecatonica River and the Sugar River in 2014. Rainbow trout were stocked at 1,007 across multiple creeks in the county, and 1,090 brown trout were also stocked throughout the county in 2014. Most of the rainbow trout were yearling size, an average size of 9 inches, and brown trout ranged from small fingerlings to yearlings with an average size of almost 4 inches. Except Yellowstone Lake, where 446 muskellunge were stocked, strictly small fingerling brown trout were stocked in Lafayette County in 2014, at 4,310 fish.
Welke said most of the fish stocked this year will likely be harvested by fishermen, so Green County tends to be stocked more often.
"Mostly a put-and-take fish we expect people to catch and take since the stream quality is usually insufficient for long-term growth and survival," Welke said.