Conservation Corner
How to Keep What We Have
Ian Anderson
Fly Tier and Webmaster
Put Something Back Into
Brookville
Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish, Carp, Sucker,
Perch, White Bass, Pumpkinseed, and Rock Bass are what most
people think of when they first think of fishing in Central
Indiana. Believe it or not, Smallmouth Bass is not one
of the fish most people think of even though they are native and
very abundant. Now ask the average man or woman on the
street what fish would they "Fly Fish" for in Central
Indiana and most would say "nothing". At least once a
week someone new will come into the fly shop and ask "What
do you fly fish for around here? There are no Trout."
As a general rule they are correct, there are no
trout in Central Indiana. There used to be. Even
the Westfork of the White River was once a cold water river.
One hundred plus years ago when there was still a large
buffer of grasses, scrubs and trees up and down the river
along with large overhanging trees to shade the river there
were trout swimming in the Westfork of the White River.
These days agriculture has cleared the land and in some
places plowed and planted right up the the rivers edge.
Suspended sediment and an overabundance of algae (due to
fertilizer run off) have helped turn most streams in Central
Indiana into warmwater fisheries. In some ways this is
not such a bad thing. There is some fantastic
Smallmouth fishing within a few minutes of the fly
shop, and your house.
As I mentioned above, as a general rule there
are no trout in our area. However, there is one
exception and it has become a real gem in Central Indiana.
I am speaking of the almost two miles tailwater out of
Brookville Reservoir know as the Brookville Tailwater or
simply "Brookville". Most people, especially fly fisherman and
women, have become keenly aware of this fishery in the past
few years. But it was not always a great little trout
stream. We all have to give thanks to the hard working
folks of the
Central Indiana Trout Unlimited chapter who have spent
the last eight years (that I know of) working on this stream
and developing it into what it is today. For about 5
of those eight years they were quietly stocking the
tailwater and not many people outside of CITU even knew
about it. Slowly people heard and fished the tailwater
and it started growing. However, 2006 was when it
REALLY took off. Then in 2007 the state formally took
over management of the tailwater. The state was able
to get the Corp of Engineers to release water from as far
down in the reservoir as they could and to work towards
keeping the flow more consistent. What a banner year
that was. Everyone was talking about Brookville and how
to fish it. We were frequently hearing of 20 inch plus
browns and rainbow being caught (nicely dispelling the notion
that there was no holdover occuring), we even saw pictures
so we knew they were not just "fish stories".
Along with the trout fishing developing and exploding in
2006 general interest in the entire tailwater and the health
of the fishery exploded. CITU found that they were not
alone in they concern and desire to develop the tailwater
and keep it a sustainable trout stream. Organizations such
as Reel Women-Reel Men of Indianapolis,
Indianapolis Fly
casters,
Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers,
The Buckeye
United Fly Fishers, and even
The Derby City
Fly Fishers (in Louisville) started to become active in
the preservation of this small stretch of water. |
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Many of us fisherman and women have been reaping the rewards
of this hard work. More consistent flows, better
temperature controls, various fishing events, not to mention
better fish stockings have all helped the fishery and helped
all of us enjoy this resources over the past few years.
During this time there has been a growing push for better
and tighter regulations of the fish and fishing to help
preserve this resource for years to come. In 2007 the
DNR initiated a one 18" plus Brown Trout a day limit. In
2008 the DNR opened the tailwater to trout fishing up during
the winter months as catch and release only but closed when
the rainbows are stocked in April. Various other steps
have been taken by many people and organizations to help the
Brookville Tailwater.
Many people feel that
more special regulations are now needed to help insure that
this resource continues into the future. Various
proposals have been put forth and as you might expect all
have created some sort of controversy. It is generally
felt that some form of catch and release only section is
needed. While catch and release is a great practice
(see our
last month Conservation Corner concerning good C&R
practices) other steps are needed. The mortality
rate for the trout is greatly increased, even though they
are released, when they are hooked with treble hooks, barbed
hooks and gut hooked while live bait fishing. So catch and
release measures are not enough. Some sort of
artificial only, single barbless hook regulations should be
enacted.
The difficulty is that there are
other species in the water that other fisherman feel they
have just as
much a right too fish for. Walleye, smallmouth,
catfish, and carp are some of the more popular species that
share the waters with the trout. Many of the spinning
and bait casting fisherman feel that any catch and release
regulations are going too far let alone special regulations
concerning hooks, bait type and location. They do have
a right to fish for these species and even harvest them if
they want. However, I think a bigger picture view
needs to be taken.
As mentioned earlier in this
article, there is NO trout fishing in Central (and even
Southern) Indiana besides the Brookville Tailwater. If
the DNR is concerned with providing fishing resources to
everyone, being fair and balanced, then they must realize
that the spinning and bait casting fisherman have far more
resources in Central Indiana to catch Walleye, carp, Catfish
and Smallmouth Bass than the Trout fisherman does. In
doing the "right thing" as stewards of the our natural
resources they MUST do everything they can to preserve this
trout fishery because of the fact there is nothing else in
our area.
Fortunately, the opportunity is at
hand for all of us to voice our concern. The Indiana
Natural Resource Advisory Council is putting together recommendations for
updating Indiana Fish & Game laws. They will submit these
recommendations to the Natural Resource Advisory Council in September 2009.
We (the public) have until April 1st to submit feedback
concerning special regulation for the Brookville Tailwater.
Some concerned fisherman and women have even written up
various ideas and possible feedback letters you can send to
the DNR. We have placed this information on a special
page (The
Brookville Proposal) on our web site. Please take
time to read this information and more importantly take the
time to submit your suggestions to the Natural Resource
Advisory Council.
The only way we (all of us) keep
this resource going is by participating in it's success. So
put something back into the Brookville Tailwater today!
Be Well,
Ian
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