The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 27, Milford, Kosciusko County, 18 July 1984 — Page 11
Summer
Stocking programs make the Barbee Lakes good for fishing
By JED PEARSON Biologist Bass fishing has always been good in the Barbee Lakes. So has bluegill and crappie fishing. But now, fishing is even better. Recent stocking programs have added channel catfish, trout, and walleyes and made the Barbee Lakes the most diverse fishing lakes in Kosciusko County. In 1981 the Department of Natural Resources initiated a channel catfish stocking program at the Barbee Lakes. Over 14,000 catfish fingerlings were released into Irish Lake. Last year, another 5,000 fingerlings were added. The catfish stocking dramatically boosted the number of catfish in the lake. Prior to the
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stockings, the Barbee Lakes contained a low-level channel catfish population. Seldom were any caught. In a DNR fishery survey in 1980, only one channel catfish was collected. One year after the first stocking, 37 channel cats were netted in four overnight gill net sets in Irish Lake. Although 37 catfish may not seem like a lot of fish, the number caught per net after stocking was 148 times greater than before the stocking. Last year 309 channel catfish were netted on three occasions. This catch rate was 112 times greater than before the stocking. Right now the Barbee Lakes contain more channel catfish than any other Kosciusko County lake and probably contain more than any other Northeast Indiana lake.
In 1982, the trout were added to Barbee Lakes’ fishing diversity. Sechrist Lake, because it contains clean, cold and welloxygenated water, is now stocked annually with 1,000 trout. Survival and growth of the fish have been excellent. In fact, some trout over 20 inches long are now available. Trout fishing is best during the spring months after stocking. They stay more in shallow water then. Later in summer, the head for deeper, cooler waters generally about 20-25 feet deep. Walleyes represent the third fish in the trio of new fishing opportunities at the Barbee Lakes. About 5,000 walleye fingerlings, measuring 3-4 inches long, were stocked into the Barbee Lakes during fall 1982. They were purchased from a commercial source by the local Property Owners Association. Sampling last fall by DNR fisheries biologists indicated the walleyes were surviving and growing rapidly. Walleyes were netted in the east end of Irish Lake, in Big and Little Barbee Lakes, and along the east shore of Kuhn Lake. They averaged 12 inches long and by this coming fall they are expected to average 18 inches long. The Barbee Lakes also contain northern pike and white bass. Although not stocked, these fish have increased recently through natural reproduction and add to the variety of the Barbee Lakes’ fishery. Access to the Barbee Lakes is available through a state-owned boat ramp along Armstrong Road (500 N at Grassy Creek about 3 miles west of SR 13. Future DNR plans call for deveopment of another access site on Kuhn Lake off SR 13. Estimate down The nation’s farmers are expected to harvest 1.97 billion bushels of winter wheat this year, down marginally from last month’s estimate and 1 percent less than last year’s crop, the government said recently.
■IMI I v -- / ' * I I jflriß R I I I .fl B J 1 ■ B| * J COLORING CONTEST WINNER — Lisa Tessmann, 10, won the recent coloring contest at Schwartz’s Super Valu, Milford. All ai*ea Super Valu Stores promoted the contest with the theme, ‘‘Kid’s Week.” Lisa is the daughter of Jerry and Pat Tessmann, r 5 box 243, Syracuse. She won four tickets to Cedar Point. Lisa said she would take her family with her on the trip. Pictured with Lisa is Steve Schwartz, manager of Schwartz’s Super Valu. (Photo by Jo Sturgis) „
Trout fishing in Indiana
When Northeast Indiana fishermen think of trout fishing. Pigeon River in LaGrange and Steuben Counties comes to mind. And rightly so, for Pigeon River is undoubtedly Indiana’s premier trout stream. It gets the bulk of the trout produced each year for Indiana’s put-and-take trout stocking program. Yet there are several smaller, lesser-known trout streams that offer quiet, relaxing trout fishing. One such stream is Clock Creek, located just southeast of Rome City in Noble County. Two sections of Clock Creek are stocked each year by the Department of Natural Resources. One section lies along C.R. 175E about two miles north of Brimfield. The other section is just upstream where Clock Creek passes under C.R. 850 N about % mile west of S.R. 9. All totalled, these two stream sections receive 400 trout immediately before opening day each year. Most of the trout fishing activity takes place along C.R. 175E. Here, a large pool in the stream is present and most trout “hole-up’’ in it. Upstream, a few trout can be found scattered along the stream under submerged logs and undercut banks. Past studies by the DNR have shown that although as many.as half of the trout are caught (on opening day, trout do holdover in Clock Creek and can be caught throughout the season which lasts till the end of December. Clock Creek is the only trout stream in Noble County. It begins several miles to the east of the
stocked sections at the outlet of Sacarider Lake. Although much of the upstream section, known locally as Gretzinger Ditch, has been channelized, its waters usually run clear and cool. In the stocked sections, overhead trees shade the stream. Clock Creek eventually empties into Tamarack Lake, one of the lakes in the West Lakes Chain. Occasionally, fishermen catch trout in Tamarack Lake, but most trout remain in the stream before being caught. If you’re a trout fisherman who doesn’t like the hectic pace of opening day trout fishing on the better-known streams in Northeast Indiana, or simply like a quiet summer getaway down at the old “fishing hole,’’ try Clock Creek. Fishing is just as good.
Walleye fingerlings in our area lakes
In a continuing effort to provide Hoosier anglers with quality walleye fishing, five Northern Indiana lakes — including Big Chapman, Clear and Tippecanoe — were recently stocked with walleye fry or fingerlings by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Big Chapman, near Warsaw, received approximately 89,000 walleye fingerlings, 1 to 2 inches long. , The DNR annually stocks walleyes in Big Chapman Lake Women gain Women held almost a third of management, administrative and executive jobs by 1980, up from 19 percent a decade earlier, the Census Bureau said recently. On public works America may fall $450 billion short in meeting its road, bridge and other public works needs for the rest of the century, posing a “serious but manageable problem,” a congressional' study said recently.
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Getting on the water
The lakes of Northeast Indiana are famous for their crop of fish. But the bluegills, pikes and walleyes would never get in the frying pan if fisherman couldn’t get on the water. The Public Access Development program was initiated in 1953 as a statewide program to provide free access to Indiana water for hunters and fishermen. In 1975 the program was divided into northern and southern regions. The PAD program office for Kosciusko County and the rest of Northern Indiana is located on the Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area near North Webster. The program is administered by the
Bigger bluegills at Upper Long Lake
A few years ago big bluegills were scarce in Upper Long Lake. Fishermen could rarely catch bluegills bigger than six inches long in the 86 acre south-central Noble County Lake. Ip a 1980 fish population survey, only 27 of 302 bluegills collected by Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists were larger than six inches and the biggest bluegill barely reached 74 inches long. Unlike so many other Northeast Indiana natural lakes, Upper Long Lake did not have the eight and nine inch bluegills. Bluegill scale samples showed that Upper Long Lake bluegills were some of the slowest growing in the area. Apparently they were too abundant for the lake’s food supply. Consequently, the bluegills weren’t getting enough to eat so they simply didn’t grow, or they grew so slowly that they were dying of old age before they were big enough to keep. In fact it was taking six years for Upper Long Lake bluegill to get six inches long. To improve bluegill growth, DNR fisheries biologists applied a fish toxicant, called Fintrol, to Upper Long Lake in October 1981. It was thought that if enough small bluegills could be killed, the survivors would grow faster since each fish would have more food to eat. In addition, about 9,000 largemouth bass were stocked in the lake to keep the remaining bluegill number in check. Since the treatment, bluegill growth has improved dramatically and fishermen are reportedly catching bluegills bigger than ever. Subsequent bluegill scale samples taken during fishery surveys in 1982 and again last year show that Upper Long Lake’s bluegills average 32 percent bigger now than before the
and Lake Tippecanoe as part of a walleye research program to better understand factors which influence walleye survival. Information obtained from the research effort will be helpful in expanding the walleye stocking program. Clear Lake, near Fremont in Steuben County, was stocked with 162,000 walleye fingerlings. Clear Lake is stocked annually to bolster its walleye population. Adult walleyes are captured each spring at Clear Lake for eggtaking and hatching, providing a source of walleyes for stocking other lakes. Other Northern Indiana Lakes which received walleyes were: Lake Maxinkuckee at Culver in Marshall County; and the Salimonie Resevoir near Wabash. Lake Maxinkuckee was stocked with approxiamtely 5 million walleye fry while Salimonie Resevoir was stocked with 14 million fry. Although the walleye fry were small, less than 4-inch long, they have proven successful at Lake Maxinkuckee and Salimonie.
Wed., July 18,1984 - THE MAIL-JOURNAL
Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife. Funding for the program is derived primarily from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and from Pittman-Robertson and Dingle-Johnson funds which are generated from federal taxes on hunting and fishing equipment. To date this program has developed 159 public access facilities statewide. Ot these facilities, 106 are maintained by the PAD program. The remainder of the facilities were developed in cooperation with other state agencies, or county or
treatment. The biggest change occured among younger fish, the primary target of the treatment, especially age three fish. Prior to the treatment, age three bluegills averaged only 44 inches long. Now they average 7 inches long. Older bluegills, four and five years old now average about one inch bigger than they did before the treatment. Bluegills up to nine inches are now present. The surviving bluegills successfully spawned after the Fintrol treatment. Their young are also growing faster now than age one bluegills before the project. As a result of the stocking, bass are more abundant in Upper Long Lake. In the 1980 survey, 39 bass were captured by biologists during one hour of electrofishing. In 1982, the catch rate doubled to 76 bass collected per electroshocking hour. It remained high last year at 74 bass per hour. Besides the improvements in bluegill growth and increases in bass at Upper Long Lake, the number of small yellow perch has declined, northern pike have increased, while most other species have stayed about the same. How long the improvement in fishing will last at Upper Long Lake is still uncertain. Ideally the good balance between bluegills and bass, now that it has been restored, will last for a long time. The DNR plans to periodically monitor the fishery to insure that it does. Meanwhile, fishermen are catching bigger bluegills at Upper Long Lake.
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city park and recreation boards, and are maintained by those organizations. Public Access Sites These properties are small, usually only one or two acres in size, and provide only a boat launching ramp and a parking lot. In Northern Indiana, most access sites are on natural lakes. In the south, however, these sites are primarily located on rivers. The goal of the PAD program is to provide free access to each natural lake and each navigable stream in 10 to 15 mile intervals and to afford convenient put-in and take-out points for one day float trips. The program tries to develop four new sites annually, depending on the availability of suitable property and aquisition funds. It is the policy of the program to design and construct public access ramps to accomodate a typical fishing boat (12’-16’ long) and 6-20 horsepower outboard motors. Excessive size boats and motors which may require recovery under power has caused considerable damage to several ramps. Fishermen and boaters are asked to exercise caution while launching and recovering such crafts. Boat launching on these sites is provided at no marge, and boats may be mooreffifor a.maximum of 20 days, providmgme boat is marked with the owner’s name and address. No hunting is allow- \ ed on these property due to their . small size. Camping and camp fires are also prohibited. Public Fishing Areas There are 19 Public Fishing Areas in Indiana. These properties are larger than the access sites and in addition to the boat launching ramp and parking lot, provide a primitive campgroundpicnic area and pit toilet facilities. As with the access sites, there is no charge for boat launching on Public Fishing Areas. Campground occupancy is limited to 14 consecutive days, and camp- . ing and campfires are permitted in the campground only. Swimming is prohibited. Only twelve volt (maximum) electric motors are permitted on public fishing lakes. The lakes also have a 14-inch minimum largemouth bass limit. Hunting is permitted on most fishing areas and trapping is allowed by permit only. Trapping permits are awarded on a sealed bid basis, and are determined by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Property Section.
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