SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) — Spearfish Creek offers some of the best fishing in the Black Hills.
Well known for its ample brown, rainbow and even brook trout, the stream, with its clear, cool waters is the destination of many anglers year-round.
But with 2,000 to 4,000 fish per mile, the size of the fish may not be as large as in other area creeks. So, the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks removed approximately 3,000 brown trout this summer in hopes of enhancing the size of the fish.
"There is a strong population as far as numbers," said Jake Davis, area fisheries supervisor with the Game, Fish and Parks Department.
The population was greater than in other streams, and while they may have led to a good fishing experience, the fisheries personnel saw "red flags" with too much completion for the limited resources in the stream.
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Few fish, brown nor rainbow trout, were greater than 14 inches long — most were in the 10- to 12-inch range, Davis said.
So, the department decided to remove fish in some areas to see if the lower number would lead to a healthier fishery.
"We do a lot of population manipulation with stocking fish; however, in this case we, in certain sections of the stream, would remove individuals from those sections with a goal of freeing up (food) resources for the remaining fish . and hopefully improve growth rate and also the size structure," Davis told the Black Hills Pioneer (http://bit.ly/2dek423 ).
Fourteen areas of Spearfish Creek, in Spearfish and up Spearfish Canyon to Cheyenne Crossing, were identified and "electrofished" in late July and early August. Each was a quarter-mile long. Fisheries staff used equipment designed to send an electrical current into the water that stuns the fish causing them to float to the surface. Then other staff netted the trout marking some with radio transmitters as part of the population study.
In seven areas — the control areas — the stream was electrofished, and the fish were logged and released. In the other seven areas — the treatment areas — the fish were logged, but half were removed and later restocked in Iron Creek Lake. Only brown trout were removed.
Some of the trout were killed to identify their age, done by analyzing the ear bones of the fish.
For the next two years, a South Dakota State University student will monitor the population and will electrofish the creek each summer to determine if there is growth in the trout.
Davis said the rainbow trout population is also ample, but sizes also are smaller than in other streams. He said he hopes removing some of the brown trout will give the rainbows a boost in size as well. Davis said brown trout are generally more aggressive and will outcompete a rainbow population.
Anglers are required to release any rainbow trout caught in Spearfish Creek between the Maurice Intake and Hydro No. 2. Beyond those boundaries, anglers are limited to a combined creel of five trout daily and only one may be larger than 14 inches long.
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Information from: Black Hills Pioneer, http://www.bhpioneer.com
