The weather was perfect, a sunny morning with a gentle, warm breeze blowing just enough to keep the mosquitos away. The pond had been previously prepared and the brook trout were eagerly awaiting the arrival of some VIP’s. The fish had been purchased by the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen (BCLS) and transported to Reynolds Pond in Cheshire a few days earlier from the Berkshire National Fish Hatchery in Hartsville/New Marlborough. Volunteers from the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club, Adams Outdoor for Youth (AOFY) and the BCLS arrived earlier to assemble the fishing gear – brand new fishing poles, reels, line, sinkers and bobbers which were donated to MassWildlife by Cabelas. MassWildlife, in turn, provided them free of charge to the anglers who would be arriving shortly. (Through the MassWildlife Angler Education Program, led by Jim Legacy, MassWildlife provides equipment for just such cases). Prior to the VIPs arrival the volunteers attached the hooks and sinkers to the lines, meted out the worms and grubs into styrofoam cups along with the soil to keep them fresh. And, get this, anglers had their choice of using red or green worms! Yes, you read that right. Pond owner, Mr. Reynolds even talked some songbirds and woodpeckers to provide the background music.
The bonfire was crackling away and preparations were under way to prepare the food and drink for lunchtime.
So, who were these very important guests?
Fifteen tots from the North Adams area who were bussed in by the folks from the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, which is the umbrella agency for many social services in the area. They were accompanied by Alex Daugherty, Probation Officer with the Northern Berkshire District Court, Jason Hooks a Court Officer there as well, Colleen Murphy, a Probation Officer with the Berkshire Juvenile Court, Liz Boland, a staff person with the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Wendi Gore a Para Professional with Greylock Elementary School in North Adams. Kids who probably would not otherwise have had the opportunity to obtain the necessary fishing equipment and to go fishing. They were all well behaved kids who could hardly wait to cast for those trout. Most of them, some as young as 6 or 7 years old, were able to cast their lines on their own. (Just don’t stand too close on any side of them when they casted, for one never knew in which direction the bobbers would fly, and that included up into trees). Most had no problem hooking the wiggly worms onto the hooks. In fact, one little girl named Zulma insisted not only on putting the worms onto her hooks, but also wanted to gut one of the trout that she caught.
And boy, the fish were cooperating! Lots of healthy, fat brookies were caught by every kid. Volunteer Jim Loughman of AOFY was kept busy cleaning most of the fish that were caught. At times he was aided by Dan Miraglia of BASS organization. The cleaned fish were placed in plastic bags and were brought home to be eaten. I’ll bet they were tasty, too, some with nice pink flesh.
One little fella named Quinton told me that he had never been fishing before and was hoping he would catch a fish. Well, as time went by, he mastered the art of casting and had caught four trout before noon. He really didn’t enjoy putting the worms on the hook, though. He assigned that job to me. Another youth, William was elated when he caught his first fish, especially when his aunt Colleen and Uncle Nuchie (or was it Uncle Butchie) there to see it. There was even a set of triplets there having a great time
Around noon, the anglers broke away and enjoyed a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs cooked up by Mike Cutler, Rick Gurney and Wayne Tinney of AOFY.
Most of the people involved in putting on this event are used to helping getting kids get interested in the outdoor sports. Assisting that day were Karen and Mike Kruszyna, Jodi Goff, Mike Cutler, Wayne Tinney and Dan Miraglia, all BCLS Sportsmen Award recipients. But there was also help from people who could not attend that day. The BCLS donated around $1.000 to cover the cost of obtaining the fish and providing the food. Thanks to a grant from the Berkshire Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited, most of that expense was recovered. The grant application was prepared and submitted by BCLS delegate Phil Hiser, another Sportsman Award recipient.
Yes, all in all, it takes a lot of people to pull off something such as this. It takes a community (of sportsmen and women). And I would be willing to bet that those who experienced the most satisfaction that day were the volunteers and supporters.
Are unstocked wild Tiger Trout swimming our waters?
Some experts tell us that generally speaking, no, that they do not exist naturally and only appear where they are produced in hatcheries. A Tiger Trout is a sterile hybrid that is the result of crossing a female brown trout with a male brook trout. They appear to grow faster than natural species. But actually, the Tiger Trout might occur anywhere that Brook Trout and Brown Trout inhabit the same waters. Only on rare occasions does this hybrid occur naturally in the wild so most areas require stocking efforts to keep their populations stable. Coloring, markings, and tail shape can vary but generally is a dark maze-like pattern all over a brownish, gray, or silver body. Apart from their aggressiveness, Tiger Trout are easily distinguished from other stocked trout by their vibrant colors and unique markings. Tiger Trout are highly aggressive fish eaters, and are a good control against rough fish populations. Some bass tournament friends of mine frequently catch them on bass lures. For a while, Tiger Trout were exclusively stocked in the Great Lakes. After the stocking program was discontinued, a 20-pound-plus world-record Tiger Trout was caught in one of the Great Lakes.
Here in Massachusetts, MassWildlife stocks them in selective waters. Approximately 2,500 tiger trout were stocked statewide this year. Some of them, which measured around 14 inches long, were stocked in Western District waters, mainly in Littleville Lake in Chester/Huntington and Lake Buel in Monterey.
Back to the original question, are there any unstocked wild Tiger Trout in our area? The answer is definitely yes. Brian Majewski, of Lenox Dale, caught one recently out of a stream in Pittsfield. In fact, he believes he caught either the same trout or possibly another one on two separate occasions. They measured around 6 inches, much smaller than the size that the State stocks. He reported it to MassWildlife’s Western District Aquatic Biologist Leanda Fontaine Gagnon, who is quite interested and is hoping to do a fish survey this summer in that stream in order to learn more about them.
HooRWA offers beginners fly casting session
The Hoosic River Watershed Association will offer a free beginners’ guide to fly fishing session, including the basics of fly-fishing equipment and technique, focused on the methods used to catch wild trout of the Hoosic River. The event will be next Saturday, June 19 from 9:00 am to noon near to the access for the Williamstown, MA transfer station. If you have never touched a fly rod before, but are curious to do so, HooRWA says this is the event for you. All participants will have a chance to practice casting, as well as to walk the river to learn about how to approach fishing from a “biological approach.” Contact HooRWA at 413-458-2742 or office@hoorwa.org to register.