There was a nice crowd of kids, parents and grandparents to help liberate some six hundred 14+ inch rainbow trout last Wednesday at the Onota Lake Burbank Park.  MassWildlife Western District Aquatic Biologist Leanda Fontaine Gagnon was assisted by Wildlife Biologist Nate Buckhout, and fellow staff members Eli Pease, Heather Sadler, and Land Stewart Jacob Morris Seagel.  Oh yes, Leanda’s young daughter Isla and lots of youths also helped out.  The nippy weather did not cool the crowd’s enthusiasm at all.

Prior to beginning the stocking, Leanda made some introductory comments.  She informed the crowd about the agency and how it is charged with the responsibility of preserving, conserving and managing our flora and fauna all across the state.  She named the 5 regional districts across the state and how they perform their functions. The Western District covers all of the Berkshires as well as the western towns of Hampshire, Hampton and Franklin Counties.

The Western District is comprised of 10 individuals who work out of a small office. One of their main jobs is trout stocking, which they do for about 10 weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall. On average, they stock between 85,000 and 100,000 fish in the spring and a couple thousand in the fall which range from 9 inches to 18+inches. Statewide, about 450,000 pounds of fish are stocked each year.

They stock four different species, brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout which is a hybrid between brown and brook trout.  They stock 72 local bodies in the Western District up to Memorial Day. To find out where they stock, go to the MassWildlife web site to find out Mass.gov/trout.  She encouraged people to catch and eat the fish but if people prefer to catch and release them, that is fine too.

Then she explained how the stocking would take place.  They formed a line, a few trout were netted out of the tanker truck, put into pails handed to the kids and away they sped to the water’s edge and tossed the fish out…..and then they ran back and did it all over again.  Oh! You had to be there to see the expressions of joy on their faces.

Yes, a couple of pails were tossed out with the fish, but they were recovered and I am happy to report that there was a 100% survival rate of the fish.

Trout Stocking

Subject to change, the following local waters were scheduled to be stocked with trout last week:

Green River (South) in Alford, Egremont, and Great Barrington; Green River (North) in New Ashfield and Williamstown, Deerfield River in Buckland, Charlemont and Florida; Walker Brook in Becket and Chester, Chickley River in Charlemont and Hawley, Konkapot River in Monterey and New Marlborough, Farmington River in Otis, Sandisfield and Tolland; Cold River in Charlemont and Florida, Ashfield Pond in Ashfield, North Pond in Florida, Upper Highland Lake in Goshen, Pontoosuc Lake, Onota Lake and Richmond Pond. Incidentally, Mansfield Pond in Great Barrington was stocked on April 13.

Catch & Release fish survival

In last week’s column, I mentioned that I would write something about how to safely remove a hook from a fish so that it has a chance for survival.   Here are some tips for better Catch and Release Fishing

Artificial Lures (swimming plugs, surface poppers, jigs, etc.) are often rigged with multiple treble hooks. One disadvantage of these lures is that a fish struggling to escape capture will often hook itself with the remaining treble hooks, leading to additional injury. Anglers should try to use lures with single hooks, if possible, replace treble hooks with steel hooks (not stainless), crimp down the barbs on the hooks, or reduce the number of treble hooks on the lure

Bait Fishing is a popular technique. However, the baited hook is often swallowed by the fish so that the hook is deeply embedded in the stomach. To reduce “gut hooking” a fish, anglers should set the hook immediately before the bait can be completely swallowed. When a fish is “gut hooked” the best solution is to cut the line as close to the hook eye as possible. This helps to prevent severe damage to the fish’s internal organs, which can occur while trying to remove a hook. If the hook is not stainless steel, it will eventually corrode due to the fish’s stomach acids.

Fishing Tools including needle nose pliers, hemostats, hook disgorgers, and wire cutting pliers can be very helpful in reducing hook removal time.

Handling Methods depend on fishing technique used, how the fish is hooked, and size of the fish. Ideally, the fish should not be removed from the water. If fishing from a boat, try to prevent the fish from banging against the side or thrashing around the deck. Improper handling cause internal injuries, skin abrasions, scale loss, or removal of the protective slime layer that prevents infection. Make sure that your hands are wet when handling a fish to reduce slime loss.

To Release the Fish, grasp the tail firmly and place the fish back in the water and slowly move the fish forward and backward. This motion will cause water to flow over the gills, restoring oxygen to the blood stream. Recovery time will vary according to size and health of the fish. As a general rule, the longer the fish fights and the higher the water and air temperature, the longer it will take the fish to recover.

Spring Turkey Hunting Seasons opens Monday

The 2023 Massachusetts spring turkey hunting season opens on Monday, April 24 and runs through May 20.  Actually, the Youth Turkey Hunt Day started on April 22.

To hunt wild turkeys in Massachusetts, you’ll need a hunting or sporting license as well as a turkey permit. A turkey permit comes with 3 turkey tags. Hunters can take 2 bearded turkeys in the spring and 1 turkey of either sex in the fall. Regulation requires that all hunters place an official green Turkey Safety Sticker on their firearm positioned so it’s visible when sighting down the barrel.  On the youth hunt day only, the hunting hours are ½ hour before sunrise and end at 5:00 pm. For the rest of the turkey hunters, the hours are from ½ hour before sunrise to noon.

Successful hunters must report their turkeys within 48 hours of harvest. The easiest way to report a harvest is online using MassFishHunt, but you can also go to an official check station.

There are a couple of pages of rules and regulations addressing Turkey Hunting in the 2023 regulations (abstracts) including such things as: hunting hours, licenses and stickers, bag limits, hunting implements, hunting methods, sex identification and more.  Hunters should review these regulations annually.

Some Turkey hunting safety information

• Be completely sure of your target and what is beyond it before you shoot. Always practice firearm safety.
• Don’t stalk turkey sounds; it could be another hunter. Sit or stand and call the birds to you.
• Don’t wear red, white, blue, or black; these colors are associated with male turkeys.
• Protect your back. Set up against a large tree or rock and make sure your view isn’t obstructed. Don’t hide in a place with an obstructed view.
• Don’t place decoys too close to where you set up. Never carry an exposed decoy or tail fan while hunting; put them in a bag when carrying them in or out of hunting locations.
• Consider wearing hunter orange when entering or leaving your hunting area.

Freshwater Sporting Awards Program changes

In last week’s column, I mentioned that there were new additions to the Freshwater Sportfishing Awards Program. Beginning in 2023 two new fish species (Fallfish and White Sucker) will be included in the Sportfish Awards Program.

To qualify for a bronze pin in the fallfish Catch and Keep category, for adults the fish must weigh 0.12 oz and for youths they must weigh 0.8 oz.

In the white sucker category, to qualify for a pin in the Adult Catch and Keep category they must weigh 2 lbs. and for the youths they must weigh 1 lb.

In the Catch & Release Category, fallfish must measure 15 inches long and for the youths, they must measure 12 inches.  White suckers for adults, must measure 19 inches and in the youth category, they must measure 15 inches.