Trout Stocking Delayed in Upper East Tennessee Due to Cold Water Temperatures
Friday, February 26, 2010 | 11:46am
MORRISTOWN, Tenn. --- Streams in upper East Tennessee will have stocking of trout delayed by two weeks due to the extremely cold water temperature, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
“The water temperature in Upper East Tennessee streams and creeks is around 32 degrees as of Feb. 25,” said Dave Lane manager at TWRA’s Erwin Trout Hatchery. “We don't like to stock trout when the water temp is below 40 degrees due to the stress it puts on the trout. Our hatchery water temp is around 58 degrees, which equates to a difference of 26 degrees, right now. A difference of 10 degrees or more is stressful (and potentially fatal) to trout.
“We ice the trout when we haul to equalize this water temp difference, but can only get our temp down to around 44 degrees by using ice. Also, our experience has shown that the fish that do survive the initial shock of stocking when the water is very cold generally don't bite well and generally don't contribute to the population.”
Streams stocked from Erwin Trout Hatchery will have trout stocking backed up two weeks to allow the water to warm up. So, instead of beginning stocking the week of Feb. 28, stocking will begin the week of March 14 in streams scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 21 for streams scheduled for March 7. The stocking season will be extended two weeks into the summer, going from ending the week of June 27 to ending the week of July 11.
Please see the attachment below for the new sticking schedule.
---TWRA---