In response to angler requests, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources imposed catch-and-release (artificial lures only) trout fishing regulations beginning in 2007 on a short stretch of the Little Elkhart River near Middlebury. The purpose was to (a) extend the trout fishing season beyond the typical two-week frenzy that historically prevailed under catch-and-creel management, and (b) increase the number and size of trout inhabiting the catch-and-release stretch.

To assess the impact of the regulations, the Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited in 2007 and 2008 asked members to provide catch data for each angling trip. The following summarizes the 2008 data and compares it to 2007. The data is from the April opening date through August

Fishing Summary

Anglers brought to net and released a total of 553 trout during the spring and summer of 2008, a 128 percent increase from the 242 reported taken in 2007. Because a number of anglers who visited the stream are not LECTU members, and some who are failed to report, the number of fish caught must be viewed as less than the actual total.

In addition to the total number of fish taken, a corollary and perhaps more important measure of angling success can be found by the number of trout netted and released per hour.

The data disclosed anglers over the course of the 2008 season averaged 2.1 trout per hour (tph), compared to 1.7 tph in 2007. This represents a 24 percent increase.

Monthly Catch

A key component of catch-and-release involves extending the season beyond the initial two-week traditional fishery. The following graph shows the total catch by month.

Anglers brought to net and released greater numbers of fish in all months but June (when heavy rains caused the stream to flood and turn muddy, resulting in greatly reduced fishing pressure.) In 2008 a total of 235 trout were caught during the peak month of May, compared to 140 during the same month in 2007. This represents a 68 percent increase.

An equally important metric involves the monthly catch-per-hour, as shown in the following graph.

As you can see, the 2008 catch rate increased in all months but June. The improved 2008 trout per hour rate during high summer (July and August) was largely due to LECTU’s pre-season stocking of 500 eight-to-ten inch brown trout. This suggests that with continued stocking, coupled with greater brown trout distribution along the c-and-r stretch, the catch rate can be further improved, notwithstanding the fact that the increases in the hourly catch rate from 0.7 to 0.9 tph in July and 0.3 to 1.0 tph in August must be viewed as significant. These represent catch-rate increases of 29 percent in July and 233 percent in August.

Species Considerations

As we reported last year, the Little Elkhart River embraces a two species, two season fishery. Rainbows are the dominant species in the early season, with brown trout prevailing as the season progresses.

Anglers netted and released 322 rainbows in 2008, a 50 per cent increase over the previous year’s catch of 215 rainbows. The brown trout catch totaled 23l, a 755 percent increase over the previous year’s catch of 27 browns. Rainbows accounted for 89 percent of all trout taken in 2007, but only 58 percent in 2008. The higher 2008 percentage of brown trout can be attributed to increased brown trout stocking efforts.

It is important to note that the species composition changes over the course of the April-August season. In both 2007 and 2008 the percentage of rainbows netted and released declined as the season progressed, while the percentage of brown trout increased, as you can see in the following graph comparing the 2008 catch composition by species over time.

As the graph shows, rainbows accounted for 64 percent of the catch in April-May, while browns totaled 77 percent of the July-August catch.

Prior to catch-and-release, the declining percentage of rainbows was attributed to two factors: high initial harvest and subsequent mortality due to rising water temperatures. However, our observations suggest another major factor is involved.

As mentioned in our 2007 report, rainbows appear to be possessed by wanderlust. We observed pools in the spring teeming with rainbows, pools that for no discernable reason were virtually empty of trout three or four days later, a process that repeated itself into late spring.

To further test the wanderlust hypothesis, on opening morning of April 2008 we tail-punched and released slightly more than 50 rainbow trout in the upper reach of the catch-and-release section. Only three were recaptured. One was caught late in the afternoon of opening day, one was found dead approximately two weeks later, and one was caught and released June 18 in the lower c-and-r section. This strongly corroborates our initial observation that rainbows are highly nomadic and do not remain in the area where stocked for any meaningful length of time.

As for brown trout, LECTU released 500 eight-to-ten inch browns in April 2008 and the Elkhart Conservation Club stocked approximately 5,000 three-to-four inch fingerlings in August 2007. All were stocked in the catch-and-release section. Additionally, all LECTU brown trout were fin-clipped for identification. The total catch of each can be seen in the following graph.

As the graph shows, LECTU’s fin-clipped (FC) browns dominated the 2008 season catch. Anglers netted and released 231 browns, of which 149 were fin-clipped. This accounted for 65 percent of the total brown trout catch. The catch of non-fin-clipped browns (NFC) totaled 82 fish.

– James H. Phillips
Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited
9 Sept 08