White Ribbon trout waters are generally thought of by many trout
fishermen as classic "put-and-take" fishing areas. In other words,
the Missouri Department of Conservation puts the fish in the water,
and the fishermen come and quickly take the fish back out. These
fishing areas are frequently described as "fished out" by local
fishermen, often within a week or so after the stocking truck
leaves. Well, the truth is that this is simply not the case.
The Missouri Department of Conversation (MDC) has been trying for
years to develop these areas into year-round fisheries. They've
been very successful in certain areas, but quite unsuccessful in
others. Their efforts largely take the shape of not announcing
stocking days or times and alternating which areas they stock at
each destination. The waters where they are having more success
are those areas that are more remote, as locals are less likely
to see the stocking truck come and go. Their challenges are many,
however.
In some towns, the local radio stations have actually been known
to make announcements on the air that the stocking truck was seen,
which prompts quite a crowd to descend upon the water's edge.
Another challenge is poaching or legal over-harvesting. Poaching
is basically any illegal effort to catch or keep fish, like fishing
without a license, chumming, snagging, using illegal baits, or
keeping more than the legal limit. See
Handling Poachers for some tips on… well… handling poachers.
Legal over-harvesting refers to those fishermen who follow the letter
of the law, but keep more fish than they can use. There's no way to
check the statistic, but you probably know someone who does it. They
may have dozens of fish in their freezer at all times, many of which
are eventually thrown out. We fishermen have the power to help the
MDC develop White Ribbon streams into year-round fisheries by simply
practicing some level of catch-and-release. For example, you might
decide to never have more than two dinner's worth of fish in the
freezer, or keep the fish you plan to eat within the next week.
White Ribbon waters are usually stocked 10 or 11 times per year.
Locals who frequent a favorite stream pretty quickly get a feel
for when the stocking truck can be expected -- usually every 3
weeks or so. Others simply visit the fishing area in question
looking for the tell-tale tire tracks along the water's edge
to cue them when the fishing is best. It should be noted, however,
if the water temperature becomes too warm in the heat of the
summer, some areas will not be stocked until the water cools back
down. This makes sense, as hatchery fish are pampered and will
not survive the shock of being dumped into warm water habitats.
Although you can expect greater catches shortly after stocking,
the newly stocked fish will quickly become wary of fishermen and
the typical baits they use. In other words, White Ribbon areas do
not get "fished out", as some believe. Certainly a good number of the
newly stocked fish go home to a freezer, but there are plenty of
survivors, and they simply adapt and become less easily caught. The
sit-and-wait-check-the-bait fishing method stops working within a
few days, but in-line spinners, plastic worms, teeny crankbaits,
various flies, etc. all continue to work, and lures that imitate
naturals and can reach the fish in it's feeding lane will work
consistently regardless of when the stocking truck was there. By
changing your tactics and doing a little walking, you'll find
resident trout populations in every White Ribbon water in the state.
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