1. Brown Trout Program in Ohio: Assessing Survival, Growth, and Movement Ethan Simmons Fisheries Biologist Division of Wildlife-District 1

2. Current brown trout program  Stock 25,000 yearling brown trout in fall (since 1997) Research project to determine:  Survival  Growth  Movement Clear Creek Clear ForkMad River 3,50011,500 7,400 above 2,600 below In all 3 streams!

3. Timeline for Project Stocking Events Sampling Events

4. Results  Survival » Limited by high summer temperatures – Low survival in Clear Creek and Clear Fork of the Mohican during most summers (Some of the most extreme summer temps of all time)  Growth » Similar growth across all 3 streams, when fish survive  Movement » Fish generally stay near stocking locations, if they move, they move upstream

5. Management Options  Continue October stocking of yearling brown trout in all 3 systems  Remove 12” minimum size limit  Maintain 2 fish bag limit

6. Management – Mad River  Research project produced more questions relative to the Mad River » Are we stocking too many fish? » Are bigger fish migrating downstream and staying or faster growth rates downstream? » Can we stock Rainbows?

7. 1,1,2,4,5,5,5,5,5,7,8,9,15 Median Quartiles Fences Outlier

8. Box Plot Overview Outlier Max & Min Fences Quartiles 25 % Median 50% Mean or Average

9. LocationNumber County Rd 29345 Township Rd 165345 County Rd 1575 Route 173345 Route 245575 Pimtown Rd805 Watson Farm345 Sullivan Rd575 Lippencott Rd805 29 & 296 DOW Access805 Millerstown Rd805 State Route 36805 Old Troy Pike345 State Route 55575 Dallas Rd575 County Line Rd575 Tremont City Rd345 Eagle City Rd345 Stocking – Mad River Total Mad River = 10,500 Fish Macochee Crk = 1,000 Fish *Stocking rate based on angling pressure

10. Stocked 10,500 fish Stocked 10,500 fish Stocked 10,500 fish Replacement – Mad River (1 month post stocking)

11. Growth

12. Growth – Mad River - Summer

13. Replacement – Mad River  Relative weight (fatness) is significantly different for stock size fish compared to bigger fish

14. Abundance – Mad River  Estimate of abundance above Herr Rd Dam » 1075 fish – 1500 fish or 71 – 100 fish/mile  Below Herr Rd to Eagle City Rd » 1500 fish – 2500 fish or 100 – 166 fish/mile  Total fish = 2500 – 4000 fish *Abundance estimates based on catchability

15.  Above Herr Rd Dam » Estimated population Max = 1500 Fish » Stocked Fish = 4,715 Fish » We stock 3 populations of fish in 1 day!  Below Herr Rd Dam » Estimated Population Max = 2500 Fish » Stocked Fish = 5,175 Fish » We stock 2 populations of fish in 1 day!  Stocking based on “Put & Take” rather than supplemental stocking from mortality Stocking – Mad River

16. Spatial size distribution

17. Catch Rate across Mad River T165Watson SR29 US36 Dallas Eagle

18. Summer vs Winter Catch Rates