TWRA floods river with trout
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The “they” are 500 rainbow trout which agents from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency released into the Barren Fork River below the dam Wednesday morning.
“We’ve been working with local people down there and we thought it would be a good supplement to the park and provide some fishing for people,” TWRA fisheries biologist Jack Swearengin said of the first-ever trout release at that location as part of the agency’s urban fishing program. “We thought we would try it and see how it goes.”
TWRA hatchery manager Travis Scott, who doled out the fish using nets and buckets, said they were raised in a hatchery in Lincoln County and are about 13 months old. There’s no guarantee how long the fish will stay at the park’s fishing area, but agency officials noted that being raised in hatcheries, it takes them some time to fan out to other areas.
TWRA wildlife officer Joey Wray, on hand with several other TWRA officials assisting in stocking the river, said the fish will eventually settle into pools.
“When we stock them, they do, after a period of time with high water, eventually get washed down the creeks and they usually find pools to settle in,” he said. “So fishermen can go down the river and find them in different pools throughout the year.”
Swearengin said the trout make for good catching early in the fishing season and they’ve been placed there for exactly that reason.
“We want to put them in there and we want people to come out and catch them and take them home and eat them,” he said. “And hopefully, if the turnout is good, we’ll do this at least annually. This will be the first year and it will be 500 to 600 this first year, but if everything looks good and people enjoy them, hopefully we’ll increase those numbers quite substantially.”
Parks and Recreation director Carlene Brown said the addition of the fish will complement the park, which has been the site of major improvements over the past several years in anticipation of the construction of the Barren Fork Greenway trail that stretches from Riverfront to Pepper Branch parks.
“It ought to be a great addition to the park. Since we built the greenway, we have more and more visitors to our park areas,” she said. “But by having our river stocked, that is going to be a great addition to the fishing opportunities that are already there.”
TWRA also stocks trout on the North Barren Fork Creek, Upper Hills Creek, Mountain Creek and Charles Creek in Warren County and Cane and Laurel creeks and Rocky River in Van Buren County. Agency officials encourage fishermen to check the state fishing regulations guide for stocking weeks and other information.