14,000 Extra Rainbow Trout Stocked in Lower Mountain Fork River

By Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife Conservation

First posted on 02-13-2009

Each year, the Lower Mountain Fork River (LMFR) is stocked bi-weekly with rainbow trout, but the southeast Oklahoma fishery will receive six “bonus” stockings this spring that will provide more than 14,000 additional fish.

The first two supplemental trout stockings took place Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, and the remaining four are scheduled for Feb 26, March 12 & 26 and April 9. Each stocking includes over 2,400 fish that are nearly a foot in length.

“These trout are going to be placed in remote areas of the stream that aren’t usually stocked,” said Jay Barfield, streams management technician for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “And at 11 inches they will be a bit larger than usual and ready to put up a fun challenge. Angling should be great in these areas during the coming weeks.”

The additional rainbow trout are being provided to the Wildlife Department by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help offset the impacts caused by Broken Bow Dam on the LMFR. The trout will be obtained from the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery in Arkansas and then released into the LMFR trout fishery between the State Park Dam and the US Route 70 bridge.

Oklahomans, who may be more accustomed to catching bass, catfish and crappie, have taken well to rainbow trout angling, and rainbow trout have taken well to Oklahoma waters since they were first introduced to provide a new sport fishing opportunity. The LMFR is one of eight Oklahoma trout fisheries and one of two year-round trout fishing hotspots in the state. Additionally, trout have done so well in the LMFR that both rainbow and brown trout occasionally reproduce naturally in its waters.

Among the popular fishing destinations at the LMFR are Lost Creek and Evening Hole, both renovated during the summer of 2006 as part of an extensive trout habitat project. Lost Creek is a 1,200 ft. long stream that branches off from the river and flows through a wooded area before emptying into the Evening Hole trout fishing area. The Evening Hole is a 1/3 mile stretch of the LMFR that was once less hospitable to trout because of warm, slow-moving water and a silty bottom. However, streams biologists saw the potential in the area and felt if they could narrow the channel and provide more habitat, the trout — as well as trout anglers — would quickly begin using the area. Biologists used 600 dump truck loads of soil to narrow the river channel, causing the water to remain cooler and move through the Evening Hole faster. With the addition of large rocks, logs and islands, fisheries personnel transformed once sub-par trout habitat into a first class fishing area.

To view the regular, bi-weekly trout stocking schedule and specific regulations for all the state’s trout waters, including the LMFR, log on to wildlifedepartment.com. The Web site also includes tips on how to catch trout as well as a wealth of information about the state’s streams management program, which works to provide healthy streams and better stream fishing in Oklahoma.

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