The annual stocking of brown trout in Kearsley Creek will include a few more fish this spring.
About 6,000 brown trout are expected to be released into the Kearsley Creek in mid-May at three sites including the Oakwood Road bridge, Kipp Road bridge, and east branch of the Kearsley Creek at Kent Road. About 1,800 Wild Rose Brown Trout with an average size of about 7 inches from the Harrietta State Fish Hatchery located just west of Cadillac will be planted at each site. Due to a strong hatch rate, additional trout will be delivered this year.
‘Trout have been stocked in the Kearsley Creek since the 1980s,? said Joe Leonardi, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries technician. ‘By June or July the fish will be legal size to be kept. The Kearsley Creek is a marginal trout stream and very few trout survive over the winter given the water temperature, ice conditions and overall habitat of the area.?
Leonardi said the creek banks are key to their survival.
‘Pollution is not as much of a problem as shade and the undercuts of the banks of the creek,? he said. ‘Any stream as it becomes more developed will erode the banks and reduce an area for trout to survive.?
‘The implementation of a water treatment plant in Ortonville could really impact the trout and overall health of the Kearsley Creek,? he added. ‘The use of chlorine and possible influx of treated warmer water into the creek could adversely impact the trout survival. But, we have to balance the community’s needs. We really don’t know the future of the brown trout, but our options are very limited. We just don’t have the perfect environment, we leave a footprint whatever we do, it’s our job to limit that impact the best we can.?
The brown trout are not native to Michigan.
‘The brown trout can live in warmer water than other trout,? he added. ‘In reality, we introduced an exotic species of fish. They beat out other trout including the brook trout because they can live in warmer water.?
Over the course of a typical year the DNR will stock roughly 20 million to 25 million fish weighing nearly 400 tons, including eight species of trout and salmon and four cool-water species such as walleye and muskellunge. DNR fish-stocking vehicles will travel nearly 140,000 miles to stock between 700 and 1,100 locations, according to the DNR.