The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
GRAND RIVER STOCKED
Lake Metroparks personnel honor tradition, dump 800 pounds of trout into body of water
“The stream conditions were just about perfect and so was the weather. And we had some really nice, healthy fish.”
It must have been like Christmas in April to the handful of anglers scattered among the riffles and pools along Paine Creek in Leroy Township on April 13.
That’s when crews from the Lake Metroparks dumped net after net of plump, healthy rainbow trout into the Grand River tributary’s cool, clean waters.
It’s a tradition that’s been going on since the mid-1990s, participants estimated, and it’s something area fishing enthusiasts relish year after year, said Lake Metroparks Natural Resource Manager Tom Koritansky.
“We get people asking when we’ll be doing the stocking pretty early in the year,” Koritansky said as he and a number of other Lake Metroparks employees awaited the arrival of a tank full of Oncorhynchus mykiss, the scientific name for rainbow trout, also known far and wide as steelhead, in the parking lot at Paine Falls Park.
The fish made the roughly hour and 45-minute trip from Little Pickerel Creek Farm in Castalia in a specially equipped tank which ensures the water inside is
— Lake Metroparks Natural Resource Manager Tom Koritansky
thoroughly oxygenated for the longest automobile ride these trout will likely ever take.
From there, Koritansky offloaded several nets full of the popular species into a tank towed by an all-terrain vehicle — called a Pug — bound for a spot just below the falls, where the fish would soon find a new home in Paine Creek.
About a mile downstream, two more tank-equipped Pugs awaited their payload as a few dozen onlookers gathered at the Lake Metroparks’ Indian Point Park, where the bulk of the 800 pounds of roughly 1to 1.5-pound trout were about to be introduced to the segment of Paine Creek between the Interstate 90 bridge spanning it to its confluence with the Grand River.
As the Pugs meandered through the creek bed towards their various drop-off points, anglers, interested individuals and families followed.
One such family from Austinburg Township came to soak up some Paine Creek water, participate in the fish stocking and enjoy the area’s natural resources in general.
“I think it’s really important that the kids are aware of the natural resources around them. I mean, there are truly some great natural resources here that are just right out your own back door,” said Chris Clemens, who made the trip to Leroy Township for the steelhead stocking with wife Sue, 9-year-old son Jacob, and 6-year-old daughter Claire.
Sue, who said it was her first time at the event, seemed impressed.
“My husband and my son have come in the past. This is my first time. We wanted to do it as a family this year,” she said. “This is exciting!”
As the Metroparks personnel maneuvered their Pug into optimal stocking positions and began doling out the fish to the creek, they got some help from Claire and Jacob, who, to their delight, got to put a net or two of trout into the creek.
Chris Clemens said that, as a dad who hopes April 13 will be a lifelong memory for his children, he really appreciated the hands-on access the Metroparks gave his kids.
“I hope this helps each of them become a more wellrounded person,” he said. “And I can’t say enough about the people from Lake Metroparks. They’re wonderful and they just do such a great job. They make the younger people feel like an important part of this whole process, which is why we decided to do it. I mean, this is just great for them. They’re excited about it and, hopefully, these are memories (Claire and Jacob) will have with them for the rest of their lives.”
After it was all said and done, Koritansky said the day went well.
“The stream conditions were just about perfect and so was the weather. And we had some really nice, healthy fish,” he said.
As far as what the future holds for the trout, Koritansky said they’ll likely hang around Paine Creek for a few weeks at least, until the water warms up and they make their move toward the deeper waters of Lake Erie.
He said Paine Creek is one of the more accessible streams along the Grand River, so that’s why park officials have been stocking it with trout over the years.