State puts in trout for taking

Nearly 3,000 fish took their first swim in the Patapsco River this week, but they probably won't be there long.

The brown and cutthroat trout are part of the annual "put and take" operation, a gift from the state to freshwater fishermen.

Biologists from the state Department of Natural Resources stocked the south branch of the river with 2,700 trout.

The fish are there for the catching, not to increase and multiply.

"We raise them to adult size and stock the streams so they will be caught," Charlie R. Gougeon, state fisheries manager, said. "If we didn't stock, there would be no trout opportunities."

With help from volunteers, Mr. Gougeon has stocked nearly 100,000 fish in area waterways since January.

State licensing fees pay for the program, which starts at the Lewistown State Fish Hatchery between Frederick and Thurmont and ends in the local waters that form the boundary between Carroll and Howard counties.

"These are the days put and take anglers live for," said Mr. Gougeon. "By the time the season is over, more than 90 percent of the trout will be caught."

By the end of the season, the last day of May, the waters just south of Sykesville will be too warm for the trout.

A few may make it into cooler tributaries, but most will end up in anglers' creels.

Despite rainy and chilly weather on Tuesday, Mr. Gougeon was saying that he expected shoulder-to-shoulder fishermen along the river bank within hours of the stocking.

The manager pointed to several anglers who were following the crews as if to stake out the best fishing spots. Mr. Gougeon gave the fish a sporting chance.

"Brown trout are smarter, faster and harder to catch, but really good to eat," he said.

Tony Zuccarini of Dorsey watched as the fish were tossed in to the rushing water. He was pleased at the size of the fish, which were at least a half-pound and about 11 inches long.

"I knew they were stocking this week but not which day," said Mr. Zuccarini, a longtime fisherman who usually gives his catch away. "I have been watching to see where they are going."

He didn't do any casting Tuesday.

"But, nobody is going to catch them today," he said. "The water is too muddy and the fish are too fast."

Stocking the river affords local anglers a chance to catch trout, which are not indigenous to the lower end of the Patapsco.

The freshwater fish is quite particular about which waters it will inhabit.

Trout flourish in about 17,000 miles of Maryland's waterways.

"Trout need the highest water quality and the lowest temperature, and that is usually at the start of the river," said Mr. Gougeon. "Downstream we have the impact of farming and development to deal with. Sediment hinders spawning."

A small number of brown trout are growing at the northern end of the river near Mount Airy.

Ray Richardson, hatchery manager, said that once water temperatures reach 70 degrees, the trout stop eating and become prone to bacteria.

Mr. Richardson delivered three enormous tanks full of "lively, fat fish" Tuesday to a rain-soaked crew led by Mr. Gougeon.

About 10 volunteers waited with them near the Sykesville bridge.

The job, from unloading to stocking, took about four hours.

Crews used large nets to transfer fish from the tanks into aluminum troughs, each of which will hold about 300 fish.

"They are really pretty fish, and there are some monsters," said Andy Grosko, a volunteer.

Several pickup trucks carried the smaller troughs to scattered sites along the river.

There, the crews transferred about 25 fish at a time to water-filled buckets.

They ran to the shoreline with heavy pails of the squirming, sometimes jumping, trout and tossed them into the waters.

"You have to race," said Mr. Richardson. "Trout are very sensitive to all kinds of environmental factors. They don't like to be handled, and they can dry out in three minutes."

At the hatchery, the fish are raised in optimum conditions for about 16 months.

"Still, they are healthier in the wild," said Mr. Richardson. "We raise in density, and that affects them somewhat. It is a real balancing act for us -- raising the most fish in the best conditions."

Mr. Grosko donned hip boots and frequently waded midstream to unload the fish.

"We spread them out so they are not concentrated in one area," he said. "Hard work, but a day out hauling buckets of fish beats a day in the office anytime."

Mike Hall, another volunteer, said he also preferred helping with the trout-stocking to his regular work.

"I have been helping for about five years," said Mr. Hall. "These guys can use the help, and we are putting back something for what we have taken out."