trout stocking a joke in mass

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Sunday, May 9, 2004


Weather, stocking woes plaguing spring fishermen

By Roger Aziz
Correspondent

Cold, rainy weather throughout April certainly did not make for pleasant fishing. Breaking the long standing rainfall record for the month gave many fishermen an excuse not to take part.

I fished the Parker River through several rain-soaked days only to finally give up when the river swelled to the point where it was nearly impossible to maneuver. It was the same on lakes and ponds across the region, as fewer fishermen broke out the tackle than in past Aprils.

Even shad fishermen were deprived of a chance to cast to those silvery ocean visitors as high water kept fishermen at bay. American shad usually arrive at Rock's Village in mid-April but, if they were here this year, no one was able to fish for them.

The new stocking method here in northeastern Massachusetts was a disappointment in some venues and beneficial in others. At first, the stocking of approximately 1,200 trout in each of our lakes and ponds during March seemed a great idea. I speculated that such stocking madness would either be a boon or a bust.

It turned out to be a little of both.

When the fish were first introduced, such large numbers brought hordes of fishermen out. Plenty of fish were caught between bouts of foul weather. But soon the weather turned fish appetites off, and the number of fishermen quickly dwindled.

Adding to the plight of fishermen was the dawdling on the part of the Department of Fish and Wildlife's Northeast district headquarters. Some fishermen have alleged that they encountered sour attitudes from DFW employees when inquiring about information.

My lone complaint was that when the Parker River was stocked, it was never published on the DFW Internet site. When I inquired about the omission on the Internet, I was led to believe that its stocking was uncertain. Then I was told that it may have been stocked, but the entry was omitted at the DFW Westborough headquarters, where the Web site is maintained.

Many fellow fishermen may have been put off by this lack of straight-forward information. How else to explain how another Merrimack Valley publication had the information that the Parker River was stocked, while it was suggested to me it may not have taken place? I know it was stocked, though, because I caught fish there for two days prior to the heavy rain of April.

I will continue to check all local trout waters on a daily basis throughout May.

The Shawsheen and Ipswich rivers were not stocked at all during April, and the Parker was stocked just once prior to first big rain storm. In fact, the DFW's Web site once again showed the streams and waters in the south and west of the district were stocked as recently as April 30.

None of our brooks or rivers was stocked as of that date. Ordered by the Acton-based DFW, the initial stocking a month ago was aimed at areas south and west of the Greater Lawrence area. This includes the Squannacook and Nissitissit rivers, which were stocked twice, and all of the brooks in the west end of the district.

The new stocking program is certainly not working. The old adage that "if it ain't broke don't fix it" seems to hold true.

The new program may save the DFW gasoline, but it creates a lot of angst among those who pay the bill. In the northeast corner of this state are a great many licensed fishermen, and they ought not to be ignored.