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Plum Creek has plenty of brown trout, brookies in decline

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Many anglers enjoying Crawford County streams

By Ted Pennekamp

 

The inland fishing season began on May 2, and with it the trout harvest season as well.

In the week or so leading up to the trout harvest season, Plum Creek in Crawford County has drawn a large number of anglers. Spin fishermen and women have found success using in-line spinners such as Blue Fox, Mepps, and Panther Martin in a various colors, including silver, gold and copper. Sizes 0 through 2 have been working well.

For fly fishers, there was a caddis hatch on some area streams and parachute Adams and elk hair caddis were producing within the couple of weeks leading up to the harvest opener. The trout on Plum Creek seemed to prefer tan elk hair caddis in sizes 14-16. Pearl elk hair caddis was also working quite well during the first few days of May.

 Plum has been looking good, and numerous trout can be seen in the clear water. 

“Plum Creek does support an impressive brown trout population,” said Kirk Olson, fisheries biologist – Bureau of Fisheries Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “In 2019, we estimated that there were 998 catchable size (5.5 inches and larger) brown trout per mile. We also saw pretty good numbers of brown trout 12 inches and larger (136 per mile). Plum creek hasn’t been stocked since 2002, so all of those fish originated from natural reproduction.”

Although Plum Creek is a self-sustaining, natural reproducing stream for brown trout, the brook trout population has declined.

“Although brown trout are doing well in the stream, we’ve seen a decline in brook trout (Wisconsin’s only native stream trout) over the past 10 years,” said Olson. “Brook trout used to be quite abundant in the 1990s and early 2000s in Plum Creek, with catchable densities exceeding 1,000 fish per mile in some years, but the population has been in decline since 2008. In 2019, we estimated only 24 catchable brook trout per mile in the stream. The decline in brook trout began around the same time brown trout populations expanded in Plum Creek. Brown trout have been shown to outcompete brook trout in Driftless Area streams, so it’s likely that competition with brown trout is responsible for the decline we’ve seen.”

Olson said Plum Creek is a good stream for those wishing to harvest some brown trout this season. The bag limit on Plum Creek is five brown trout total with no minimum size limit. All brook trout must immediately be released.

“If anglers are interested in taking a meal of trout home, Plum Creek is an excellent place to harvest brown trout, but they should make sure to release all brook trout.” Olson said.

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