Three-trout limit: Is it still worth going?

Sept. 11 marks the start of a statewide three-fish daily limit for trout in Oklahoma

A Lower Illinois River rainbow trout. (KJBOutdoors photo)

Starting today, when you take a youngster to visit a trout stream in Oklahoma you can take home only three trout apiece, instead of six apiece.

So, will the trip still be worth it?

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation erected signs at trout fishing areas last week to remind anglers that the daily limit was changing from six to three, effective today, Saturday, Sept. 11.

This apparently was news to a lot of upset anglers, but the signs are only a reminder. The rules were proposed in public notice, and vetted in news stories over social media and in the Department’s public rulemaking process last December and January. The new rules also are printed in the new regulations book, which has been available online and hit store shelves some time ago.

Of all the comments leveled at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation since people finally noticed the change this week, the comment that “it won’t be worth it to go fishing for trout anymore” is the one that really is striking.

When anglers go to the two year-round trout fisheries or visit the wintertime fisheries that start in November the daily limit will be half what it was last year at this time. No doubt about it.

The cost of trout fishing

Let’s first tackle this fishy question of whether it’s worth it to go in basic economic terms.

Anglers who purchase fishing licenses have a straight-up monetary concern here. We rely upon the Wildlife Department and members of the Wildlife Conservation Commission to manage things wisely, along with our input through the public rulemaking process.

The fact is the cost of a stocked rainbow trout in our state has increased exponentially while our license fees have remained stagnant for nearly 15 years. They decreased, techincally, but no one has lobbied for exponential increases in license costs. We did eliminate a separate $10 trout permit in 2011 and trout fishing then was said to be “included in the fishing license,” but an annual fishing license was $25 before and after that rule change; still is. That change was made 10 years ago—when trout were still relatively cheap.

Currently—with prices varying by location depending on mileage for the stocking truck—one decent eating-sized Oklahoma trout costs the state an average of about $5, according to Wildlife Department Fisheries Division Chief Barry Bolton.

That’s a straight-up cost of stocking a fish. It doesn’t roll in any funny numbers like the values of managing the fisheries, or access, or biologist salaries or anything like that. One fish, delivered, swimming in the water for you to catch, costs about $5 (give or take).

The department has decided to cap the stocking level where it is now, he said. Anglers will see the same numbers of fish this winter but the daily creel limit for anglers is cut in half.

How does this compute?

In really simple comparative terms, the cost of an annual resident fishing license is $25. So if your only goal in purchasing a fishing license is to take home trout for dinner and you catch five in a season you will break even.

Last year at this time an angler could take home $30 worth of trout in one day. Now you’ll have to fish for a couple of days to catch your money’s worth.

Oh darn, more time fishing.

So, then, it is worth it, right?

Because you can take home as many trout as you want during a season—limited to three per day—you are getting more than your money’s worth out of a fishing license. Any $5 fish above that $25 license cost recovery is helping to pay for your gas, in a way. At three a day you’d only have to go fishing four times to take home $60 worth of trout!

The reduced limit for catch=and-keep anglers should be a boost for the catch-and-release crowd. (KJBOutdoors photo)

Is this program worth it?

But what about the costs for those who pay for these trout with license dollars that could go elsewhere? Is this program worth it for all the non-trout anglers out there?

Sure seems like a losing proposition to charge someone $25 for the chance to take home $60 or more worth of fish in a season, eh?

“Bring back the trout stamp if cost is the problem,” some have said.

First, good luck getting the legislature to approve an increased “tax” of any kind. But even then, add in a $10 stamp for people who want to target trout—be it for catch-and-release or otherwise—and now the catch-and-release crowd helps subsidize the trout eaters would be paying $35 apiece to take $60 or more worth of fish in a season.

It’s better, at least. There may be a fair argument for bringing back the permit given the increased costs for hatchery trout, but it still falls short.

Trout are not native to Oklahoma and will not naturally reproduce in great enough numbers to support a fishery. Stocking trout probably always will be a net-loss proposition in terms of license dollars revenue vs. fish costs. Plus we’re feeding natural predators, and probably a fair number of poachers with these fish too.

Bolton put it this way: “Trout are not native to Oklahoma, but they provide a great opportunity to get out, especially in the wintertime, to get something and enjoy fishing, but the goal was never to fill people’s freezers with hatchery-raised trout.”

So, what is the payoff for Oklahoma’s fishing license purchasers as a whole? Why would anyone who doesn’t fish for trout support this program?

At the year-round Lower Mountain Fork and Lower Illinois rivers, the rainbow trout are a draw, an economic engine for tourism. The same is true for the winter fisheries.

Trout is a “gateway fish,” I like to say. Kids love to catch ‘em. Trout are an investment in the future of the fishing tradition and, I would guess, any overall economic study of the stocking program impact (beyond the simple cost of a trout vs. a license) would show a huge economic benefit overall both in the short term and over the long haul.

The program pays for itself in other ways far beyond stream-to-table.

Worth it to the individual angler, or not?

Pressure on all our fisheries continues to increase. With a pair of anglers handily taking home a dozen trout at a time (and with predators taking their share), those stocked trout have been spent quickly in recent years.

Cutting the daily limit in half allows an angler to take home a meal for two, will allow more fish to stay in the river longer, and will help spread the wealth among the crowd, so to speak.

Anglers can still practice catch-and-release all they want, they just have to stop for the day when they’ve kept their third fish. To be clear, that’s not culling from the catch, but true catch-and-release. The three-fish limit should be a real boost for anglers who practice catch-and-release only.

So, put on your waders or load up the kayak, canoe, or raft, and make your way out to a trout stream in Oklahoma.

Let me write that out again for emphasis: A trout stream—in Oklahoma.

Soak up the atmosphere, feel the cold clear water, and catch and release some beautiful rainbow trout on a crisp autumn day. Keep a few for a shore lunch over a campfire and then sit back, enjoy the meal, look around, breathe deep, and then ask yourself that question again.

It’ll be worth it.

Trout catch-and-release tips

A Lower Illinois River rainbow trout. (KJBOutdoors photo)

Some skill is involved in catch-and-release so trout can live on to grow or for others to catch and enjoy. Here are some basic tips to help you enjoy catching and releasing more trout, and only keeping those that are mortally hooked, or that simply look like good candidates for the cookstove.

• Keep them wet: The slime layer on a trout’s skin is its defense against infection and for healing after injury. Bring a smooth-surface net for catching trout, keep them in the water to be unhooked and only handle them with wet hands. Never drag a trout out of the water onto dry land.

• Barbless hooks are your friend: Release of fish is easiest and does the least damage to the fish when barbless hooks or hooks with the barb smashed with a hemostat or pliers are used. You will be surprised how few trout you lose due to barbless hooks. Just keep that line tight!

• Spinners, flies, jigs and spoons are best: Baited treble hooks with worms, corn, shrimp or Powerbait will typcially be swallowed deeper by trout and result in fatal hook-ups. If you want to catch-and-release, it’s best to use single barbless hook artificial baits.

• Light, but not too light: Lightweight fly fishing gear and ultra-light spinning gear are fun to use for trout, but line of about 4 lb test should be the lightest used for trout for catch-and-release. Bringing in a fish without completely wearing it out in a long fight gives the fish better odds for survival long-term.

• Keep photo sessions short: Rainbow trout are not as hardy as bass or catfish. They don’t do well being lifted by the lip or tail and don’t tolerate being out of the water as long. Support the body of the fish (with wet hands) over a net or just over the surface of the water for a quick photo session--and release!