Kirman Lake Stocked with 3,500 Brook Trout as CDFW Works to Restore Mono County Trophy Trout Fishery

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 10:49:17 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has stocked 3,500 large brook trout into Kirman Lake in Mono County as part of an ongoing commitment to restore one of the West’s best trophy brook trout fisheries.

Brook trout in the 1- to 2-pound class were stocked recently into Kirman Lake from CDFW’s American River Trout Hatchery near Sacramento as CDFW trout hatcheries throughout the state assist stocking waters in the eastern Sierra.

Located about 20 miles north of Bridgeport, Kirman Lake is a small, backcountry lake with an outsized reputation for growing brook trout that can quickly reach 4 to 6 pounds in size. Unlike many high-mountain lakes where trout eke out an existence in near-sterile conditions, Kirman’s fertile waters support a smorgasbord of aquatic invertebrates – water boatman, dragonflies, mayflies and midges among them – along with high-protein leeches and shrimp-like scuds that produce a tremendous growth rate in the trout that live there.

Kirman’s food-rich waters, however, lack any spawning habitat for trout, and Kirman’s famed recreational fishery has been entirely dependent on stocking from CDFW over the years. Kirman is stocked more regularly with Lahontan cutthroat trout, but brook trout plants have been sporadic in recent years as CDFW hatcheries transition from raising and stocking non-native trout in favor of native trout species.

The brook trout stocked from the American River Trout Hatchery are believed to be among the last brook trout within CDFW’s hatchery system. The fish are sterile and not capable of reproducing. Similarly, there is no outlet for the trout stocked into Kirman Lake and no risk of the non-native fish escaping into nearby waters. Given these unique dynamics and Kirman’s celebrated reputation among anglers, CDFW has committed to restoring Kirman Lake as a trophy trout fishery, providing infusions of brook trout whenever possible.

Since 2018, CDFW has translocated wild brook trout into Kirman Lake from nearby Silver Creek, where native trout restoration work is underway though in much fewer numbers and much less regularly than when CDFW was stocking Kirman with heavy, annual plantings of hatchery-raised brook trout prior to 2015.

Still, CDFW is seeing increasing angler satisfaction with the brook trout fishing at Kirman as collected in an Angler Survey Box lakeside. Anglers have reported more frequent catches of brook trout and a higher percentage of brook trout caught compared with Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Kirman Lake is a special regulations water that opens to fishing the last Saturday in April through Nov. 15 each year. Only artificial lures may be used. Only two trout may be taken with a minimum size limit of 18 inches in total length per fish.

Media Contacts:
Russell Black, CDFW Inland Deserts Region, (951) 852-6386
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

CDFW Photo: Fish and Wildlife Technician Taylor Mcilrath holds up a pair of brook trout prior to their release into Kirman Lake.

CDFW Stocking Brook Trout Into Sacramento-Area Waters This Winter for Fishing in the City

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 12:26:35 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will provide trout anglers in the greater Sacramento area with an unprecedented fishing opportunity this winter: the chance to catch brook trout from a half-dozen urban and suburban park ponds and lakes that are part of CDFW’s Fishing in the City program. Fishing in the City began in 1993 to provide recreational fishing and outdoor opportunities to California’s urban, suburban and underserved communities.

“These are good-looking fish,” said Jason Julienne, the senior environmental scientist who supervises CDFW’s North Central Region fish hatcheries. “They fight hard, they’re aggressive and they’re good table fare. This is a unique opportunity for anglers using these urban fisheries to catch a very special fish.”

CDFW’s American River Trout Hatchery typically provides rainbow trout to the Fishing in the City – Sacramento Metro Area program during the winter months, when ambient temperatures become cool enough to support trout in these low-elevation waters. Unfortunately, due to the drought conditions experienced throughout the state this past summer, the American River Trout Hatchery was forced to evacuate all its fish as warming water temperatures would have proved fatal to the various cold-water trout species the hatchery raises.

Through a coordinated effort with CDFW’s Moccasin Creek Hatchery in Tuolumne County, 19,000 brook trout were transferred to the American River Trout Hatchery to support winter angling opportunities within Sacramento County. The brook trout, now 10 to 13 inches long, will be planted in participating Fishing in the City waters from January through March.

Participating waters include those at Granite Regional Park, North Natomas Regional Park, Mather Regional Park, Hagan Community Park, Howe Community Park and Elk Grove Regional Park. General dates and locations of stocking are available at CDFW’s Fish Planting Schedule.

Native to the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, brook trout were brought to California in the late 1800s and are now found in mountain lakes and streams from the San Bernardino Mountains north to the Oregon state line. They are most abundant in the high-elevation waters of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Brook trout are popular with anglers both for their eating quality and striking appearance. Their coloration ranges from olive-green to olive-brown, often with reddish hues. They have red spots surrounded by blue halos and white, leading edges on their pectoral, pelvic and anal fins. Both sexes can become brightly colored during spawning season in the fall. Learn more at CDFW’s brook trout webpage.

The brook trout being stocked into Sacramento-area waters are triploid, meaning sterile. Pre-stocking evaluations have taken place in all the waters to be planted to ensure the brook trout will not compete with, threaten or displace any native species.

To learn more about the Fishing in the City program, visit CDFW’s Fishing in the City webpage.

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Media Contacts:
Jason Julienne, CDFW North Central Region, (916) 496-4985
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

CDFW News

Kirman Lake Stocked with 3,500 Brook Trout as CDFW Works to Restore Mono County Trophy Trout Fishery

CDFW Stocking Brook Trout Into Sacramento-Area Waters This Winter for Fishing in the City