Apple Creek-11-13-2020

Stream Fished: Apple Creek

Date: 11-13-2020

Angler Name: Skip Nault

Angler Age: 80

Angler Home: Wooster

Fishing Tackle: Fly Fishing

Fish Caught: Rainbow Trout

Comments: Water was low and very, very clear. We stocked 550 trout in the creek last Saturday. Stretches that should have had lots of fish had very few. My conclusion is that meat fishers have been catching and or netting fish from the stream. Others I have spoken to on the stream agree with this conclusion. This is very discouraging. We try to maintain a sustainable fishery by promoting the use of flies and artificial lures and practicing catch & careful release. We ask that anglers not use bait. Baited hooks injure fish often making the survival of released trout difficult. I saw two dead trout in the stream. Each fish on average costs TU and the City of Wooster who funded the purchase of fish, $7 apiece. We simply do not have the funds to stock the stream more than two times a year. Please remind bait fisherman of these facts and ask them to please not use bait. If removal of trout like this continues, we will have to stop stocking the stream and abandon this fishery. Please remind others of this!