** Archived Article - please check for current information. **

November 17, 2008

Lower Saluda trout stocking by helicopter scheduled for Nov. 19

Contact: Mike Willis DNR (803) 734-4133
DNR stocking in Saluda River to benefit $18 million trout fishery

* WHAT: The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will stock thousands of rainbow and brown trout into the lower Saluda River near Columbia Wednesday morning, Nov. 19, using a helicopter and a specialized lift bucket.

* WHEN: 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19. Stocking will last for at least an hour. (Subject to cancellation due to inclement weather)

* WHERE: Meet DNR staff at 9 a.m. at Mt. Zion Church on Corley Mill Road, near I-20 at US 378 west of Columbia in Lexington County, before moving to a spot by the river where you can shoot video or take photographs. Call if you need directions.

* WHY: Helicopter stocking allows the DNR to better distribute trout up and down the river system and prevents the concentration of fish in any particular area. Trout will come from Walhalla State Fish Hatchery in Oconee County. The Saluda River is unique because its popular trout fishery is essentially an artificial situation. Trout must be stocked there and can survive only because of the cold-water releases from the bottom of the Lake Murray dam. The Nov. 19 stocking will include some 13,000 6 to 7-inch brown trout and about 3,000, 13-inch rainbow trout.

* INTERVIEWS: DNR fisheries biologists will be there to answer questions.

The DNR stocks about 60,000 trout each year in the Saluda in what it calls a "put, grow and take" fishery that relies on stocking to maintain populations and the cooperation of anglers for success. Young trout grow rapidly after stocking, if allowed to remain in the river. For young trout to reach their potential, however, they must not be removed from the river immediately after stocking. If given time to grow, they can reach up to 16 inches, considered trophy size for this type of fishery. If trout are to reach this size, anglers must practice catch-and-release fishing, especially during the winter and early spring. DNR conservation officers will also be patrolling the river heavily to try and hold down over-the-limit catches.

South Carolina's trout fishery generates about $9 million annually for the state's economy in direct retail sales, with a total estimated economic output of more than $18 million, according to the "2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation" published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The effects of trout fishing can be felt in many segments of Upstate and Midlands communities, from motels and restaurants to gas stations and sporting goods stores. More than 400,000 trout are stocked into public waters in the state's upcountry each year by the South Carolina DNR. The trout are stocked in more than 50 cold-water rivers and streams in Greenville, Pickens and Oconee counties, in Lake Jocassee, and in the cool tailwaters below the Lake Hartwell and Lake Murray dams.

DNR protects and manages South Carolina's natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state's natural resources and its people.

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