INNISFAIL - Dozens of Innisfailians joined angling enthusiasts at Dodd’s Lake on a gorgeous albeit cool and slightly windy morning on May 14th for the third annual trout release.
At about 9 a.m. 300 rainbow trout were released into the lake, and for the first time they were joined by 200 tiger trout; a sterile hybrid of brown and brook trout that have been stocked in provincial lakes since 2015 by Alberta Environment and Parks.
“Our supplier was concerned with the weather; the temperature differential between the (fish) tank and the lake. They want to keep it within a very tight range,” said Bob Leney, past-president of the Innisfail Fish and Game Association (IFGA). “You end up with some kill if the temperatures are too far out of spec between each other. It shocks them when they go into the lake.”
The change of date also proved to be cost effective for trout release program sponsors, the IFGA and the Innisfail Lions Club.
Tom Reinhart, the Lions club manager for the Anthony Henday Campground, noted the 300 rainbow trout cost his service club just over $2,100 while the IFGA paid $2,160 for the tiger trout.
The were all purchased from Eckville’s On The Hook Fish Farm.
“If this tank heats up on the way here we have too much of a temperature discrepancy, and we then have to pump water from the lake into the tank to equalize so that we can release the fish,” said Reinhart. “That means he (supplier) has to sterilize his tank before he can use it again. That's costs we incur. We saved ourselves a significant amount of money.”
There was, however, good angling news to report.
For the second year in a row a large rainbow trout was caught just days before the annual release, a sign there is enough oxygen in the lake to sustain the released trout year round.
“I think the key is we don't put very many in. Three hundred in a lake this size is not very many fish,” said Reinhart, adding there has not been a single reported case of winterkill. “If you had thousands of them in there, they would be gobbling up the oxygen.
“I like this size. It seems to be acceptable,” added Reinhart.
As for the new tiger trout, which are considered aggressive, they go in the lake with a mission to control the ever-increasing numbers of Prussian carp; a silvery-brown-bodied invasive fish that resembles a wild goldfish and proven to be a popular and tasty catch for some Dodd’s Lake anglers.
“Hopefully, they (tiger trout) do their job and take care of some of the Prussian carp, but nevertheless they're there for the enjoyment of the anglers,” said Leney, who will soon be part of an IFGA installation project of a new and larger L-shaped dock just west of the existing facility.
There were many anglers out early at Dodd’s Lake on May 14. Some came from out of town specifically to catch the Prussian carp.
Others were intrigued with the new tiger trout.
Many, however, just wanted to be part of an event that for then has quickly marked the end of a cold winter and the start of an annual promise of a continued warm spring that will transition into a glorious summer.
Coun. Cindy Messaros came to the release with her dog Jerry. It was her first trout release attendance, and she confessed she “loved” its positive “spirit".
“It’s one more event in town that brings people together, and I love it,” said Messaros, who was joined at the trout release by colleagues Mayor Jean Barclay and councillors Gavin Bates and Don Harrison. “It just seems we’re gaining more and more town spirit and momentum around that.”
