The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-26
TROUT IN KANSAS
Fish Commissioners VIII Stock
Streams With Them.
Mr. Travis Knows of Four Suit
able for Trout.
WILL USE MANY BASS.
Expects to Put 1000 in Each
of % Streams.
Thinks Kansas Is Especially
Adapted for Them.
WILL USE MANY BASS.

Hoy would you like to go trout fish
ing in Kansas
This sounds like d joke. Nevertheless,
It may be possible, within a few years,
TO do just this thing. Game Warden
Del Travis has found three or four good
trout streams in the state; all they lack
Is the trout and to supply this deficiency
is just what ar. Travis is about to at
tempt.
The last legislature gave the game
warden a fund of $4,000 to spend in
building a big FISH hatchery at Pratt,
Kan. It is the first time that the leg
islature has ever done anything much
for the fishermen of the state. and indi-
cations are that Mr.. Travis is going to
make the results apprecia ted. The brook
trout idea is one of the things when
Mr.. Travis believes VIII be possible. He
says:
Rainbow trout can thrive only in
clear, cold water. / know OF three
streams in the state where believe that
trout viii do well. One is the MIN
nescah river. which flows through Pratt,
and which supplies the water for the
state fish hatchery. This is a beautiful
little stream about eight or ten feet
wide. a foot or so deep, and flowing
very swiftly over a gravel bottom. An
other is q little stream up in Brown
county, which is fed by a big spring.
The third is the Pawnee river above
where it flows into the Arkansas at
Larned. These streams are all good
trout streams. and I believe that by
properly stocking them, we VIII be able
to cultivate a little trout fishing right
here at home. They tell me that in
northern Nebraska they have number
of very good trout streams which have
been stocked in this way
Some years ago, an enthusiastic
sportsman. who did not know much
about trout. or else one who misrepre-
scented conditions. managed to obtain
from the federal government q ship
ment OF little trout from a government
hatchery. which he used to stock.
Soldier creek, the beautiful and muddy
stream which cmpties into the Kansas 4
river east of North Topeka. These in
nOcent little fish were put into Soldier
creek, and that is the last that have
heen heard of them OF course they
could not live in that muddy water, and
there have been no reports of-anybody
catching a 10-pOund trout in that body /
of water.
$4,000 Baby Bass.
In addition to stocking Kansas |
streams with rainbow trout, Warden /
Travis is planning to put about 1000 /
small black bass into each OF 70 OF I
the most promising creeks of the state ]
this fan.
Heretofore the state has not been /
able to do much OF any systematic I
stocking of streams, because it has had |
no money and very limited facilities. /
There has been only one fish pond at I
Pratt for the cultivation of bass, and /
most of the bass which the state has /
sent out have been purchased from d /
private hatchery at Langdon.
Mr.. Travis says LAS soon as pos |
sible I want to put in three more ponds /
for the raising of young bass and cop
pies. Fish of the bass family thrive /
9th 4
The cultivation of this kind of fish is /
not by means Of hatcheries We simply !
sein the streams for large bass, put !
them i'm the ponds just before the /
spawning season. and let them propa- |
gate. OF course many of the small |
bass are eaten up before they get big |
enough to move. but within a few
months after spawning, we drain the /
pond and take all the little bass out
and send them to the streams where
they are most needed.
Transportation for the fish over the
railroads costs us nothing. The rail-
road companies are glad to help the
state stock the Streams, because when
there lis good fishing. it encourages
railroad travel. In order to make a
shipment of bass, it is necessary to
send a man right along with them.
The bass are all right so long as the
train is in motion. and the water is
kept i'm vibration, but when the train
stops. the bass BEGIN to suffer unless
carefully attended to.
Il have not yet decided which
streams I VIII stock with bass this
year. but I want to pick out about 3
OF the best ones i'm the state and put
about 1000 bass into each. Within a
few years they viii multiply and be
sufficiently abundant to make good
fishing I can't stock all the streams
at once but with the improved facii-
ties at the fish hatchery we can do
more in the future than in the past"
Trout Already Here.
z. 3. Stotts of Garden City saws that
there are already trout in Kansas He
says that J. c. Kitchen Of Garden CITY
has made a success of propa eating rain
bow trout in a pond and several other
people i'm B'mney county have done the
same. He says that the owners keen a
continuous fresh water supply into the
ponds and find no difficulty in keeping
the hshe alive
AfrI1feou rEefffr,-r Goal