Fisheries biologists at Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently relocated brook trout from Cosby Creek into Lynn Camp Prong with the help of volunteers. About 350 brookies were put in the stream on July 14. They were placed in the stream in small groups that were dispersed up and down the creek.

Lynn Camp Prong is in the Tremont section of the park near the Townsend entrance. It is a medium size stream and the primary tributary of the Middle Prong of Little River.

Lynn Camp Prong should have plenty of nice brook trout like this one in a few short years

Rainbow trout were removed from the stream last September when biologists cleared the way for native brook trout to make a come back in the stream. A few natives still persist in the upper headwaters of the stream but biologists had to bring in fish from other areas to help the fish recover throughout the stream.

More brook trout will be brought into Lynn Camp Prong through the summer and into the fall. The stream will remain closed to fishing for several years while brook trout numbers grow. Biologists will monitor the population to see how fast the fish are reproducing in their new home. Lynn Camp Prong is expected to be open for fishing once brook trout populations are comparable to those in surrounding streams.

The restored portion of Lynn Camp Prong is upstream of 85′ tall Lynn Camp Cascades and includes about 8 miles of water. Brook trout populations in the stream should eventually be about 2000 per mile.

Most Tennesse anglers aren’t aware of the fact that the upper Tellico system is one of the most prolific native brook trout fisheries in the Southeast. Travel a few miles across the state line and you’ll start picking up a few specks mixed in with rainbows. Go far enough and you’re in pure speck water. Few ever travel that far up the river because:

1. They came for the stocked trout found from the mouth of Turkey Creek upstream to the state line
2. They’re catching so many fish they didn’t bother to go any further upstream
3. The road inside North Carolina gets wild and woolly pretty quick

This area has long been designated for ORV (Off Road Vehicle) use. Over time these trails have eroded dramatically and many ORV users have strayed from designated trails. Unfortunately the Tellico River has begun to look like an awful mudhole after any rain.

Tellico River receives far more silt than other trout streams in the region. Silt chokes out aquatic insects and trout spawning areas. This has all been traced to ORV trails that function as muddy gutters that empty directly into the trout streams.

The Nantahala National Forest is about to remove the ORV designation from upper Tellico River because of the siltation problems that have led to serious water quality issues. They have outlined six different alternative plans, but keeping ORV’s away from trout streams is a big part of the plan.

You can read more about it in The Chattanoogan. Be sure to click on the link below and email the Forest Service with your comments. It won’t take you more than a few seconds.

comments-southern-north-carolina-nantahala-tusquitee@fs.fed.us

The Forest Service is accepting comments through March 28, 2009.

Here is a schedule of some projects where biologists could use some help. A few are simple river clean up days and others involve some hiking and heavy lifting.

Anyone interested in participating in any of these events should call Steve Moore or Matt Kulp at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (865) 436-1250 or (865) 436-1254. You can also email them for information.  Matt_Kulp@nps.gov or  Steve_E_Moore@nps.gov.

Biologists monitor trout populations by stunning them with electro-shockers.

April 11 – NC Oconaluftee River Clean-Up Day – Meet at Collins Creek picnic area 9:00 AM

April 25 – TN Little River Clean-Up Day – Meet at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area 9:00 AM

May 15 - Collect wild fish for disply tank at TROUTFEST  -  volunteers needed to collect wild fish for TWRA tank

June 1 – 4 Lynn Camp Prong Evaluation  -  Need volunteers to help with electrofishing evaluations

June 8 – 10 Lynn Camp Prong Brook Trout Transplant  – Need volunteers to help collect and transplant brook trout

July 6 – 9 Bear Creek Evaluation  -  re-sample monitoring sites & evaluate brook trout population

August 4 -  Large Stream Sample – Middle Prong Little River – upper Tremont Road; park along road just before Middle Prong trailhead

August 26 – 27 Bunches & Flat Creek Evaluation – High elevation brook trout electrofishing

October 9 Large Stream Sample – East Prong Little River -  Metcalf Bottoms site;  Park at picnic area and walk up road to site

Brook trout will soon be common in Lynn Camp Prong near Townsend, TN

Brook trout were the exclusive gamefish present in the stream before logging operations began in the early 1900′s. The highly destructive practices of the period took as much a toll on the streams as they did on the forest. Only remnant populations of native fish remained in the far headwaters of the stream and in Sam’s Creek, a neighboring stream. Rainbow trout were stocked to replace the missing brookies and their numbers sky rocketed as the forest recovered. In fact, the stream has become a favorite for many fly fishers who enjoy dry fly fishing in a small stream environment.

Lynn Camp Prong is an ideal candidate for restoration. First of all, the large Lynn Camp Cascades, about 85′ tall, will prevent upstream migration of rainbow trout from downstream after the current population is removed. There are also several populations of brook trout in the immediate area that can be used to repopulate the stream. A current restoration on Indian Flats Prong was conducted with brookies remaining in upper Lynn Camp. These fish, combined with brookies from another small tributary, Mark’s Creek, plus fish in neighboring Sam’s Creek will provide native bloodlines for the restoration.

We may catch brookies like this one out of Lynn Camp Prong in a few years.

Any fish remaining in the stream will be removed later with antimycin, a chemical that is toxic to trout. Antimycin is the favored chemical for trout removal since it breaks down quickly and is harmless to non-aquatic species. In fact, the previous Sam’s Creek restoration took a couple of tries since the antimycin was neutralized too quickly to have much effect.

The stream will close to all fishing during the restoration which will begin later in the year and continue for a number years. Biologists will monitor trout populations on the stream after brook trout are introduced. The stream is likely to be opened to fishing once planted brook trout have several seasons of successful spawning to fully populate the stream.

In case you haven’t heard, Sam’s Creek has recently been opened to fishing. This stream which shares a common trailhead with Lynn Camp Prong was restored several years ago by Smokies fisheries biologists. We recommend you check it out! Sam’s Creek is a tributary of Thunderhead Prong. Park at the end of Tremont Road, cross the foot bridge at the parking lot and take the path on the right. It’s about a half mile to to the point where you must wade across the Thunderhead. Stay on the path on bear left. The trail is pretty narrow but follows the stream.

Whirling disease is perhaps the best known of these threats. It is a parasite that infiltrates the head and spinal column of fingerling trout where it causes the fish to swim erratically and eventually die. The stocking of live infected fish is a primary method that the parasite is introduced to new rivers. However, it can also be spread by humans who carry the parasite unknowingly on their wading equipment after fishing in infected waters. The whirling disease spore can live dormant for as long as 30 years.

The New Zealand mud snail had spread at an alarming rate throughout the West and threatens other waters. These incredibly small snails have no natural predators in North America and their swift rate of reproduction overwhelms a river’s ecosystem. These snails don’t have a direct effect on trout, but have negative impacts on aquatic insects that are the foods trout feed on. Mud snails can easily attach to wading equipment. A single mud snail has the capability of cloning itself where it can destroy a stream’s complex food web.

New Zealand mud snails are exceptionally small and can completely cover the bottom of a river 

Didymosphenia geminata, better known as didymo, is present in many of our Tennessee trout rivers and could threaten other. It is a single cell algae that thrives in cold, clear waters. It attaches to rocks and aquatic plants and forms massive mats that resemble shag carpet. Didymo smothers areas where trout lay eggs. It also competes with native species that aquatic insects feed on. Loss of food for aquatic insects means a loss of food for trout. Again, this exotic species is spread by the wading equipment of fishermen.

Didymo is currently in the Clinch, South Holston, Watauga, and Holston Rivers. You may have heard it referred to as “rock snot” which is a pretty apt description. It is most obvious in the Clinch and South Holston, but no one is certain of what the exact effects will be. Fisheries biologists at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are also concerned that it could be spread to the streams of the Smokies.

You may have seen Didymo growing on rocks and vegetation on East Tennessee’s tailwaters 

As fishermen we have the potential to spread these creatures to new waters and potentially devastate our fisheries. However, simply cleaning your wading boots, gravel guards, and the feet of your waders can prevent the spread of these organisms. This is extremely important to prevent the spread of these invaders.

A study conducted by Montana State University sought the quantify how serious the threat is for anglers to spread these aquatic hitch hikers. Researchers approached anglers on the stream and 487 agreed to participate over the course of the study. Researchers simply rinsed the sediment from anglers’ boots and waders of anglers who agreed. Sediment that was rinsed from fishermen was scanned for exotic hitchhikers. The study found that the average angler carried 16.8 grams of sediment on their boots and waders. This study was conducted over several rivers in western Montana. To find the true effects of sediment transfer researchers checked fishing license sales in the same area and estimated that the number of anglers fishing over a 30 day period in the study area could have moved as much as 3 tons of sediment just with their wading boots!

It has already been proven that Didymo, whirling disease, and New Zealand mud snails can be transported via felt wading boots so it’s imperative that we all rinse our boots after fishing rivers like the Clinch, Holston, South Holston, and Watauga. This will prevent the spread of these organisms to other rivers, perhaps your home water.

You can click on the following links to learn more:

Didymo

Whirling Disease

New Zealand Mud Snail

Charity and I are particularly gratified by this development. About five years ago we spent 3 days camping the backcountry with park fisheries biologists in the upper headwaters of Little River. We backpacked about 165 brook trout about 8 miles down the trail to be used for the Sams Creek restoration.

We carried 5 gallon containers of water fitted to an external frame backpack. The containers were equipped with battery powered bubblers to oxygenate the water and we’d stop every 40 minutes or so to refresh the container with fresh, cold water (and catch our breath).

Sams Creek is a tributary of Thunderhead Prong, one of the two forks of the Middle Prong of Little River. You can reach it by driving to the end of Tremont Road and following the path up Thunderhead Prong, the right fork of the stream at the trailhead. You will need to hike a pretty good way and the path up Sams Creek is pretty discreet.