Mid-Missouri Trout Unlimited

November 2006

Meanders along Curt’s Stream of Consciousness

He could see the contrail-like plume of dust from the approaching car long before he could hear the high revved whine from the low-geared axles.  Sitting in the campaign chair strategically placed in front of his tent, he looked out over the plain where the low-angle of the late afternoon sun yellowed the dried grasses and left long shadows between the broken hills and he eavesdropped on a colorful argument between the cook and the tracker.  Draining the last of his sundowner in the plastic cup, he waited for the unexpected visitor, surely from the game department judging by the now identifiable outline of the government Landrover, and wondered what sort of trouble could be headed his way.

The visitor wasted no time, stepping out of the car and simultaneously demanding why in bloody hell didn’t he answer his radio calls?  This was starting well.

“Dead batteries and the generator threw a bearing.  Been without service for two days.  You want a cocktail, Jack?  Local moonshine is all we’ve got right now until the lorry brings the next client in from Nairobi.” 

“No time.  I’m to bring you back immediately by the Director’s orders.  Big cat’s been making breakfast of the local village up river.  It’s been havoc for three days and you’re next in queue for control duty.  The Director wants you on this double time and he says no shenanigans this time.  Strictly by the book.

You’re to have no access to a car – I’m to drop you off and then you can radio in when you’ve scratched this Simba – and Tommy says you’re not welcome in the bar.  By the way . . . the captain’s wife said to say ‘hullo.’”

“She would,” he thought to himself.  He got up and stretched then headed for the tent where the big double rifle leaned against the cot and the cartridge holder with the cigar length solids lay on the footlocker.  He yelled at Three Toes, his tracker, to grab a bedroll and whatever food was leftover.  As an afterthought, he turned around and opened the footlocker to get the medical bag and the bottle of whiskey.  This might not turn out as well as the last time.

“Mr. Morgret?  Mr. Morgret?  You seemed distracted.”

I focused my eyes on the woman sitting in front of me with the laptop computer, crisply dressed in a dark business suit with her hair tied in a knot behind her head that was so tight it looked as if it held her eyelids open.

“We need to complete your Mandatory Growth Target Report for the coming fiscal year – this was due last week.  As you know, our CFO has outlined certain strategic expectations to the stock analysts, to that we need to add back expected asset runoff, and then we multiply by your stretch goal factor adding in . . . . “

The light-shot, golden cottonwoods almost hurt his eyes as he admired them from the river while he waited for the wading ripples to subside.  It would be awhile before the big rainbow behind the rocks started feeding again, so he studied the peaks dusted with snow by last night’s storm . .  .

 - Curt

November Meeting – Mike Kruse

The November 7^th meeting of MMTU will be held at the Missouri Department of Conservation, Resource Science Center at Stadium Blvd. and College Ave. in Columbia.  Meeting time is 7:00 p.m.  Mike will report on progress made towards implementing "A Plan for Missouri Trout Fishing" three years after the Conservation Commission approved it.  The photo above is of Mike’s mohair leech, perhaps more recognizable even than Mike on Missouri trout streams.

Whirling Disease Resistant Rainbow Trout Broodstock Development
George J. Schisler, Ph.D. Principle Investigator

Identification and use of resistant strains of rainbow trout is a management technique that may be successful in reestablishing wild rainbow trout populations where they have been lost due to Myxobolus cerebralis, the parasite that causes whirling disease.  Resistant strains of rainbow trout stocked as M. cerebralis-negative fish will also develop lower myxospore counts after release into infected environments.  In both of these situations, reduction in ambient M. cerebralis levels in the wild will occur through the use of less susceptible rainbow trout strains. 

One of our goals is to establish brood stock of candidate rainbow trout strains resistant to infection by M. cerebralis and evaluate these strains under laboratory and field conditions.  We are currently in the process of evaluating and selecting these strains.  The Hofer rainbow trout strain has demonstrated strong resistance to the parasite.  These fish originated from the Kamloops rainbow trout in the Columbia River system in North America.  In the late 1800's these fish were transported to Germany to be grown as food fish in local hatcheries.  Because whirling disease is endemic in Germany, the fish were reared in whirling disease-positive waters.  Over time, this rainbow trout strain developed a resistance to the parasite.  This resistance has been confirmed in laboratory studies.

Because of their long history of domestication, the Hofer rainbow trout are a very fast growing fish.  We are currently evaluating the pure Hofer rainbow trout in our hatchery system to determine if they will be useful as a standard domestic strain, used for put-and-take waters where fish are stocked at catchable size for immediate harvest by anglers.  The Hofer rainbow trout have typical behaviors associated with domestic fish, which include reduced fright response and aggressive feeding.  These characteristics of domestication, while beneficial in a hatchery setting, are not advantageous for wild fish. 

In fish that are to be used in wild trout waters, we are breeding the resistance of the Hofer rainbow trout into the Colorado River rainbow trout strain.  Rainbow trout are not native to Colorado, and the Colorado River rainbow trout is a wild strain that is a result of Federal, State and private stocking in the early 1900's in Colorado.  This strain did very well in rivers in Colorado until the spread of whirling disease.  The Colorado River rainbow trout strain is highly susceptible to the parasite.  Our breeding program is designed to retain the maximum wild genes possible in the new broodstock, while conferring resistance to whirling disease to this strain. This will help maintain wild behavior in the fish, and result in more successful natural spawning and survival. 

In each generation of crosses, the offspring are exposed to heavy doses of M. cerebralis to identify resistant family lines and individuals (see photo).  Only families of resistant offspring and individuals demonstrating resistance are used in subsequent crosses.  These fish will be back-crossed with pure Colorado River rainbow trout to reduce the amount of domesticated Hofer genes in the new broodstock.  Using this method over several generations will produce fish that are both resistant to whirling disease and capable of natural reproduction and recruitment in the wild.

From the Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Research/Aquatic/WhirlingDisease/WDResistantTroutBroodstock.htm

October Meeting - Tom Hargrove, proprietor of T. Hargrove Fly Fishing in St. Louis, presented a program on fishing for big trout in Argentina.  Tom’s presentation was, as always, informative and entertaining.  His program can be summarized as lots of good fish, lots of good food, lots of beautiful clear water, and very few people.  He has all who attended eager to make the long trip down south.

Tom Hargrove