Jonathan Pyatskowit and Henry Quinlan load an egg box on Whittlesey Creek. - USFWS Photo

Kurt Schilling loads brook trout eggs into Astroturf bundles at Iron River National Fish Hatchery. - USFWS Photo

Steve Redman from Iron River National Fish Hatchery loads brook trout eggs into an egg tray. - USFWS Photo

An egg box anchored in Whittlesey Creek. - USFWS Photo

On January 24, 2006 staff from the Ashland Fishery Resources Office pre-positioned egg boxes on the creeks to reduce the time needed to stock the eggs.  Boxes were carried into the stocking site and the rebar driven in the creek where the box was to be positioned.  Carrying the boxes and weights in and having the stakes positioned, reduced the time the eggs need to be in transport. 

On January 25, 2006 staff from the Ashland FRO, Iron River NFH, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources transferred coaster brook trout eggs from the Iron River hatchery to Whittlesey and North Fork Whittlesey creeks.  The eggs were loaded onto Astroturf bundles in the hatchery and transported to the creek in Styrofoam containers or coolers. 

At the stream, the Astroturf bundles were loaded into egg boxes.  Egg boxes were used to provide a substrate that is stable and can prevent sand deposition from smothering the eggs.  An egg box consists of Astroturf bundles sandwiched within a frame which is then anchored to the streambed with a rebar stake.  The boxes were placed in areas of moderate to slow current that were out of sand deposition zones.  When possible, boxes were also placed close to areas that will provide juvenile habitat once the eggs hatch.  In order to monitor egg development, eggs trays were used.  An egg tray holds 50 individual eggs that can be visibly checked for development and eventually hatch.  An egg tray was loaded for each strain and each egg take date.  The egg trays were fastened to the rebar and positioned on top of an egg box.

The egg stocking is part of the seven year experiment to restore coaster brook trout to the Whittlesey Creek watershed by stocking different life stages.  Two strains of eggs from Isle Royale brood stock (Tobin Harbor and Siskiwit Bay) were stocked in the creeks (approx. 30,000 eggs total).  Eventually, as fish are sampled during assessments, strain composition and contribution can be determined.

Contact: Jonathan Pyatskowit