Characteristics of an Iowa Put-and-Take Rainbow Trout Fishery and

Associated Economic Benefits

Authors: Randall D. Schultz and Benjamin J. Dodd

A put-and-take winter rainbow trout fishery was established at Banner Lake in southern Iowa during 2004.  The objectives of the new program were to 1) promote angling, 2) increase license sales and 3) educate people of available fishing programs and opportunities.  A total of 11,144 catchable rainbow trout and 46 culled brood brook trout were stocked between October and March during 2005 and 2006.  A unique fin clip was used for each stocking.  A creel survey was conducted to determine angler attitudes, demographics, harvest, time course of stock depletion, and to assess the ability of the program to pay for itself.  Nearly 7,200 angler hours were expended during this study.  Eighty-three percent of the fish were harvested within each two week period post stocking, and approximately 90% of each stocking was harvested through the winter.  Overall, the catch rate was 1.04 rainbow trout per hour.  The majority of the anglers were Caucasian males between the ages of 16-64, although a larger percentage of anglers less than 16 were female.  The creel survey revealed that more than half of the anglers purchased a trout permit to trout fish Banner Lake and 15% purchased a fishing license specifically to fish Banner Lake.  For every dollar spent on the trout program at Banner Lake, more than $2.00 in permit & license sales were created.