| The Gadsden Times
Members of the Rainbow Fly Fishing Club worked with Gadsden Parks and Recreation employees Tuesday morning, placing a pipe to funnel fish from a truck to the top of the falls and into Black Creek.
These were not just any fish, Frank Roden of the club said. “These are trophy trout,” he said — 12- to 16-inch trout. “These aren’t pups.”
About 1,000 trout were released, Roden said. After the fish dropped into the water, he said they headed upstream for a moment, getting oriented to the water, then turned and went over the falls.
Stocking Black Creek with trout has ben successful in the last two years, Roden said, bringing people from across this state and others to fly fish.
“To the delight of fly fishermen, there’s a campground right there, and restaurants and shopping,” he said.
The City of Gadsden deserves the credit for stocking the creek, he said, but economic impact studies have shown the investment had paid off in tourism dollars.
According to Greater Gadsden Area Tourism Director Hugh Stump, there’s no other place to fly fish in Alabama, except Sipsey Fork.
A well-stocked trout stream gives Gadsden an advantage, Stump said, allowing people from around the South the opportunity to fly fish close to home instead of traveling to Alaska or Colorado.
Roden said they also released trout at the midsection of the creek and below the falls — netting them up and dropping them in — so fly fishermen lured to the area by the restocking have a chance to land fish throughout the creek.
As the operator of Rainbow City Auction and Fly Shop, and through the club, Roden is aware of the level of interest. He said fishermen from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, came out to help with restocking.
Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.
Credit: Source link
