By Louie Stout
If you fish Oliver chain of lakes for trout, the Indiana DNR wants to hear from you this season.
The Chain consists of about 517 acres and includes Oliver, Martin and Olin lakes in LaGrange County.
Plans call for a comment box to be placed at the public access. A survey card will be there as well and anglers are encouraged to fill out the brief survey and deposit it in the box. In addition, a camera will be positioned on the boat ramp so officials can assess public use of the lake.
Historically, fisheries biologists place a part-time creel clerk at state accesses to query anglers as they come off the water.
“Posting a creel clerk on the lake can be expensive, so we’re trying this to see if it works,” says District Fisheries Biologist Matt Horsley. “Western states and some southern Indiana lakes have had success with it.”
The DNR stocks trout in Oliver every year but are getting limited feedback about the success of the program.
“We only have anecdotal evidence that some anglers are catching trout and fewer big ones,” he says. “This will give us an idea as to whether the program is worthy.”
The DNR stocks legal-size trout that range up to 11 inches each year.
“Adjacent Olin Lake has better water quality and there is some evidence of trout being caught there,” Horsley explains. “Oliver is less stable, so we are wondering if we need to go a different direction.”
That direction could be with walleye. Horsley says he’s received inquiries from anglers and lake residents who are requesting them. However, he adds, the walleye stocking wouldn’t come from the DNR and would have to come from private stockings.
The Indiana DNR is maxed out with stocking efforts at its designated walleye lakes and not able to create new fisheries at this time.
“I don’t know if walleye would do any better, but I’m not opposed to allowing private groups to stock; but first, we want to see what most anglers want,” adds the biologist. “I think walleye would survive there, but they would be harder to catch because there’s not much habitat or structure. We wouldn’t cut the trout program completely, but would consider reducing stocking efforts.”