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| by Kasey Yallaly The Baldwin area DNR fisheries crew completed a watershed survey of the Isabelle Creek watershed in 2023. Watershed surveys are basically a comprehensive look at the fishery within the entire watershed and valuable information can be gained from these types of surveys including interactions between the mainstem of Isabelle Creek and its tributaries, areas of importance for natural reproduction, trout species composition throughout the watershed and size structure and densities of trout and non-game species. I have received many inquiries about Isabelle Creek after the large fish kill occurred in 2022 so hopefully this article will give folks a good update on how the stream is recovering. Isabelle Creek is little gem of a stream with its watershed sandwiched in between the Trimbelle and Rush River watersheds. The stream flows south from Ellsworth and enters Lake Pepin in the town of Bay City, WI. Most of the stream features high gradient limestone riffles and pools with the stream flowing through a picturesque valley like its neighboring streams in Pierce County. Access to the stream is mostly limited to bridge crossings, of which there are many, other than 2 DNR easements. The northernmost easement on Isabelle is located upstream of the Esdaile town park at the intersections of CTH EE and 620th Street. This easement is only on the east side of the stream from the town park up for a few hundred yards at which point it becomes easement on both banks. There is some nice water and trout within this reach of stream. The lowermost easement is located just outside of Bay City, and it can be accessed from STH 35. There is a distance between the highway and the easement that is not public access on the banks. Otherwise, there are many stream crossings off 620th Street and at CTH EE that provide great access. During the survey, brown trout were found at all stations that were sampled one year post fish kill. The 2 upstream-most stations were located within the area directly impacted by the fish kill and brown trout were found in low densities within this area, but evidence of limited natural reproduction was found. The uppermost station at CTH V revealed mostly yearling brown trout that were likely the result of the restoration stocking that occurred in the fall of 2022 after the kill. The fish kill did not impact the area downstream of the 4th bridge crossing (as you are moving downstream or south) off 620th Street and this was apparent in our surveys based on the status of the trout population. Brown trout densities within this reach of stream were high and fish were found up to 18 inches and natural reproduction was strong. Our trend site, which is located along CTH EE downstream of Esdaile, has documented a steady increase in brown trout densities for almost a decade. Stocking was also previously needed to supplement the fishery in the Class II section, but stocking ceased in 2018 in order to evaluate the fishery. Because of this increase in densities and natural reproduction within the mid and lower reaches of the stream, the current Class II portion of stream will be reclassified to Class I and the Current Class III section will become Class II during the next reclassification cycle. We will continue to monitor the recovery of the fishery within the impacted area in 2025 but barring no future fish kills, the fishery should continue to recover nicely. See you on the stream! |
Stream Highlight: Isabelle Creek
