By Topf Wells

Yes and SWTU hopes to help.

Dan Oele and Mitch Trow of the DNR surveyed the upper Yahara in and around Deforest about two years ago and found wild brown trout in enough numbers and age classes to classify this section of stream as a Class 2 trout stream. They noted that while the stream is not full of trout, it does support them in fishable numbers.

For anyone who needs some good and unexpected news about local trout streams, this is it. I ran into John Lyons the other day, DNR and UW fish researcher extraordinaire; when he surveyed that part of the Yahara in the 90s he did not find a trace of trout. He was on the river, searching for native species of small fish in the same time span as Dan, Mitch and their crew. Brown trout kept getting in the way of his search for other fish.

And the prospects for the Yahara brown trout and anglers are dramatically improving.

The Village of Deforest has acquired about 5 miles of stream frontage on the Yahara. They have launched a project to reduce sedimentation, improve habitat, and welcome anglers on several stretches of that stream.

SWTU was invited to a meeting of Village officials, their consulting firm, DNR staff from fisheries and water resources management, and the Dane County stream restoration specialist for suggestions for improving and supporting the plan.

The consultants, biologists and engineers, had surveyed every foot of the stream in public ownership and have targeted the sites with the most problems and opportunities. The Village has invested time and funds and raised several hundred thousand dollars in grants. They need more funds and can use volunteers to work on some sites where heavy equipment cannot be used.

We hope to schedule some work days on those sites in the fall and to assist the Village with some funds.

My response to this meeting: Pinch me, I’m dreaming. The Village’s interest in a comprehensive improvement to the health and public enjoyment of the creek, the expertise and thoroughness of their consultants’ work, and the willingness of the DNR and County staff to help were, to use a corny phrase, heart warming.

How did the Yahara improve so dramatically? Where did the trout come from? My speculation is that the combination of improved farm practices, better control of urban runoff, and increased baseflow of the past 25 years improved water quality and preserved enough habitat for trout to survive. While the Yahara had not been stocked with trout, Token Creek, part of the Upper Yahara watershed, has been stocked and has had some wild brown trout for years. Rumors of trout in this part of the Yahara have circulated for some years.

Among the lessons to be taken to heart are the value of DNR surveys and assessments and the resilience of our local streams. We can’t care for or even enjoy what we don’t know is there. And many of our streams will respond to more protection and better care.

We’ll keep you posted on the progress in improving the Yahara River as Dane County’s newest trout stream. The day is coming when you’ll be able to polish off a lemon meringue pie at Deforest’s Norske Nook and and work off the calories fishing for wild brown trout  a block or two away.