Posted by – Shawn Keenan, Assistant City Planner

The growing number of anglers who now fish the waters of the Clinton River in Downtown Auburn Hills are in for a big surprise once they see what’s now lurking beneath the water.  Last week Monday the DNR Fisheries Division released 950 brown trout and 150 rainbow trout into the Clinton River at Riverside Park.  The trout released that day were from their brood stock (adult trout 11 to 20 inches in length).  Adult trout like these are not available on a regular basis, so they are considered “extra” fish, above and beyond the regular annual allotment.  The DNR’s knowledge of the increased angling hours on the Clinton River in Downtown Auburn Hills is one factor used in determining the release site.

That’s not all.  This past Tuesday the DNR released another 27,000 steelheads (aka rainbow trout), approximately 7 inches in length, into the Clinton River at Riverside Park.  The steelheads should stick around the waters of the Clinton River for about 2 or 3 years before migrating to Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron and Lake Erie.  Once they spend a few years on the larger lakes and grow much larger they will make a journey back to the rivers where they were released.

The purpose of the DNR’s annual stocking program and release of supplemental brood stock is to help foster the urban fishery the City is creating with its 14-year partnership with the DNR Fisheries, the Clinton River Watershed Council and the four chapters of Trout Unlimited (Challenge, Clinton Valley, Paul H. Young, and Vanguard).  The City is proud to see its fishery grow in popularity each year.

The City is grateful to have been selected as the stocking location for the surplus trout and annual steelhead stocking and will continue efforts to protect and enhance the water quality of the Clinton River and its tributaries.