- Date
- 1961-12-06
- Kind
- Conservation
- Where
- Fox Lake
- Participants
- Bud Knight (fish_culturist) · Vernon Fitzpatrick (conservation_officer)
- Carried out by
- Michigan Conservation Department
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- conservationenvironmentfishing
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
On December 6, 1961, Bud Knight of Oden Hatcheries and Beaver Island conservation officer Vernon Fitzpatrick planted 2,000 brook trout at Fox Lake. The Beaver Beacon reports a total weight of 450 pounds, an average length of 8½ inches, and survival of all but about two dozen during transport in a tank aboard the Emerald Isle ferry.
The planting followed a November report that fourteen earlier brook trout had died while Fox Lake still contained toxic water; the larger release was described as a later effort after testing and was expected to produce legal-size fish for the following fishing season.
Evidence and limits
This record preserves the newspaper’s stocking and transport account. It does not establish the hatchery’s formal ownership relationship to the Conservation Department, the source of the toxicity, the precise strain of trout, survival after release, or a later population survey.
Open questions
- What caused the Fox Lake toxicity, and when was the lake declared safe?
- What hatchery and state records document the 2,000-fish release and later survival?
- Did the planting establish the fishery described in later local reports?
See also
Sources
- Reports Bud Knight of Oden Hatcheries and conservation officer Vernon Fitzpatrick planting 2,000 brook trout, totaling 450 pounds, at Fox Lake on December 6. The fish averaged 8.5 inches and survived the Emerald Isle ferry trip except for about two dozen.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
- The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that a further Fox Lake toxicity test found fourteen planted brook trout had died and that a larger planting of 2,500 trout was planned for that year or the spring, depending on the poison remaining in the water. It says the trout would be legal size and available to anglers the following year.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
- The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Brook-trout stocking at Fox Lake, 1961”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/brook-trout-stocking-at-fox-lake-1961/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, December 1961, “Good News.” (and 3 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Brook-trout stocking at Fox Lake, 1961”RIS for “Brook-trout stocking at Fox Lake, 1961”