Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Oklahoma
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Oklahoma Project

Assessing the potential for rainbow trout reproduction in tributaries of the Mountain Fork River below Broken Bow dam

February 2015 - June 2016

Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Ouachita National Forest
Trevor Starks with a Rainbow Trout captured from a Mountain Fork tributary (April 2015).

Rainbow trout are released in the Mountain Fork River beneath Broken Bow Reservoir because the water released from the bottom of the dam is cold enough to support them. Natural reproduction in the small tributaries of larger rivers are often overlooked because the tributaries are often thought to be too small or warm. The objective of this study is to determine if the small tributaries near the dam support rainbow trout reproduction.