2,000 anglers again expected for Opening Day

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

Opening Day at Roaring River State Park is once again expected to draw roughly 2,000 anglers casting for more than 6,500 stocked trout — plus the typical 100 lunkers — in the first Sunday opening since 2020 when 1,700 tags were sold amid the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brad Farwell, Roaring River Hatchery manager, said staff have been busy prepping for the annual event.

“I know I’ll stock 100 lunkers because that’s a typical given number,” Farwell said. “I’d say we’ll have maybe 2,000 to 2,100 anglers, and we’ll probably stock around 6,500 fish — 6,500 plus 100 lunkers.”

In order to throw in a line, an angler needs a fishing license and trout tag, which can be purchased in the Park Store, located across from the junction of 112 and F Highways.

Larry Quinalty, local resident known for his years as a college professor, work at the Roaring River Nature Center and numerous Dutch oven demonstrations and cookbooks, will fire the gun at 6:30 a.m.

In observance of another long-standing tradition, the Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce will give away mugs of hot coffee (coffee courtesy of Sunshine Coffeehouse, mugs courtesy of Chamber members) to Opening Day anglers, beginning at 5 a.m., under the large tent across the road and a bit south of the historic CCC Lodge. Walmart of Cassville will be handing out doughnuts and Realty Mart will be handing out free shirts while supplies last.

Chamber Director Morgan Williams said from 6:30 a.m. to noon, the Lunker Station will open and begin handing out Lunker patches. Arvest Bank will hand out a prize to the first catch of the day brought to be weighed in. Mercy will hand out prizes to the largest adult lunker and largest child lunker brought to the Lunker Station before noon.

For those seeking an overnight stay, or to warm their toes, the Emory Melton Inn will open its doors at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

If it’s food and drink people are looking for, the restaurant in the Inn will open from noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The breakfast buffet on Saturday and Sunday runs from 7-11 a.m., and the lunch buffet o Sunday runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Park Store will be open Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Beyond Opening Day, Farwell said regular-season stocking calculations are driven by projected attendance and a targeted fish-per-angler rate.

“From March 1 to October 31, we stock fish every night,” Farwell said. “We base it off historical tag sales, weather forecasts and holidays. We take that anticipated number of anglers times 1.8, and that tells us how many fish to stock.”

That 1.8 fish-per-angler target is higher than last year and should be noticeable to regular visitors.

“Bennett Spring is still shut down, and they don’t have any fish on site,” Farwell said. “Because of that, we’re going to be at 1.8 fish per person for the year.”

The projected rate compares favorably to recent seasons.

“The traditional average is 2.25,” Farwell said. “Last year was 1.6, so it will be quite a bit higher. When you get down to 1.5 or 1.6, even around 1.7, anglers notice it. At 1.8 or 2.0, we usually don’t get many complaints, so it should be pretty good.”

Opening Day attendance has gradually declined over time, though Farwell said turnout remains strong.

“It seems like every year opening day numbers go down a little bit,” Farwell said. “Part of that is culture changing.”

Some anglers now intentionally avoid the Opening Day crowds.

“I hear a lot of people say they would never fish on March first and come the day after or the week after,” Farwell said. “It’s still good numbers.”

Hatchery renovations are nearing completion as the season begins, including major underground utility replacements.

“We’re still doing a renovation project right now down here at the hatchery,” Farwell said. “We were doing an oxygen line replacement. We had a temporary oxygen line running across the ground for the last couple of years, so they’re reburying a new oxygen line and getting that taken care of.”

The original buried line deteriorated beyond repair.

“The old oxygen line started leaking underneath the ground, and there wasn’t a feasible way to fix it,” Farwell said. “When they looked at the copper, it was getting too thin in too many spots, so they wanted to redo the whole thing.”

Crews also replaced another key fuel line serving hatchery facilities.

“They put in a new propane line also,” Farwell said. “They buried that propane line from the tank all the way down to the hatchery building and over to the bathroom.”

Inside the hatchery, a multi-unit ultraviolet treatment system is being installed to reduce fish disease losses.

“They’re doing a UV upgrade in the hatchery,” Farwell said. “They’re putting in four UV units now in the building instead of one, so we shouldn’t have issues with bacteria or parasites.”

Disease-related loss has significantly reduced output in recent years.

“It should make our loss rate extremely low,” Farwell said. “We’ve been having issues with Aeromonas bacteria.”

The difference in survival rates can be substantial.

“If I got 200,000 eggs and they hatched out and got Aeromonas, I might get 50,000 to 75,000 fish out of it,” Farwell said. “Before having the Aeromonas problem, it would be 150,000.”

The new system is expected to improve fingerling survival and reduce treatment needs.

“The new UV units will probably increase fingerling production by decreasing the loss from Aeromonas bacteria,” Farwell said. “If they get disease in the hatchery, you’re treating them with antibiotics multiple times.”

Renovation work has temporarily reduced hatchery capacity.

“The hatchery building itself has been shut down since about September, and we’ve had 17 out of the 40 pools shut off because of the renovation project,” Farwell said. “We’ll start ramping back up production as soon as the project’s done.”

Full operations should resume shortly after Opening Day.

“Hopefully it will be done close to March first,” Farwell said. “Maybe not March 1st, but pretty close.”

A broader return to full production is expected later in the spring.

River access and zone regulations will remain unchanged for the new season.

“No changes to the zones and no real river maintenance,” Farwell said. “They’re talking about trying to get the long-reach excavator down here to do some dredging, but that hasn’t been done yet.”

One bank-stabilization project remains under consideration.

“We do have a project to stabilize the bank in campground two that we’re looking at trying to get completed,” Farwell said. “We haven’t gotten the go-ahead on that yet.”

Farwell said the current round of construction focuses on reliability rather than expanded output.

“The oxygen line and propane line replacement won’t change capacity,” Farwell said. “They’re just fixing infrastructure that was falling apart.”

Most major capital projects are now complete.

“This is the last of the legacy projects and upgrades we needed to get done,” Farwell said. “We’ve got a roof replacement coming for all the buildings, but that won’t interfere with anyone.”

Staffing levels remain stable heading into the season opener.

“My end is good and I don’t have any openings or much turnover,” Farwell said. “I’ve got the same crew I’ve had.”

The hatchery operates with a mix of full-time and hourly workers covering multiple shifts.

“I’ve got six full-time employees and six hourly,” Farwell said. “Two work midnight to eight on the weekends and alternate.”

An intern is also assigned to assist with operations and learn department procedures.

“I also have an intern working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from eight to four, learning how conservation works,” Farwell said.

This season marks Farwell’s fifth Opening Day overseeing hatchery operations.

“This will be my fifth one,” Farwell said. “I wanted to say four because I didn’t want to seem that old, but I am.”

The UV system installation is the improvement he most wants completed as anglers return to the stream.

“I’m excited to get the UV system done in the hatchery because it will help so much with mortality,” Farwell said. “It’s hard to watch them die and not be able to do anything about it.”

He expects the upgrades to produce healthier fish and smoother operations going forward.

“If we don’t stress the fish out and get the UV system in, it should make things a lot better,” Farwell said. “That’s what I’m most excited about.”