Apple Creek Trout Fishery in Grosjean Park -- by Skip Nault

An Apple Creek rainbow trout fooled by a wooly bugger.

Two unrelated events provided the stimulus for establishing a trout fishery in Apple Creek. From 1992 to1996 the Ohio Division of Wildlife (DOW), evaluated over three-dozen streams in Ohio for their potential as candidates to stock brown trout. Apple Creek rated as the third best stream in the state for the stocking program. Ultimately, the state stocked browns from state hatcheries in the two highest rated streams, Clear Creek in northern Hocking Co. and the Clear Fork River that flows through Richland and Ashland County, but not Apple Creek in Wayne Co.

In 1998, the Walter Grosjean family donated 80 acres to the City of Wooster to create a Park. The land includes a one-mile stretch of Apple Creek and bordering riparian zone. A portion of the land was once in agricultural production, but most of the land is woodlands surrounding the creek. The lower stretch of the park is flood plain, and cannot be developed. The stream has never been “channeled” and meanders through the park. Dead tree falls create deep pools and runs in the stream.

The Clear Fork Chapter of Trout Unlimited approached the Parks and Recreation Depart of the City of Wooster and suggested a partnership that would create a trout fishery open to the public in Grosjean Park. The stream was stocked with 600 rainbow trout in the spring of 2005. The program was a success, creating a (See the Full Article...)