General Stocking activities

Over time, different agencies have utilized a variety of tags and marks to distinguish release groups from each other, as well as from wild trout. A brief description of each mark type and the compiled stocking history for Rufus Woods Lake's Rainbow Trout is provided below.

Adipose Fin Clip: a common way to externally mark salmond fish is to remove the adipose fin.

Coded Wire Tag: tiny pieces (<1mm) of magnetized wire implanted into the snouts of marked fish. For a simple presence/absence test, the tags can be detected with a Coded Wire Tag detector wand. Further information requires tag removal and visual analysis of the tag, which is lethal. Many of our release groups will deploy a coded wire tag in conjunction with a clipped adipose fin.

Elastomer Tag: these tags are composed of a colored silicone compound that is injected into semi-transparent tissue at unique locations. The combination of color and location can help differentiate groups of fish.

External Anchor Tag: individually numbered plastic tags that are attached behind the dorsal fin.

The link below identifies all tagged fish for Rufus Woods Lake.

Fish and Wildlife tagging Link