They showed up on a bitterly cold Sunday morning at Gleason Brook East of Wiarton to support our sports fishery. From ages four to eighty four, 45 enthusiastic souls took part in a bucket-brigade down a steep snowy path from our tanker trailer to the falls. At this location and at the mouth of the creek, we stocked 10,450 rainbow trout.
Earlier BPSA volunteers stocked 13,300 rainbow trout in Colpoy’s Creek and another 5-thousand at Barrow Bay with help from members of the Barrow Bay and District Sport Fishing Association. BPSA often works with other outdoors clubs on improving our recreational fishery. Among those clubs are the Barrow Bay club, the Sydenham Sportsmen’s Association, the Ontario Steelheaders and the Lake Huron Fishing Club.
Club President Bruce Beacock said, “A BIG THANKS goes out to our fish stocking volunteers …it was a great effort! We couldn’t do this without out you.”
This volunteer effort is part of the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association (BPSA) fish stocking program. Other volunteer work includes fish feeding, tank maintenance at our hatchery and fin clipping. Since the sixties our community group has stocked more than four million rainbow and brown trout and salmon in Southwest Georgian Bay. The 300 member BPSA was established in the sixties to “preserve and enhance fish and wildlife.” BPSA operates the longest running volunteer-run fish hatchery in Ontario.
We belong to the 40-member Ontario Community Hatchery Program (CHP) which is funded by the province and operated by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Some of the costs involved with operating our fish stocking program are covered by the CHP.
BPSA is more than fish stocking. We have an active youth and adult archery program, a busy handgun club, firearms training classes, tree planting and our invasive species awareness “boot scrubber” effort. Our aim is to install 100 boot scrubber units from Owen Sound to Tobermory.
The next event on the BPSA schedule is our participation with a decorated float in the Wiarton District Chamber of Commerce annual Santa Clause Parade. It runs at 7pm on Saturday December 7, 2019 through downtown Wiarton and you are invited to cheer us on and say hi to Santa.
The 300 member Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association conservation club was established in the sixties to “preserve and enhance fish and wildlife.” In 2020 we will celebrate fifty-eight years of service to the Grey-Bruce community.
For more info on BPSA please check our monthly newsletter at http://bpsportsmen.com/newsletters-wp/
