Fishing
at Lake
Gertrude (Abercrombie Lake)
Rainbow Trout
The rainbow trout stocked in Lake Gertrude come from the Ft.
Richardson Hatchery in Anchorage. There are approximately 3,700
1-1/2 inch fingerlings stocked in Lake Gertrude every year. A one
year old rainbow in Lake Gertrude would be approximately 4-6 inches
long. You are encouraged to keep your legal limit of the larger,
older rainbows, as they will predate upon the fingerlings. These rainbow trout have been sterilized by "heat shocking" their
eggs at the hatchery to prevent them from spreading into other
streams and lake systems within Kodiak. However, since rainbow
trout stockings between 1953 and 1990 used reproductively viable
fish, it is reasonable to assume that at present there is also a
small spawning population in this system. From the hatchery, the
fish are sent to Homer, where they are put on the Alaska State Ferry
to Kodiak. This program is managed by the Alaska Department of Fish
and Game, Sport Fish Division.
Daily Catch Limit For Rainbow Trout: 10 fish daily (only 1 over
20 inches)
Landlocked Salmon
Up to 3,500 landlocked coho salmon and 3,000 landlocked Chinook
salmon are also stocked in Lake Gertrude during years when numbers
surplus to other local enhancement project objectives for these
species become available. Formal objective for the Lake Gertrude
stocking project are contained in ADF&G’s Statewide Stocking Plan
for Recreational Fisheries, which is subject to internal and public
review on an annual basis. In lieu of future changes to the
statewide stocking plan, ADF&G plans to continue efforts to enhance
the Lake Gertrude sport fishery.
History of Lake Gertrude Sport Fishery Enhancement
During the past 50 years Lake Gertrude has been subject to
numerous sport fisheries enhancement efforts undertaken both by the
Kodiak Conservation Club (which built and operated the Devil’s Creek
rainbow trout hatchery) and ADF&G. Historic records indicate that
changes over time in numbers and species of fish stocked was both in
response to measured or perceived poor success in previous stocking
efforts as well as apparent changes in preferences for targeted
species by the sport fishery. However, almost all narratives of
stocking evaluations indicate that results measured in terms of
sport fishing opportunity were less than expected. The stocking
history of Lake Gertrude is chronicled in the following table.
| Year |
Species Stocked/Activity |
| 1953-1963; 1973-present |
Rainbow Trout |
| ~1965-1966 |
Landlocked Sockeye Salmon |
| 1967 – 1971; 2005-present |
Landlocked Coho Salmon* |
| 1972 |
Lake poisoned to eradicate all
native and introduced fish species in order to re-introduce
rainbow trout the following year |
| 1979 –1989 |
Arctic Grayling |
| 2005-present |
Landlocked Chinook Salmon* |
*Stocking conducted only during years when numbers of fish
surplus to other local enhancement projects become available.
|
