2nd wild or stocked post of the new year?

[Nymph-wristed]

Caught on the Pickering DHALO yesterday. Only bows stocked this spring, I believe, and no NJ TU stocking this past fall. Sorry for the inconclusive picture, but it was only about 10 inches long and had the blue eye dot and the good fins. I know the creek has reproduction, but not strong in this section, however. Mike?

 

[Swattie87]

Good one, fence sitter based on what we can see and where it was caught. I think that watershed has more wilds than people think in it though. 60/40 wild.

 

[Mike]

Generally from what I can see of the fish I would say wild. Swattie is correct. A few tribs, such as Pine and another trib that runs up toward Ludwigs Corner have wild Browns. A trib farther downstream intermittently has them too.

 

[MKern]

Wild.
What freshly stocked brown looks like that? None I have ever seen.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Thanks for the input and insight, fellas. Thanks for moving from reports, mods!

 

[sarce]

Mike, Pickering itself is listed for natural reproduction from around the mouth of Pine to the headwaters - can you offer any additional information about the brown trout population in this reach? Are they present above the mouth of Pine as the listing suggests, or just rogues from Pine?

I agree with others - definitely wild. Pickering is one of those watersheds where the wild browns will expand in range after a mild summer or two and decrease in range after a hot year.

 

[ryansheehan]

Wild

 

[JackM]

What do I know, but it looks stocked to me?

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Wild.

 

[Queman]

It's tough because that is not a very colorful fish. Although if I had to pick I'd say wild.

 

[afishinado]

sarce wrote:
Mike, Pickering itself is listed for natural reproduction from around the mouth of Pine to the headwaters - can you offer any additional information about the brown trout population in this reach? Are they present above the mouth of Pine as the listing suggests, or just rogues from Pine?

I agree with others - definitely wild. Pickering is one of those watersheds where the wild browns will expand in range after a mild summer or two and decrease in range after a hot year.

^ I wondered the same thing when the headwaters were added to the Natural Reproduction list and map. I live close to the stream, within walking distance, and wondered if it was actually surveyed and wild trout were found present.

As far as the fish pic in the OP, I agree it looks wild.

If wild trout are present in nearby tribs, in the cold seasons it is not unusual for them to migrate into the next order stream. They retreat back to the tribs or spring fed sections of the main stream, if present, when the water temps rise in the warmer months.

There are many warm and cool water rivers and streams where wild trout (and stocked holdovers for that matter) can be found in the cold water season if the water quality, habitat and forage is there for them to thrive.

 

[wildtrout2]

Granted, that trout doesn't have a lot of color, but I still believe it to be a wild fish.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Thanks, guys. You may be able to see from the pic that the hole below the riffles where he was feeding was quite sandy, so that might account for the dull color.

 

[sarce]

It looks very much like the handful of browns I've caught in Pine. I actually used to catch some very impressive fish there but it's been several years since I've seen anything much larger than your fish. I grew up about 20 minutes from there. Sometimes I fish it when I visit my parents. Typically good for a fish or two but you'll catch 5 chubs and 2 rose bushes for every brown trout

 

[kevininpa]

Its wild i caught a couple at that one creek that empties into below the bridge, and after the 29 bridge. Dont be afraid to go to the train bridge!

 

[Nymph-wristed]

kevininpa wrote:
Its wild i caught a couple at that one creek that empties into below the bridge, and after the 29 bridge. Dont be afraid to go to the train bridge!

Nailed it, Kevin. That is the only place I have caught them before. This one was just above the 29 bridge at the first bend, feeding on the stoneflies coming down that long , straight, shallow riffle stretch.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

As someone that learned to fish on the Pick I'll throw my two cents in. I grew up fishing there in the fifties and lived less than a mi. away for about 30 years. That said I caught only a hand full of trout that appeared to be stream bred and always suspected they were from the local feeders. BTW, in the fifties that stream was a couple feet deeper in most spots with much less sediment so if there was natural reproduction it likely would have been more prevalent then imo. My brother worked on a farm on Pine Creek and did catch stream bred Browns there. I remember (many years ago) an angler telling me he caught them in Pigeon Run as well. Quite likely the trout shown is wild.

 

[sarce]

An interesting twist in all this is that Pine's trout/fish population was wiped out by a chemical spill on the turnpike in the mid 2000's. But you wouldn't know it if you went there now. So they either rebounded via young fish that had been in very tiny tributaries at the time of the spill or repopulated from downstream (which would be Pickering).

 

[Swattie87]

I'm not 100% sure of its name, and I've never fished it because it's almost entirely posted, but just from the look of the stream and knowing where its water comes from, I'd be willing to place a strong wager they're in that stream that parallels Rt. 29 down from Devault until the road hits Pickering. Want to say it might be called Hartman Run, or something like that? (This may be the same one you guys are talking about.)

 

[Dave_W]

W.