A soft whisper!

[maxima12]

Heard a soft whisper, Pa. state will raise no more Brook Trout! Soft to my ear, a light, gentle feather, floating by with only the slightest sound! I can't hear a scream or a thunderstorm. But thinking if true, a huge thunderstorm is coming!

 

[OldLefty]

I understand the reasoning for no more hatchery brook trout; however, I don't understand why the alleged coming thunderstorm.

 

[Jaybird]

Great news .... No more wild or stocked brook trout posts !

 

[bigjohn58]

The stock truck chasers will be very upset! This is finally a post by maxima12 I can understand! Will sportsmen clubs still be allowed to raise them? Brookies are the most common fish to raise for most clubs to stock.

 

[jifigz]

Where was this information heard of the cessation of brook trout stocking?

 

[ryansheehan]

Jaybird wrote:
Great news .... No more wild or stocked brook trout posts !

False, clubs will still raise them.

 

[maxima12]

Hmmmn! Now I get a full picture of some of you on this one. Stock truck chasers or stock truck helpers! Name of old lefty, nice! glad you did not call yourself old righty. Seems your wisdom will take us to the next 10 years.

The thunderstorm is coming, only problem, everyone knows it is coming but nobody has an umbrella! Yep! Smile if you like it, don't if you do!

You say you understand? Well, I don't! Why? In the end you will have nothing! A great one , once said. " to defeat evil, nothing needs to be done".

Drop by drop, not a big deal, untill bucket is full!

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Two words: Gill lice. Not aware of total removal of Brook trout from stocking, but sounds like significant efforts will be made to keep them out of native Brook trout watersheds.

 

[silverfox]

If true, I'd wager it has to do more with money (as usual) than anything else. More costly to raise brookies, and when your goal is simply to produce tonnage with no regard for the outcome, well, then stock more of those horrid finless rainbows. The freezer fillers love em and know no difference.

I've noticed a huge variation in physical appearance depending on which hatchery the brookies came from. IMO, some of the hatcheries shouldn't be making the awful looking things anyway. I don't think any of them do very well in streams either. The rainbows and browns hold over a little better.

To hell with heritage and all that crap. Bring on the mutant rainbows!

 

[birdog]

The president of the local sportsman's club told me the fish commission will not be giving them any more brook trout to raise in their hatchery. Seems the whisper is spreading.

 

[FarmerDave]

maxima12 wrote:
Hmmmn! Now I get a full picture of some of you on this one. Stock truck chasers or stock truck helpers! Name of old lefty, nice! glad you did not call yourself old righty. Seems your wisdom will take us to the next 10 years.

The thunderstorm is coming, only problem, everyone knows it is coming but nobody has an umbrella! Yep! Smile if you like it, don't if you do!

You say you understand? Well, I don't! Why? In the end you will have nothing! A great one , once said. " to defeat evil, nothing needs to be done".

Drop by drop, not a big deal, untill bucket is full!

There is a lot of BS in that.

First off, I've never seen this report, but for argument sake, lets say it's true.

They stop raising brook trout. I think it is safe to assume most would be replaced with browns and rainbows.

And the peasants rejoiced.

Rainbow and Browns, pound for pound are cheaper to raise and are typically stocked at a larger size.

And the peasants rejoiced.

But here is the kicker. Brown and Rainbow simply cannot survive in some streams where Brook trout can. Brook trout can survive in lower PH than the others. This is why many of the smaller streams in NWPA, especially in the ANF area, only get brook trout. Salmon Creek, Ross Run, Bluejay, etc, etc.

If you threw rainbows, or even Browns in there certain times of the year, they will croak in under 30 minutes but the Brook trout will survive. They may not be able to reproduce very well, but will survive.

Thunderstorm.

 

[k-bob]

Anyone have ideas on what happens stocking-wise in a stream IF pfbc brookie stocking over wild natives is ceased? No pfbc stocking of for example pole bridge run in Sullivan, etc? something else?

 

[pcray1231]

My guess, and it's only a guess.

Is a few smaller brookie stocked waters will come off the stocking list altogether. Most will receive rainbows or browns. The criteria for which is which will have to do with pH, angler usage, and perhaps the perceived ability to grow wild fish?

FD is right though. There are a few streams where stocked brookies work ok'ish and I'm not sure rainbows or browns will. That's not to say that I personally think these handful of streams warrant reversing the statewide decision. But the PFBC should probably expect some flak from it.

 

[silverfox]

k-bob wrote:
Anyone have ideas on what happens stocking-wise in a stream IF pfbc brookie stocking over wild natives is ceased? No pfbc stocking of for example pole bridge run in Sullivan, etc? something else?

There are a number of studies (mostly on Western streams) about the impact of the cessation of stocking over wild fish. In general, as may be obvious to some, the wild trout population tends to improve.

There are a lot of impacts on wild trout populations due to stocking. Food competition, habitat competition, failed spawning attempts with infertible or inexperienced stocked trout, gene regression, dilution of the gene pool and even the psychology of the wild fish when forced to coexist with invasive species.

 

[troutbert]

k-bob wrote:
Anyone have ideas on what happens stocking-wise in a stream IF pfbc brookie stocking over wild natives is ceased? No pfbc stocking of for example pole bridge run in Sullivan, etc? something else?

Is Polebridge Run still stocked? I thought it came off the stocking list several years ago.

 

[k-bob]

Yes looks like polebridge is off the stocking list.. just a place that I remember catching wild Brooks that was stocked but it was several years ago

 

[Mike]

No rumor. Brook Trout are being phased out from PFBC Hatcheries down to a very, very low production level or none at all. Co-ops also will not be raising Brook Trout. Northcentral Pa already saw substantial state cuts in Brook Trout stocking in 2019. I have no knowledge and won't speculate as to what will occur on traditionally acidic streams where only Brook Trout were being stocked.

 

[dryflyguy]

Mike wrote:
No rumor. Brook Trout are being phased out from PFBC Hatcheries down to a very, very low production level or none at all. Co-ops also will not be raising Brook Trout. Northcentral Pa already saw substantial state cuts in Brook Trout stocking in 2019. I have no knowledge and won't speculate as to what will occur on traditionally acidic streams where only Brook Trout were being stocked.

Good news for sure!

 

[WILDBROOKIE]

all brook trout hatcheries have the potential of gill lice contanimation if put in a in wild or recovering wild brookies watershed so to be on the safe side they will be phasing out the hatchery stock

 

[bigjohn58]

WILDBROOKIE wrote:
all brook trout hatcheries have the potential of gill lice contanimation if put in a in wild or recovering wild brookies watershed so to be on the safe side they will be phasing out the hatchery stock

I bet though sportsmen clubs will continue to raise brookies that often have hatcheries connected to a native brookie streams. I don't agree with it but I'm sure its going to continue.