Article on trout residency/radio telementry work on stocked trout

[Mike]

This may interest some of you who would like to read an article about the trout residency work and stocked trout tracking via telemetry, which was done by Rob Wnuk, AFM for the upper Susq R basin. The map contained within the article will interest you if nothing else does because it shows geographically within Pa where most of the residency problems had been found and where they have typically been found since the article's publication. You will note that some of the methodology followed by AFM's and their crews, as mentioned in the article, has since been modified as we have learned more about the problem.

http://fishandboat.com/images/fisheries/info_sheets/trout_movement.pdf

 

[afishinado]

Below is a like to a great article in the PFBC site about stocked trout movement by species.

Stocked Trout Movement

 

[Six-Gun]

That's a pretty revealing piece. It gives credence to the locals in those areas who have always believed that the fish were gone. Looks like they were right.

 

[jifigz]

I have certainly fished a few stocked waters in my life that seemed void of trout. One more reason to head to streams with wild fish that seem to nearly always be available.

 

[LetortAngler]

Thanks Mike, an interesting study no doubt.
B.Anderson of the LJRA also conducted a telemetry study done on the Little J, he was to announce his findings last week at their monthly meeting. Was not able to make it, but would have liked to see the difference between the wilds and stocked.

 

[sarce]

Pretty amazing how low the tag return rate was!

 

[jifigz]

sarce wrote:
Pretty amazing how low the tag return rate was!

It is amazing! It is also almost scary how effective, or ineffective, stocking may be.

 

[troutbert]

jifigz wrote:

sarce wrote:
Pretty amazing how low the tag return rate was!

It is amazing! It is also almost scary how effective, or ineffective, stocking may be.

Yes, in some streams.

But in other streams stocking provides a lot of fun fishing for an extended time after stocking.

The question is why in some streams the stockies leave, and in other streams they stick around.

The study tried to answer that question but didn't really come up with clear answers.

The cause is probably pH drops in infertile, poorly buffered streams causing trout to move downstream.

And in other streams a lack of structure (boulders, undercut tree roots, downed trees, secondary channels) that provide places for trout to hide from high velocity flows. So the trout are just getting blown downstream by high flows.

Many stream miles are essentially man-made, channelized ditches, with very little structure. This is especially true in the glaciated counties of NE PA, such as Bradford and Susquehanna Counties.

Channelization/dredging is very common in that area.