Blue Line Surprise

[mike_richardson]

I used my topo map app and hit up a blue line. Beautiful water, and got quite the surprise with that rainbow. My little "Brookie Stick" got quite the workout on that fish. About the ultimate test of that rod I built. I love that thing, and it fits my needs perfectly for the fish I like to chase. Not going to lie, I was worried about her taking the top section off.

I took a pile of pictures of this little gem of a stream. Kind of stinks that bow is in there though. I imagine she put a hurting on the natives.

 

[HopBack]

Kind of stinks that bow is in there though. I imagine she put a hurting on the natives.

Maybe not. If it was there for a while it would a lot fatter. As it is, the fight it endured on the tenkara was probably the death of it. I'm not saying it would be from improper handling but rather that that fish looks really unhealthy and probably could not have sustained that type of stress.

Very nice fish. I'm sure you were very surprised!!

 

[FarmerDave]

Probably just recently spawned.

 

[troutbert]

From the fins, that appears to be a hatchery trout.

There is a great deal of stocking in native brook trout streams, as was discussed in a recent thread.

Coop hatcheries stock a very large number of streams, and the streams that they stock are not published on the PFBC website or anywhere else.

Also, there are many stockings by private parties in addition to those done by the coop hatcheries.

I'm not surprised at finding stocked trout in small brookie streams, because it is such a common thing.

 

[Swattie87]

It’s certainly plausible that the Bow is on its last legs, and/or just spawned out. But I’ll pose one more theory…

It was stocked at some point after being on a hatchery diet for all its life. When it was stocked, it was a relatively much heavier fish for its given length. It adjusted to a stream diet and habitat, and slimmed down. This happens to a lot of stockers, especially ones that hold over and adapt well. They take on a more streamlined, efficient shape for being in a stream environment, and they adapt to the change in the abundance of food. Though they can still grow in terms of length, they often actually weigh less than they did when they were stocked as they slim down and lose the “hatchery fat.”

Some hit an equilibrium and manage to consume enough food to maintain themselves in a slimmer form as described above. Others wither away and die. Some are caught and harvested. Outside of the rare situation where someone is feeding them in a stream environment though, you almost never see them keep that fat hatchery look for long once stocked.

I’ve caught some anemic stockers before after they’ve been in the stream a while, much worse looking than that guy. That being said, I do find it hard to believe there’s enough food in that trickle to sustain a fish of that size for any duration. No right answer. Just some thoughts. Ironically the biggest Rainbow I’ve ever caught (20”) was from a Brookie trickle as well, though it was, and is, knowingly stocked by the PFBC.

 

[FarmerDave]

Then of course there are the bucket biologists. Could have been caught elsewhere last year and moved.

It certainly looks like spawning colors. Even stocked trout go through the motions.

I also suspect the camera lens and angle cause some distortion, but still very thin.

 

[mike_richardson]

The fight really wasn't that long, the constant upward lift of the little rod was really all it took. There is not drag and only 6'-6" of line I'd say she tried 3-4 runs but only quick bursts. The angle did distort the fish a little. I took a release video and she was plenty lively.

Not to sound like a jerk, but it wouldn't really bug me if she didn't make it another year as she doesn't really belong in that ecosystem. The average brookie on the stream is 4-6" and a few bigger 7-9" fish. That section of the stream is just not set up to support a fish like that.

But to her defense she is just being a fish. Its not her fault she is in there. I would bank 90% that this was a rogue stocked fish. LOL

I love that fish, she's beautiful, and probably one of my greatest memories in fishing. I mean battling that fish, on a rod I built, and managing to land it was just amazing. I must admit thought, had this happened when it was open season, and if that stream was not a class A she would have came home to be filleted. But she is protected, so it is what it is.

 

[geebee]

FarmerDave wrote:


It certainly looks like spawning colors. Even stocked trout go through the motions.

.

I thought someone said on here that the PFBC trout are not triploids ?

its a possibility that if the trickle is a trib of a stocked stream that the fish exerted a lot of energy and body fat to find somewhere to spawn and may or may not have found a mate.

out west in their natural range, bows moved in and out of spawning streams within 24-48 hours, mostly at night.

browns however may hang around for weeks waiting for the right conditions.

 

[Dave_W]

troutbert wrote:
I'm not surprised at finding stocked trout in small brookie streams, because it is such a common thing.

Very true indeed. ^

Anyone who spends much time on small wild trout streams is bound to catch some stocked fish from time to time, even though the origin of those stockies is often a complete mystery.

Had I caught this fish in this location (and it was open season) I might have kept him for dinner. Howeverr, I doubt that releasing a big stockie in a small stream would have much negative effect on the wild populations.

Neat story - thanks!

 

[FarmerDave]

geebee wrote:

FarmerDave wrote:


It certainly looks like spawning colors. Even stocked trout go through the motions.

.

I thought someone said on here that the PFBC trout are not triploids ?

I'm confused by the question, because to my knowledge, triploid don't spawn, or go through the motions. I could be wrong when it comes to Rainbows.

Maybe you read too deeply into my response.

My point was, even stocked trout, which are duploid, do go through the motions of spawning. Survival rate of that spawn is somewhat debatable. Most simply don't survive long enough to spawn unless recently stocked.

The fish just reminded me of a small dropback steelhead I caught once (shape wise). If I can find a picture I will add it. The one above does have much better color and picture taken with a much better camera.

Edit: Found the picture. OMG, did I put it on grass? Shame on me.

BTW Mike, I made that rod, too. More or less. Only think original was the 50s vintage blank. I know the feeling.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

At one point back in VA, they used to stock rainbows in the high mountain streams by helicopter. So some of what would be the best native brookie streams in the East have strong populations of wild rainbows, almost none of which ever get any larger than 12-14". I don't know why those fish were ever stocked, but it may have had something to do with mitigating mining or forestry damage.

 

[moon1284]

Western new York has this issue in a certain watershed. Tons of stunted rainbows and a few larger browns not so many brook trout. There is movement to create a passage through a partial removal of a dam which would allow steelhead to spawn in the upper reaches (which are currently dominated by stunted rainbows). I don't know what the dam removal would do,l other than increase the amount of wild steelhead in the system. It will bebinterseting to see if the resident wild rainbows run to the lake or stay put. It would be interesting to see what happens. There arent many great lake tribs (at least erie or Ontario) that get wild steelhead or have wild brown and rainbow trout in the headwaters. The watershed I'm talking about has both.

 

[geebee]

FarmerDave wrote:

Maybe you read too deeply into my response.

My point was, even stocked trout, which are duploid, do go through the motions of spawning. Survival rate of that spawn is somewhat debatable. Most simply don't survive long enough to spawn unless recently stocked.

I did. I didn't realize that stocked diploids would not spawn successfully.

his fish reminds me of big browns I've seen on wild streams that are near the end of their lives because they can't get enough to eat.

 

[FarmerDave]

geebee wrote:

FarmerDave wrote:

Maybe you read too deeply into my response.

My point was, even stocked trout, which are duploid, do go through the motions of spawning. Survival rate of that spawn is somewhat debatable. Most simply don't survive long enough to spawn unless recently stocked.

I did. I didn't realize that stocked diploids would not spawn successfully.

his fish reminds me of big browns I've seen on wild streams that are near the end of their lives because they can't get enough to eat.

It was based on opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

Either way, it could be near end of life. A lot of them die after the spawn, too.