Dead stocked rainbows in the water today.

[bigslackwater]

I fished the C&R FFO section of Antietam today and noticed about 10 dead rainbows in the creek in various places. One fish was on the brink of death and barely hanging on. I recalled that I happened to be out this past Wednesday, just upstream from where I was at today and the stock truck showed up. I watched them dump four buckets of BLACK Rainbow trout in the creek. They seemed very lively but the coloring was very dark...almost black. I wonder if these were the same fish I found dead in the creek today? I’m hoping this is a hatchery problem and not a stream problem. My big concern is that The C&R section was almost void of fish. I wasn’t just having a slow day. The usual holes where you can always see fish in the water seemed vacant. Then There’s the poachers... I see signs of powerbait and worm cans but that’s nothing new. Another issue. It was a strange day to say the least. We managed to catch a few fish but really had to work for them.

 

[Tigereye]

Dark fish is a sign of stress. I am sure the process of "stocking" is stressful for alot of fish. Not fed for a few days prior, then stuffed into a truck like sardines with supplementally oxygenated water to the point it acts like crack cocaine.

So yes you do lose a few due to stocking stress. I noticed a few dead trout in the stocked section of the Lehigh this year. All were in the 8-10" class, which by my experience and observation this year is on the small side for stockies. MY hats off to the PFBC. They stocked some real nice fish this year.

 

[krayfish2]

Moderators

Shouldn't this thread should be moved under Mike Kaufman's "nice triploids" post?

 

[timmyt]

I was fishing the lehigh up around white haven this past weekend and spoke with a guy who said that when the truck showed up there was something wrong with the aerator and all the fish were dead. I have no idea if this is true or not, i didnt see any dead fish and i did not catch any either

 

[Tigereye]

I fished the white haven area past 2 weekends and the area was definitely stocked. Caught a few browns and rainbows most in 11"-13". A bow and Palomino in the 20" range. Few fisherman but evidence (litter) of it being fished.

They do use 2 trucks to stock. On from FEW to White Haven, the other from White Haven to Sandy Run. FEW to WH was stocked. Dont know about the lower half.

All fish were healthy but not very feisty as far as fight is concerned. Cold water??? 40-43F was my guess.

 

[bigslackwater]

Fished the C&R again last night, dead fish were gone. I suppose the racoons and mink had a good meal! I took the skunk again last night. This is very rare for this creek and this time of year. Once again I couldn't even spot a fish. More evidence of powerbait. In addition to the dead fish problem, I think someone is on a mission to catch and keep as many fish as they can yank out of there. Perhaps this person(s) is also responsible for the dead fish. The poaching problem in this park has been ongoing for years. Park staff says it's not their job to police the fisherman. WCO's don't come to our county anymore. It's a shame that we have miles upon miles of stocked catch and take waters and people have to fish illegally in the FFOC&R section.

 

[Swattie87]

Though I doubt it's related to the mortality you saw, I did note the general darker than usual coloration of some of the Rainbows we stocked into Kettle/Little Kettle last week. Likely from a different hatchery than what was put into Antietam, but the fish seemed fine (for stockers) otherwise. I just assumed it was some combination of the strain they grew this year, coupled with whatever feed they were on. The darker ones were the smaller 10" or so ones. The bigger, presumably older fish were lighter, more typical PA stocked Rainbow, in color. Typically stocking is hardest on the bigger fish in my experience, so I think this is likely further evidence in support of a slightly different strain in the younger fish that were darker.

Diet and environment play a big role. I've caught some very dark Rainbows before in the Fall on streams that haven't been stocked since the previous Spring. Tannic water (though Antietam isn't tannic) can also produce very dark fish...I've caught some Browns in the Poconos from tannic streams that were almost black.

 

[timmyt]

I didnt catch any fish Saturday when i was out Tigereye, i thought the same thing about the water being cold, it was in the low 40s. I cant wait to go back

 

[sandfly]

darker fish can be from being raised in a darker tank, fish will darken or lighten depending on the environment. 65% of stockies die within the first few weeks on most streams. They just don't know how to survive.

 

[chief17]

Some of the "help" that shows up to stock certainly doesn't do much good for the fish either.

I've seen buckets dumped into really shallow parts of the creek, trout covered in silt. Another guy had to hold and take a picture of every trout in his bucket. Oxygen was probably in short supply there.

They mean well enough I suppose, but the fish don't stand much of a chance.

 

[mcwillja]

65% of stocked fish die? I didn't know that. That seems really high.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Does that 65% include the trout caught and eaten by predators and anglers? It makes sense. In a hatchery, food comes from above. It the wild, death comes from above.

 

[redietz]

mcwillja wrote:
65% of stocked fish die? I didn't know that. That seems really high.

I thought it seemed low.

Fly-Swatter wrote:
Does that 65% include the trout caught and eaten by predators and anglers? It makes sense. In a hatchery, food comes from above. It the wild, death comes from above.

Plus the fact that many marginal waters get stocked, and the temps simply get too high, or the food's not there.

 

[sandfly]

there was a study done years ago on spruce creek, It might be higher than 65.

 

[Swattie87]

Actually dead? Or just no longer present in the stocked area being studied, hence leaving the fish moving out of the stocked area as a plausible alternative to being caught and killed, suffering predation, or otherwise just not adapting to stream life.

 

[bigslackwater]

There were actually dead fish present in all the hot spots I fish in this section. I agree that some fish may have moved but there are atleast 3 holes that are prime and always have fish present. Year after year. This is a small creek so on a clear day, you can sight fish. So I think we are dealing with two problems, fish dying, and poaching. If the dying fish are not the result of environmental conditions, it’s possible they died at the hand of the poacher(s). Most dead fish were not very large. All of this is unusual for my home waters which I fish almost weekly.