Dead stocked trout in the DHALO White Clay Middle Branch

[jtc]

The state stocked the dhalo section of the white clay 2/19. Was looking forward to catching a few this past weekend, but the overwhelming majority of the fish didn’t survive. Observed tons of dead fish along the stretch. Thermal shock perhaps, the stream was very cold and largely iced over when stocked. What a waste.

 

[wildtrout2]

The state stocked the dhalo section of the white clay 2/19. Was looking forward to catching a few this past weekend, but the overwhelming majority of the fish didn’t survive. Observed tons of dead fish along the stretch. Thermal shock perhaps, the stream was very cold and largely iced over when stocked. What a waste.

Welcome to PAFF.

Not that I'm at all concerned about stocked trout, but that is a waste. Could well be thermal shock, who knows.

 

[Mike]

Key questions if you could answer that would help an investigation:

Were the trout the only species seen as being dead?

If not, what other species were seen dead or distressed?

Were the dead trout primarily or exclusively the large ones?

What species, if known for certain was/were the dead trout? RT and BT or just one species?

Were any trout still alive and apparently healthy or alive but distressed?

Any obvious unusual coloration or substance in the water column or coating the stream bottom?

For others who may read this, these are some of the questions among others that you can potentially answer and should consider if and when you spot a fish kill. Obviously, another would be how many dead fish?…a count or numerical estimate. In a huge fish kill, a count per, let’s say, 100 ft of stream, river shoreline, or lake shoreline at a representative spot is better than no count, as this gives some idea of possible severity to investigators who are not yet on the scene.

 

[jtc]

Key questions if you could answer that would help an investigation:

Were the trout the only species seen as being dead?

If not, what other species were seen dead or distressed?

Were the dead trout primarily or exclusively the large ones?

What species, if known for certain was/were the dead trout? RT and BT or just one species?

Were any trout still alive and apparently healthy or alive but distressed?

Any obvious unusual coloration or substance in the water column or coating the stream bottom?

For others who may read this, these are some of the questions among others that you can potentially answer and should consider if and when you spot a fish kill. Obviously, another would be how many dead fish?…a count or numerical estimate. In a huge fish kill, a count per, let’s say, 100 ft of stream, river shoreline, or lake shoreline at a representative spot is better than no count, as this gives some idea of possible severity to investigators who are not yet on the scene.

Form questions above...

Only saw dead trout (RT and BT), caught 5-6 chubs (no other species observed dead)
Water quality/clarity looked good
The only live trout I saw (approx 4) - 3 large (16+ inch) golden rainbow, 1 large rainbow looked healthy and active
Spoke to 1 guy on the stream who said he saw at least 100 dead along the stream (the dead fish I observed were smaller than the live fish noted above)

 

[Mike]

Thanks for the original post and follow-up response. Both have been provided to individuals within the PFBC Bureau of Fisheries.

 

[Nocktavius]

Sounds like a net positive to me. Maybe we’ll get lucky and stocked trout will self destruct across the whole state 😂

 

[jifigz]

Sounds like a net positive to me. Maybe we’ll get lucky and stocked trout will self destruct across the whole state 😂

I know we love to rag on stockies, but they present a huge angling opportunity to many across the state. Yes, they come with their problems, but as a whole, they probably aid our angling community more than they hurt it (I am speaking from an angling point of view, not conservation.)

I am one of those people who owes part of my fishing fanaticism to catching stockies when I was a kid.....

For those who rely on this stocking for fun and to get out on the crick, I am sorry for your loss. Even though they are stockies, they still act like trout, rise to hatches, and are fun to catch.

 

[tjsingle]

Check out the E. Branch Brandywine DHALO if you have some time. Fished there on Sunday and caught a bunch.

Seems like a thermal shock thing with the cold weather we had.

 

[rancid waders]

I avoid driving at night, I just put up with it as I age, and plan accordingly

 

[jifigz]

I just realized where this thread is posted, and a "New Member Check-In" is probably not the correct place for it. It will be moved to the "Fly Fishing Locations" thread.

 

[wildtrout2]

I just realized where this thread is posted, and a "New Member Check-In" is probably not the correct place for it. It will be moved to the "Fly Fishing Locations" thread.

I was wondering about that myself. You're doing a great job Josh.

 

[Bamboozle]

I avoid driving at night, I just put up with it as I age, and plan accordingly

You better avoid posting replies without checking the thread title too as I THINK you wanted to post that comment here: 😉

https://www.paflyfish.com/threads/night-driving-glasses.85278/

 

[nd1001]

I fished part of the White Clay DHALO on 2/22, a few days after it was stocked. I saw probably 10-12 dead trout in the ~1/2 mile of creek I walked. All the dead ones I saw were large rainbows (16+ inches).

Probably 70% of the creek was iced over from the cold snap. I could see some fish actively moving under the ice shelves, that would follow a streamer out but not commit. In the quick, shallow runs where the ice was melted, a few trout could be found but they had little interest in flies. Probably shellshocked from a combination of temperature and pressure - about a dozen guys out in that stretch and concentrated on the 30% of unfrozen water.