Does DNR ever lie about trout stockings?

[TheBluegillMaster]

Hello guys, so recently I just fished a local stocked trout stream near me, and I saw and caught absolutely nothing. I asked five other guys and they seemed to have no luck too. I will admit that I am a very bad fisherman, but something has to be wrong if nobody even saw a trout, no goldens eirher. This isn’t an isolated incident either, last year I repeatedly fished the gunpowder in the fall where they supposedly stocked 500 trout. absolutely nothing, didn’t see anything either, but 2021 I saw a bunch of fish. Also fished another stream and had similar results. I will admit that I did catch some stockies, but that was only after spring stockings. Is there really an issue here or am I just a bad fisherman? And does this kinda thing happen in your state?

 

[Fish Sticks]

Hello guys, so recently I just fished a local stocked trout stream near me, and I saw and caught absolutely nothing. I asked five other guys and they seemed to have no luck too. I will admit that I am a very bad fisherman, but something has to be wrong if nobody even saw a trout, no goldens eirher. This isn’t an isolated incident either, last year I repeatedly fished the gunpowder in the fall where they supposedly stocked 500 trout. absolutely nothing, didn’t see anything either, but 2021 I saw a bunch of fish. Also fished another stream and had similar results. I will admit that I did catch some stockies, but that was only after spring stockings. Is there really an issue here or am I just a bad fisherman? And does this kinda thing happen in your state?

I wish they did lol if anything in PA it could be perceived like its the opposite problem from an angler’s perspective. But the thats not a result of some secretive stocking by the state, its just that their fish don’t stay put so they wind up in alot of places they say are bot stocked trout water. We 100% do not have the problem you suggested though, PFBC always “delivers”.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Is it a government agency? If so, then it lies.
But, this happens from time to time. We used to have a little "jam" called "Stocktoberfest. And one year right after a stocking, probably 10 of us hit the stream, and nare a one of us caught a lick. Actually, I think Pcray caught one ugly bow, that was it. Didn't even see anything, despite being stocked the day before.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

I wish they did lol if anything in PA it could be perceived like its the opposite problem from an angler’s perspective. But the thats not a result of some secretive stocking by the state, its just that their fish don’t stay put so they wind up in alot of places they say are bot stocked trout water. We 100% do not have the problem you suggested though, PFBC always “delivers”.

I agree. In places like the gunpowder and certain other wild trout streams, I hope they don’t get stocked, that amount of fish can go some other stream that doesn’t have wild trout. But what about the other places, that don’t have wild fish? We are paying for the trout stamp after all.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Is it a government agency? If so, then it lies.
But, this happens from time to time. We used to have a little "jam" called "Stocktoberfest. And one year right after a stocking, probably 10 of us hit the stream, and nare a one of us caught a lick. Actually, I think Pcray caught one ugly bow, that was it. Didn't even see anything, despite being stocked the day before.

Thanks to time and resources put in to studying stocked inbred rainbows by pa fish and boat with radio telemetry tags(instead of the resource), we know stocked rainbows can move quite a bit. I doubt PFBC is lying about stocking(your eight they lie about other stuff like consequences of there stocking program) but in the scenario you described there is also a high likelihood those fish were dumped and peaced out.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

Is it a government agency? If so, then it lies.
But, this happens from time to time. We used to have a little "jam" called "Stocktoberfest. And one year right after a stocking, probably 10 of us hit the stream, and nare a one of us caught a lick. Actually, I think Pcray caught one ugly bow, that was it. Didn't even see anything, despite being stocked the day before.

Yeah, Maryland DNR. Yeah that happened to me many times too, even in spots where they stocked the year prior.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I agree. In places like the gunpowder and certain other wild trout streams, I hope they don’t get stocked, that amount of fish can go some other stream that doesn’t have wild trout. But what about the other places, that don’t have wild fish? We are paying for the trout stamp after all.

mike could tell you all about factors affecting dispersal of stocked fish i am sure. He has probably investigated concerns about not finding stocked fish right after stockings and came across different scenarios.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

Thanks to time and resources put in to studying stocked inbred rainbows by pa fish and boat with radio telemetry tags(instead of the resource), we know stocked rainbows can move quite a bit. I doubt PFBC is lying about stocking(your eight they lie about other stuff like consequences of there stocking program) but in the scenario you described there is also a high likelihood those fish were dumped and peaced out.

I honestly don’t understand stocking in much of PA. You guys have a ton of wild trout, why stock over them? It’s a waste of money. That amount of money should go to wild trout preservation atleast.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I honestly don’t understand stocking in much of PA. You guys have a ton of wild trout, why stock over them? It’s a waste of money. That amount of money should go to wild trout preservation atleast.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

I also read a bunch about stocked torit migration too, but what doesn’t make sense is that I showed up the day of stocking. I don’t think a troit could swim 5 miles in one day… I also fished all of the places they supposedly stocked, only caught wild browns, which is good.

 

[sarce]

Edit: just saw your comment above. Nevermind!

Probably just the weather/fish need a little time to adjust to the new environment. I definitely wouldn't get down on your abilities as a fisherman when stocked trout are involved

 

[troutbert]

Yeah, Maryland DNR. Yeah that happened to me many times too, even in spots where they stocked the year prior.

The year prior?

Stocking of hatchery trout is usually what they call "put-and-take."

They stock the trout and the expectation is that they will be quickly "utilized," i.e. caught and removed.

And that is usually the case. Often over half of the trout are removed THE FIRST DAY. And most of those before 12 noon.

By 2 weeks after opening day, it can be slim pickings.

I've seen many summer surveys of stocked trout streams where they surveyed about 300 meters and found only 2 or 3 trout, or even zero.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I honestly don’t understand stocking in much of PA. You guys have a ton of wild trout, why stock over them? It’s a waste of money. That amount of money should go to wild trout preservation atleast.

The reason PFBC stocks one of the states with the most cold ground water and natural reproduction in the nation is simple but can be hard to understand.

Their a hatchery and not funded through tax dollars, that simple.

Think of them as a private hatchery that has conservation window dressing.

They sell licenses and their perception is that people would not buy them without artificially propagated trout. So they think they need the stocked trout to stay afloat. A shift in priorities, purpose and behavior would somewhat painful for the agency i admit. But they are going to get 10 million a year on annual basis with a the recovering americas wildlife act. They already use grant money to fund their stockers, they could use rawa to shift to paying staff to work on conservation initiatives. Tbere are options out there. Financially they cannot continue what their doing their expenses are beating their revenue from license sales annually and public hobbies/outdoor activities are changing as per PSU smeal college of business financial analysis of PA fish and boat. They are just procrastinating and damaging out natural resources while doing it.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

I’d totally agree with that, but you should atleast be able to see the fish right? I fished a section of a certain non-wild trout river in C C., asked the other guys if they saw or caught anything, nothing. No goldens either, if they dumped 1000 fish, i must be able to see them, water was crystal clear and I don’t wear glasses lol. I’ll fish it again some time next week and hopefully I see some trout then. Some of the tribs looked real nice and they distracted me from the main stream lol, couldn’t land any fish from them, but they almost look like brookie water.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

The year prior?

Stocking of hatchery trout is usually what they call "put-and-take."

They stock the trout and the expectation is that they will be quickly "utilized," i.e. caught and removed.

And that is usually the case. Often over half of the trout are removed THE FIRST DAY. And most of those before 12 noon.

By 2 weeks after opening day, it can be slim pickings.

I've seen many summer surveys of stocked trout streams where they surveyed about 300 meters and found only 2 or 3 trout, or even zero.

Sorry, meant to say fished the same sections in 2021 and had great luck. Totally agree with that, yeah it’s put and take. A bunch of them are gone by the end of the first few days, but some should still exist. I fished it less than a week after stocking to give them some time. But as for the gunpowder in the fall, I fished first day in ALL the access points and still nothing.

 

[Bamboozle]

Have you VERIFIED with Maryland DNR that they stocked or are you just assuming the stocking happened because it was scheduled?

I don't know about Maryland but in PA, the schedules posted on the PFBC website are SUPPOSED to be updated if a stocking is postponed or cancelled.

However knowing government agencies like I do, I really doubt it happens on a timely basis when something causes a change.

If you haven't, you might want to make a phone call on Monday...

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

Well, I don’t really know how to verify. But I did check their website. The website should be providing up to date information right?

 

[redietz]

Hello guys, so recently I just fished a local stocked trout stream near me, and I saw and caught absolutely nothing. I asked five other guys and they seemed to have no luck too. I will admit that I am a very bad fisherman, but something has to be wrong if nobody even saw a trout, no goldens eirher. This isn’t an isolated incident either, last year I repeatedly fished the gunpowder in the fall where they supposedly stocked 500 trout. absolutely nothing, didn’t see anything either, but 2021 I saw a bunch of fish. Also fished another stream and had similar results. I will admit that I did catch some stockies, but that was only after spring stockings. Is there really an issue here or am I just a bad fisherman? And does this kinda thing happen in your state?

If you're above Loch Raven, there will be trout everywhere in the Gunpowder in the fall., even without stocking. If you failed to catch, the problem wasn't lack of fish.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

Yeah it was above loch raven, I did catch wild browns. There definitely was fish and I did catch them, just no rainbows that were stocked.

 

[redietz]

Have you VERIFIED with Maryland DNR that they stocked or are you just assuming the stocking happened because it was scheduled?

I don't know about Maryland but in PA, the schedules posted on the PFBC website are SUPPOSED to be updated if a stocking is postponed or cancelled.

Maryland DNR posts and (and sendsan e-mail to purchasers of trout stamps) on a daily basis a report of what got stocked that day, as well as a weekly wrap up. If they said they stocked, they did.