Exceptionally well written piece on wild vs. stocked trout

[PocketWater]

I liked this piece as it captured my thoughts entirely.

https://troutbitten.com/2016/04/19/wild-vs-stocked-the-hierarchy-of-trout-in-pennsylvania/

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

Those guys are great! I really enjoy their blog. Thanks for sharing.

 

[duckfoot]

Sam the Eagle approves of this article.

 

[pcray1231]

It was well written, and I agree with just about every word he says.

That said, I do find it a little ironic, in those pics at the end, there are 2 identified as wild browns. I'm not entirely sure either of them are wild.

I'm not saying they're not. They've certainly been in the stream a while. And for all I know they were caught in Montana or something, which takes the appearance totally out of my experience base on which to compare.

But for instance, look at the one right after his signature and e-mail. Captioned "wild brown from unstocked water". No red spots or red adipose. No blue eye spot. Fins are opague, and not 100% perfect (though not terrible either).

Large browns are always difficult to determine. And it might be wild. But I'd hesitate before throwing that pic up there, claiming it to be wild, in an article extolling the virtues of wild trout over stockies...

 

[mcwillja]

Lack of a blue eye spot does not indicate that the fish is not wild. And the presence of a blue eye spot does not necessarily mean the fish is wild.

 

[phiendWMD]

Pat I see a little red on the edge of the adipose in the pic under his email. That pic isn't really the best angle to see it from. Could the lack of red spots be due to diet and a lack of nutrients? I've seen stocked browns with some red it them. If they can be given a diet that colors them up, I'd think the absence of a particular nutrient could cause a lack of red in the wild fish possibly.
There are also strains, subspecies, or whatever that proper term is, of browns in Europe and Asia without red, isn't there? Perhaps it's a strain we don't see here?

Surely you know more than I do. Like you said it could be from somewhere neither of us are familiar with. I'm just trying to play devil's advocate a little. If I caught that fish in PA I'd think it was stocked.

 

[724flyfishing]

Good read. Thanks for sharing. About sums up how I feel about trout fishing overall in PA.

 

[RyanR]

There is red on the adipose fin and actually a fair amount of it along with what looks to be some red spots towards the tail end of the body. The angle of the fish & camera combined with glare of the sun kind of mutes some of the colors a bit for the photo. Also I think it's an early spring fish, colors (particularly red and yellows) will often look much brighter in early fall. Fins look as wild as just about any I've seen. Sometimes it can be harder to tell from just one photo. Personally I don't have much question that it's wild.

 

[pcray1231]

Lack of a blue eye spot does not indicate that the fish is not wild. And the presence of a blue eye spot does not necessarily mean the fish is wild.

Agreed. It's an indicator. There is no foolproof indicator. But it's probably 90% accurate.

Pat I see a little red on the edge of the adipose in the pic under his email.

Maybe. Tough to tell.

Could the lack of red spots be due to diet and a lack of nutrients?

Yep. Or genetics, as you mentioned later. (there are strains with lot of red, and strains with none, and PA's wild fish are essentially mutts that show the whole spectrum).

I'd summarize it as:

Stocked fish rarely if ever have "red". They often have nothing at all and occasionally have "orange".

Wild fish rarely if ever have "orange". They often have red and occasionally nothing at all.

I've seen stocked browns with some red it them.

Can't say that I have. Not denying it. I just haven't. I have seen orange.

I'd think the absence of a particular nutrient could cause a lack of red in the wild fish possibly.

True, but location of red colored spots is imprinted at a very young age. So a fish with red can lose it. But it's rare that a fish without it can gain it.

Big browns, which have gone piscavorous, tend to lose red color, as the nutrients necessary to keep it aren't found in baitfish, it's found in crustaceans. That, and the fact that even wild big browns can have opague and beat up fins, is why big browns become harder to distinguish.

The overall coloration, on the other hand, changes pretty rapidly with the environment at all ages. i.e. the shade of brown/gold/silver, changes rapidly, often with the season.

I'm just trying to play devil's advocate a little.

Me too.

If I caught that fish in PA I'd think it was stocked.

Me too. I'd assume fingerling or long time holdover in places that such things are expected. If they are not expected, I'd be a fence sitter between wild and a stockie that's taken up residence from somewhere.

So I'm not claiming it's absolutely stocked. Just that I wouldn't be so sure of it being wild as to use it as a shining example of a wild trout in a blog about the superiority of wild trout over stockies in PA.

 

[krayfish2]

Pat,
Wouldn’t the coloring and spot pattern have something to do with the origin of the fish? There are many sub species that have slightly different build and color / spot patterns. Could be salmo fario, salmo lacustris, salmo ferox, salmo eriox or even salmo levenensis.

Typical traits of Loch Leven browns are that they are generally slimmer than "German" browns and lack red spotting, even when living in a stream / river.


I have Google too

 

[salmonoid]

Adipose in the redder spectrum. Spots closer to red than orange. But this fish screamed stocker to me when I caught it last fall...

Given the OP link to the blog post, somewhat ironically, this fish was stocked over wild trout... It was in a pool below a jack dam and this past Sunday, I caught a native brookie there.

 

[geebee]

I have seen plenty of stockies in England with Red spots and wild fish with orange.

I tend to look more at the fins. even a 'well mended' brown will just have a look about its fins.

colours are the product of environment and genetics.

its a noble goal to try to catch wild browns in any case.

 

[pabrookie94]

Very well written article. The only thing I think stocked trout are good for are kids and catfish bait....then again, I was blessed to live where there is a strong population of wild browns in Mckean/Potter county.

 

[pabrookie94]

Oh and yes you may pick at my stocked trout avatar It was one of my first lake run stockers

 

[salmonoid]

pabrookie94 wrote:
Very well written article. The only thing I think stocked trout are good for are kids and catfish bait....then again, I was blessed to live where there is a strong population of wild browns in Mckean/Potter county.

We used the heads and tails of stockers as tomato plant fertilizer when I was growing up. Usage #3 ;-)

 

[Cold]

Decently written, kinda preachy/soap-boxy, and even a little whiny.

That being said, it's a good blog as fishing blogs go, and I did generally agree with the premise of the post (the "rankings", so to speak), if not the implications of the way things "ought to" be.

As with so many who feel the need to enlighten the rest of us in the world of fly fishing, I generally tend to feel the author is taking himself and his opinions a bit too seriously.

 

[NewSal]

Im no good at telling the difference between wild vs stocked.

Does red on the adipose fin indicate a wild fish most of the time?

Heres a few fish I caught yesterday.

A game of wild vs stocked.. what do you think?

1.

2.

3.

4.

There not the best pictures ever, but oh well.


They were all caught in the Little Juniata BTW.
So its either stocked fingerlings grown up or wild. Hard to tell for me.

 

[wildtrout2]

I have yet to see a stocked trout with RED (not orange) on the adipose fin. I'm a firm believer in this as a wild trout indicator.

 

[ryansheehan]

wildtrout2 wrote:
I have yet to see a stocked trout with RED (not orange) on the adipose fin. I'm a firm believer in this as a wild trout indicator.

I have some pics will post them in a little bit.. Definitely stocked, definitely red in the adipose fin.

 

[ryansheehan]

You may have to zoom in but they all have red, some pics are better than other.