Is this a wild brown?

I think in PA a transition from people wanting the limit and being ok with this
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Has transitioned slightly to an unknown extent to more people wanting this

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Theres enough streams out there to have that solitude(to an extent) but too many posted signs and purple paint on some those streams to find it in many situations depending on where you live. I think some of our best access is thanks to game commission but we could use less stocked fish and more access for sure.

Peyton you got a good situation there with landowner access, good place to learn watch the fish see what they like what they don’t what they do on different conditions. Sounds like pigeon creek is your classroom so to speak and thats pretty cool. I had a largemouth bass lake I could ride my bike to as a kid that served the same purpose for me and its bot anything special but I still drive home to fish it and remeber where I caught the big ones and learned things.
 
wildtrout2 said:
Valley Creek is a good example. It's being "loved" to death.
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Valley is my "home water"... and I haven't stepped foot in it in almost 2 years bc of all the love it is getting.... I steer clear bc I don't feel like adding to the pressure...
 
AndyP said:
Valley is my "home water"... and I haven't stepped foot in it in almost 2 years bc of all the love it is getting.... I steer clear bc I don't feel like adding to the pressure...
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You are not alone, Andy. It is feeling that way on a few Northampton County limestoners too.... I understand the point about known cricks having a better chance of being on the general preservation/conservation radar, I do, but I def have conflicted feeling about the whole issue. I think Peyton did the right thing, and it had great results, but I would not have done so (or I would have contacted Mike on the sly not in the forum). There are no secret spots in SEPA, but it's nice to keep believing there are....
 
If a few really annoying historical societies/local residents weren’t standing in the way of conservation to protect the skid marks in societies underpants (a few dams on the brandywine), SEPA might have a nice seasonal Anadromous fishery for shad. I think SEPA streams have some good under the radar pan fish streams and smallie streams for summer time wets and popping bugs ect. Carp fishing probably found in many places. Micro flyfishing is a way you can guarantee you never see another angler. Doing it in disgusting urban suburban areas can be fun if not much else around. I call it brown lining. Bring a photarium take some pics identify what you catch, you can find some cool stuff. But yea, SEPA not my first choice in Pa but if I am visiting family I fish it.
 
I know some “secret spots” left. Sure other people fish them but I have never seen another person there.
 
I'll bet yes, pretty strongly. You catch enough big wild brown trout, you get used to seeing how less colorful they are than 10-12 inchers. It just looks like so many big browns I got out west. The bright brassy lower sides are rarely found in stocked trout besides fingerlings.
 
jifigz said:
You always bring great info to the board. I think naming a stream doesn't necessarily mean a good or bad thing. Just my opinion. Streams with friends leads to greater protection but a more well known stream leads to more angling pressure. Pick yer poison.
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I've openly mentioned the disproportionately large wild browns on the 'crick' that I grew up on, Sage Run. But I've never seen anyone besides an occasional spin fisherman there. Actually, I spin fish it, too. I got tired of not fishing lots of water with no room to back cast. Anyway, it's there and so are the fish.
Syl
 
Sylvaneous said:
You catch enough big wild brown trout, you get used to seeing how less colorful they are than 10-12 inchers.
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So, then you're saying they lose the brilliant colors as they grow in size? Or, they never were brilliantly colored to begin with?
Because a big brown has to start out as a small brown.
 
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wildtrout2 said:
So, then you're saying they lose the brilliant colors as they grow in size? Or, they never were brilliantly colored to begin with?
Because a big brown has to start out as a small brown.
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I really only see colorful ones in the fall, I haven't noticed big ones being any different than smaller ones.
 
Peyton said:
I really only see colorful ones in the fall, I haven't noticed big ones being any different than smaller ones.
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Then the big brown you caught was never very colorful to begin with, because I've caught 18" wild browns that had beautiful, brilliant colorings.

Seeing as perfect as those fins are, it probably was a stream bred trout though.
 
Brown trout have a lot of color variations.

Some wild browns are very colorful, some aren't.

That looks like a wild brown to me.
 
wildtrout2 said:
Then the big brown you caught was never very colorful to begin with, because I've caught 18" wild browns that had beautiful, brilliant colorings.

Seeing as perfect as those fins are, it probably was a stream bred trout though.
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Here’s a 20” from the same spot, completely different colors.
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I've caught wild browns that were all tan with only a couple black spots on them. No red, no yellow, just very plain and bla. I've caught wild browns that have brillant reds, oranges, yellows, etc. The fins and shape of the spots are usually the keys to telling if a brown is wild. Many wild browns will have a faded blue mark behind the eye. I really do not see all that much of a change in colors of brown trout depending on the time of year. I've caught really red ones in late winter and I've caught colored up ones in the middle of summer.
 
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50/50 for me. Adipose fin and missing blue halo make me want to say...long time holdover. Fins, spots and build makes me think...wild. At any rate, it's a beauty. Congrats
 
I'll go with wild. The thing that's difficult about photos is the angle of the light makes it tough to get a good photo that shows the colors well especially on a bright day.
 
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