Native Brook Trout Reintroduction

[silverfox]

Also I know sculpins can stick it out up in those infertile streams too. Just saw a study in laurel highlands mentioning lot of sculpins in those waters in some cases. Shoot could be both I dunno.

Crayfish and black nose dace are good for packing on the kilograms.

 

[pcray1231]

It's not that different than bass in a pond. Fewer fish can mean bigger fish. If a fish gets the prime feeding lie of a pool without competition...

The question is why don't they have more competition. And the answers are endless.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Well, Pa tried it, on I think 6 or 7 streams, but with much skepticism. After a couple of years it was terminated.

Edit: It was actually only 3 streams in the study. So long ago my memory failed.

I found that wild brook trout enhancement document that showed the a couple streams that were sampled repeatedly in 330yard sections during the enhancement regulation period I mentioned. I mentioned how they weren’t actually sampling a population, just a small slice of one.

I was wondering how much more extensively other states sample and if they go large enough to look at actual populations of wild native brook trout. Came across this…..wow.

This is what NY DEC did in their region 4 its truly impressive. If the enhancement regs were in different nearby streams in the same watershed and the watershed was sampled like this that would be much less prone to sampling error than the pa study.

 

[sarce]

Crayfish and black nose dace are good for packing on the kilograms.

I would love to find some brookies measured in whole kgs. Send GPS

 

[Fish Sticks]

I would love to find some brookies measured in whole kgs. Send GPS

Hope I can get my behind to Labrador before I die

 

[Fish Sticks]

I would love to find some brookies measured in whole kgs. Send GPS

Going to have to sell a kidney on the black
Market but you only need one.

 

[pcray1231]

Need a gofundme for pcrays Labrador dreams.

 

[Mike]

I fished upper kettle this last spring. Caught rainbows and stocked/wild browns all the way up past Indian run and that’s where I stopped fishing after hiking in from 44. I was disappointed and felt like the experience I wanted got stock-blocked. I have never fished the west branch though will have to check it out thanks

I checked with my local contact. You fished a BT stretch. The ST don’t pick up very well until you get to Germania Branch, but even then you are still going to be catching some BT.

 

[silverfox]

I would love to find some brookies measured in whole kgs. Send GPS

The ones I know of get big on salamanders.

 

[Mike]

I checked with my local contact. You fished a BT stretch. The ST don’t pick up very well until you get to Germania Branch, but even then you are still going to be catching some BT.

As for the WBr Susq C&R stretch, a few yrs ago it was largely BT until you get to the upper few miles.

 

[pcray1231]

Can confirm on Kettle. Above Germania the valley tightens up and you get more brookies. What you fished wasn't the upper end.

 

[silverfox]

As for the WBr Susq C&R stretch, a few yrs ago it was largely BT until you get to the upper few miles.

I fished a fair bit from cherry tree south and I’ve only caught BT. I only ever caught a handful of ST in a few tribs, but even then it’s predominantly BT. I’ve fished a few places from burnside south. I did catch a fairly good ST in there about 2 years ago but I would’ve bet money it was stocked.

 

[silverfox]

Can confirm on Kettle. Above Germania the valley tightens up and you get more brookies. What you fished wasn't the upper end.

So a whole +/- 4 miles of the very last bit of stream might have more ST than BT but definitely not allopatric. Sounds about right?

 

[troutbert]

I fished upper kettle this last spring. Caught rainbows and stocked/wild browns all the way up past Indian run and that’s where I stopped fishing after hiking in from 44. I was disappointed and felt like the experience I wanted got stock-blocked.

I checked with my local contact. You fished a BT stretch. The ST don’t pick up very well until you get to Germania Branch, but even then you are still going to be catching some BT.

True. The Kettle Creek watershed is a fertile freestoner watershed. So brown trout are found WAY upstream on Kettle and its tribs. Wild brown trout have been found in Billings Branch, Sliders Branch, Little Kettle, Germania Branch, Cross Fork Creek (and some of its tribs), Hammersley Fork, Bell Branch, and Trout Run. And some of the smaller tribs, also.

In infertile watersheds there are streams that are 70 feet wide that hold only brook trout, no browns, and the same with all the tributaries. It's not because browns were never stocked there. They were. But the water is too acidic for browns, but OK for brook trout.

Back to the Kettle Creek watershed. Since stocking has ended in upper Kettle and some of the tribs, both myself and many other anglers have noticed that the ratio of brookies/browns appears to have increased substantially. But we don't know if the electrofishing survey info shows the same thing. Does anyone know?

 

[Fish Sticks]

So a whole +/- 4 miles of the very last bit of stream might have more ST than BT but definitely not allopatric. Sounds about right?

I’ve never caught rainbows in the area, but when I fished from butternut hollow to Billings branch in high waters I caught 3 or four browns on streamers this was The very wet 2018 though haven’t been that high up since.

 

[silverfox]

True. The Kettle Creek watershed is a fertile freestoner watershed. So brown trout are found WAY upstream on Kettle and its tribs. Wild brown trout have been found in Billings Branch, Sliders Branch, Little Kettle, Germania Branch, Cross Fork Creek (and some of its tribs), Hammersley Fork, Bell Branch, and Trout Run. And some of the smaller tribs, also.

In infertile watersheds there are streams that are 70 feet wide that hold only brook trout, no browns, and the same with all the tributaries. It's not because browns were never stocked there. They were. But the water is too acidic for browns, but OK for brook trout.

Back to the Kettle Creek watershed. Since stocking has ended in upper Kettle and some of the tribs, both myself and many other anglers have noticed that the ratio of brookies/browns appears to have increased substantially. But we don't know if the electrofishing survey info shows the same thing. Does anyone know?

I fished up little kettle the same day fish sticks fished up kettle. I think we caught more brookies than browns, but definitely still browns.

 

[Fish Sticks]

True. The Kettle Creek watershed is a fertile freestoner watershed. So brown trout are found WAY upstream on Kettle and its tribs. Wild brown trout have been found in Billings Branch, Sliders Branch, Little Kettle, Germania Branch, Cross Fork Creek (and some of its tribs), Hammersley Fork, Bell Branch, and Trout Run. And some of the smaller tribs, also.

In infertile watersheds there are streams that are 70 feet wide that hold only brook trout, no browns, and the same with all the tributaries. It's not because browns were never stocked there. They were. But the water is too acidic for browns, but OK for brook trout.

Back to the Kettle Creek watershed. Since stocking has ended in upper Kettle and some of the tribs, both myself and many other anglers have noticed that the ratio of brookies/browns appears to have increased substantially. But we don't know if the electrofishing survey info shows the same thing. Does anyone know?

That’s an extremely interesting finding that the brookies anecdotally have increased when stocking stopped. If the surveys back that up I wonder if what your seeing has to do with a decrease in propagule pressure from the stocked fish?

 

[silverfox]

Just to put things in perspective. The red lines are the upper Savage watershed. All brook trout except for the rainbows/orange trout they put in the main river up from the lake.

I overlaid the USR over the kettle creek watershed. That blue blob in the lower left is Alvin Bush. This is GIS, not some photoshop overlay.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Just to put things in perspective. The red lines are the upper Savage watershed. All brook trout except for the rainbows/orange trout they put in the main river up from the lake.

I overlaid the USR over the kettle creek watershed. That blue blob in the lower left is Alvin Bush. This is GIS, not some photoshop overlay.

View attachment 1641224933

Dang, that could be more than 50 to 100 times allopathic brookie water, minus the small part with the creamsickle trout, In like 100 connected miles of USR Vs. The 200miles or so in upper kettle. I’ve found browns far enough into hammersly that the hike out takes half a day.

 

[Fish Sticks]

True. The Kettle Creek watershed is a fertile freestoner watershed. So brown trout are found WAY upstream on Kettle and its tribs. Wild brown trout have been found in Billings Branch, Sliders Branch, Little Kettle, Germania Branch, Cross Fork Creek (and some of its tribs), Hammersley Fork, Bell Branch, and Trout Run. And some of the smaller tribs, also.

In infertile watersheds there are streams that are 70 feet wide that hold only brook trout, no browns, and the same with all the tributaries. It's not because browns were never stocked there. They were. But the water is too acidic for browns, but OK for brook trout.

Back to the Kettle Creek watershed. Since stocking has ended in upper Kettle and some of the tribs, both myself and many other anglers have noticed that the ratio of brookies/browns appears to have increased substantially. But we don't know if the electrofishing survey info shows the same thing. Does anyone know?

This whole acid factor is why many believe, including some at PAFB, the whole Schuyllkill county should be a special brook trout management area.