Oil Creek 6-14-17. Hot. Questions.

[Sharknado5]

Got to the Petroleum Center DHALO about 7:15 last evening. I wanted to fish one last time before the trout could be harvested on 6-15. Fished the lower long pool. Water was low but not bad. Felt warm on my legs but didn't think much about it. Was a fair sulfur hatch about size 14 mid stream. Didn't see any spinners. Saw occasional rises near the far bank so put on a comparadun sulfur and waded out part way. Made a short cast and a 11 inch bow swam out and took it readily. He fought pretty well and seemed good at release. But the water felt warm on my hand. Checked my thermometer. Air temp was 78, water temp 80. Couldn't believe it so checked again, 80.

Mike Laskowski has lectured me a couple times to not fish there if the water temp is above 70. I thought for a minute, then twisted the point off my hook and kept fishing. Only had one take after that. Felt funny when I popped the fly out of his mouth. The hatch petered out and the rises did too, and I left at 8:45.

This trip brought up a question for me, maybe a fly fishing ethics question. That is, is it OK to stress trout that probably will be dead anyway in a week, if the weather remains hot and streamflows low as predicted? I know some may survive but most will probably die. And the next day (today) they may be kept for harvest anyway.

Also a technical question. After I broke the point off my fly, it didn't look like it was floating right. Maybe the reason I didn't get more takes after that? Can cutting off 15-20% of the weight on the back of the fly cause it to not float correctly? And does that matter?

TIA for any input--

 

[wjkosmer]

"That is, is it OK to stress trout that probably will be dead anyway in a week, if the weather remains hot and streamflows low as predicted? I know some may survive but most will probably die. And the next day (today) they may be kept for harvest anyway."

I would say no, unless you plan on keeping and eating them. No point killing them just to kill them because they may not make it.

 

[Sharknado5]

That's sort of what I decided. But I wonder how many trout won't recover in 80 deg water.

 

[krayfish2]

If a soldier stands a fair chance of dying in some future battle, is there anything wrong with me killing him today? See what I did there?

 

[wildtrout2]

krayfish2 wrote:
If a soldier stands a fair chance of dying in some future battle, is there anything wrong with me killing him today? See what I did there?

Pi$$ poor analogy.

 

[wjkosmer]

Depends on what their options are. If there is a spring they can sit on, or a trib they can go up, they may make it. If not, 80 is not going to be very friendly, probably suffocate.

 

[dryflyguy]

Those fish can run a long way upstream from petroleum center. And there are some feeders that hold WT - and I'm sure cooler water.
However, I certainly see no good reason to fish for trout in those kinds of water temps anywhere - unless you're putting them on a stringer

 

[Mike]

They are not going to run very far in that water temp. They would be lucky to make it 50 ft.

 

[RLeep2]

I "catch" quite a few trout out of the state park section of Oil Creek in high summer when I am wading it for bass and pike. Only problem is that probably 90% of them are already dead from heat stress and I land them when they bump into my waders. I toss a few of them up on the bank for the critters and wave at the rest as they drift by. Even in the best of years, it only qualifies as a trout stream under the most broad of definitions until about mid-June and then again when the white trunk shows up at Petroleum Center in October.

 

[JackM]

If I am fishing for trout in marginally warm water, I can tell by the fight whether they are near-dead already. If they are extremely sluggish and surrender to be dragged in right away, I will go somewhere else. No need to sweat killing one or two stocked trout, but it's no fun beyond that.