Question abt Stocking Locations

[Stagger_Lee]

When they link you from PFBC to google maps you get thios example

Neshaminy Creek - Section 2

When stocked how far do they travel the 1st week, (up and down) and do they travel further as they get acclimated to their new environment.

Gotta plan out my 'stupid' fish days! ;-)

 

[RCFetter]

There was a thread on this last year, but it was probably a side topic of the original post subject.

I was surprised at the number of posters who said they did not travel far.

I have many years experience trout fishing (w/ spinning rod) in Pennycreek off of Verree Road where they dump the trout. Within a few days after stocking, I was catching trout up to 1 mi away from the stocking point.

 

[JackM]

What I have read is that a vast majority of freshly stocked trout do not wander very far. I would have to think there are dozens of variables that effect that "rule of thumb" thinking, however.

 

[outsider]

It amazes me sometimes how trout stay in a stocked location, even weeks after they are stocked. Every year I fish a delayed harvest stream and it's easy to find the stocking points. 50 yards upstream/downstream is good holding water with very few fish.

Other streams they disperse pretty quickly. Sometimes I think they should dump the fish into marginal holding water, which may force them to relocate.

 

[Fishidiot]

Stagger_Lee wrote:
When stocked how far do they travel the 1st week, (up and down) and do they travel further as they get acclimated to their new environment.

Most stocked trout in most PA streams will stick close to where they're stocked for some time afterwards (they might move 30 feet into the next riffle or something, but usually not far).

This is why it is a good thing when a stream is "float stocked" - that is to say, the fish are spread over a length of stream by pulling floating fish baskets downstream and unloading fish incrementally so that they're dispersed naturally like a wild population. The folks doing the float stocking (usually TU or club volunteers) will usually put a lot of fish in popular fishing spots or bridge pools but also further from the road in good cover. Unfortunately, the PFBC stocking lists usually don't indicate whether a section is float stocked. Oftentimes, they just dump hundreds of fish right at the bridge access with maybe some hand carried downstream a short distance in buckets.

With respect to movement, in some streams - for some reason, often unknown - trout will not stay but will migrate downstream. These streams will usually be stocked right before season so the fish can be caught before they migrate. Even in streams where the fish stay where they were stocked (which is most streams) there's always a few fish that head downstream anyway and don't stop for miles until they are in the Susquehanna or Delaware Rivers. I catch some stocked trout every spring in the big bass rivers and this is often many miles from the nearest stocked tributary.

 

[RCFetter]

Here's a thread on the subject from Feb 2012.

#1 Species specific stocked trout residency revision

This link shows a study by the PFBC:

Factors Influencing the Post-Stocking Movement of Hatchery Trout in Streams

"In the spring of 2005, fisheries biologists monitored the movement of the radio-tagged preseason stocked trout in both streams with radio telemetry equipment. The radio-tagged fish showed little movement for the first few days of the study. Most of the rainbow trout from both creeks left their stocking points and headed downstream after the third day.

Several rainbows were never found again. One rainbow trout from Tunkhannock Creek was found nearly 13 miles downstream from its stocking point. And one rainbow from Wysox Creek was found 123 miles downstream in the North Branch of the Susquehanna River."


The PFBC study seems more concerned about why trout travel as opposed to how far.

My take is that it's stream specific and stocked trout generally travel 300 meters downstream but are capable of traveling several miles or more.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

Good finds RC .. much appreciated

 

[Chaz]

Stag, they won't get far in Neshaminy Creek, they'll all be dead by Monday.