Question in regards to stocked streams

[jsmith697]

Hello,

I'm new here, so this is my first post. But, I've been a bit confused on how one would typically fish a stocked trout stream.

I'm in western PA so there really aren't a whole lot of wild trout, so how would one go about approaching fishing these stocked streams? I went out this weekend, looked under some rocks and found a few insects that looked similar to some of the nymphs I had. I was dead drifting them for around 3 hours with little to no luck. I swapped over to a big pink san juan worm and just let it sit in the bottom of a deep pool and I caught 3 in an hour.

Does it ever take any type of strategy to catch stocked trout, or are they always attracted to big shiny flies just sitting in the bottom of deep pools? I was attracted to fly fishing because it seemed like it was a lot more strategic than spin fishing, so I was kind of disappointed that the only way I could catch trout was by mindlessly throwing giant pink and purple flies into pools.

 

[kobalt335]

The more pressure the fish recieve the smarter they will become. I have luck swinging simple wet flies in the riffles that most people overlook.

 

[troutbert]

When the hatches get going, the hatchery trout will start rising for the mayflies and caddis, just like wild trout.

And they certainly feed on nymphs and can be caught readily with nymph imitations.

You don't have to use "junk flies."

Very freshly stocked trout can behave kind of odd. But after they are in the stream a little while, feeding on natural foods, they begin to feed more like wild trout.

And they can be selective. For example on Pine Creek, which has big flat pools, good hatches, and which also gets fished a fair bit in some stretches, the hatchery trout can get a little tough, where a good imitation and good presentation definitely helps.

 

[salmonoid]

The stocked trout will either adapt to eating natural food, or die. So in short order, they will take nymphs or emergers or dries. Or they'll be floating.

Stocked rainbows are also suckers for egg patterns, and I had a few stocked brookies take them as well this past weekend. While my kids caught some brookies in deep pools, I'm a stream walker and was picking up brookies in more natural habitat - underneath stumps, logs, and in shallow riffles. I personally hate sitting at one pool for hours, drifting something over and over, unless, say, it's for the sake of my kids, who are more interested in catching than fishing.

Nothing wrong with using a SJW either. Trout will gorge on earthworms after a heavy rain - it's a natural part of their diet.

 

[pcray1231]

Ok, look at it this way. A fish has 2 concerns. Security and food.

A stocked fish, in a hatchery, has no cover other than depth. And the food comes to it by feeders, so it hasn't learned to utilize currents and so forth. As a result, freshly stocked fish generally go to deep, slow spots and sit, and eat any random thing that comes by.

As they are in the stream a while, they begin to learn how to be in a stream. They slowly learn that this area has more food than this other area, and move to more trouty areas.

And ones that are overfished tend to learn that certain foods are good to eat, and other foods with certain traits tend to result in an uncomfortable lip piercing. So they become pickier, at least to the flies that all those anglers are throwing at them. Wild trout learn this too and do the same thing in the same overpressured environs. Sometimes throwing something off the wall, that they haven't seen before, will induce strikes even if it doesn't resemble anything. Which is why you get these debates of guys saying how "picky" they are to having an exact match, while another guy says they ain't picky at all, why, they'll take a cigarette butt!

Anyway, back on topic. So with time in the wild they act more like wild animals and less like pets. I think, though, the thing that seems to take the longest is the utilization of physical cover. Like rocks, root systems, overhangs, and the like. The more I read, the more this appears to be a genetic thing, actually. Stockies are usually out in the open, and wild fish, unless actively feeding, are usually well hidden in cover. This seems to last quite a long time. And it seems typical of fingerlings as well.

The more I read, the more I think the use of physical cover is actually a genetic trait that's been bred out of hatchery populations, rather than a learned trait than can be re-learned.

 

[Maurice]

You are in SWPA, not only are there no wild trout but also no bugs. As said above. The stocked trout will adapt to the licL corage albeit sparce. Early season belongs to the bait guys, so embrace weenie and catch some fish. Also wooly buggers are a good choice. If you are interested in dryfly fishing in SWPA you are barkimg up the wrong tree. Later in the season you may be able to get some by prospecting with terrestrials but even that is not as productive as junk flys and buggers.

Dry Fly fishing in SWPA is akin to sticking needles in your eyes unless you head to the laurel highlands or north to the Neshannock.

 

[jsmith697]

Maurice,

I wouldn't consider myself southwest, I'm more right along the north boundary of Butler county about 25-30 minutes from Neshannock creek and about 5 minutes from Slippery Rock Creek. I found plenty of midges, scuds and what looked like Hendrickson nymphs (not extremely familiar with aquatic insects just yet) under the rocks of the stream I was fishing on the first day. None of the flies I was using to match those bugs were doing any good, though.

 

[steveo27]

Head an hour and a half north to ANF and you'll find plenty of wild trout, same goes for the Laurel Highlands to the south.

I used to think there werent many wild trout in western PA until I started exploring.

There are actually wild trout right in your backyard as well if you look for them. The devil tries to keep a secret but the PFBC wont let him.

 

[CVangler]

I believe that a lot of it depends on how long they're in the water. If they're freshly stocked, you can catch them on virtually anything from a ball of thread on a hook to probably a salmon fly. Don't worry, never used one for trout. But as they stay in the stream longer, they become more of a "wild" fish and they start to eat more natural things.

 

[pcray1231]

The devil tries to keep a secret but the PFBC wont let him.

Now there's a strong hint! lol.