Fish Sticks
Well-known member
I agree in Pa if your going to hot spot these streams and stock in them too ya need to protect them. But further and more importantly in Pa we don’t manage for brook trout specifically anywhere and thats the biggest issue because all these very suitable brook trout watersheds like kettle and Pine that are all forested are being squandered on stocked invasive species when instead if they were in these neighboring states they would likely be brook trout management zones and have much better populations. The combination of eliminating stocked invasive species, angler harvest, and allowing for brook trout to use the large waterways to feed, share useful genetic adaptations, and prevent harmful inbreeding is VERY powerful. High densities of invasive trout in our larger water ways are most likely having a barrier effect based on a recent PSU grad’s dissertation and the STAC Chesapeake Brook trout conservation genetics conference. Then theres the competition and predation I have linked articles to. Then we just found out in march this year these stocked trout stop brook trout from benefiting from habitat work. The new discoveries of negative effects of these stocked invasive trout on our wild native brook trout continue to grow rapidly and PA fish and boat would say the water is just not cold and clean enough in our most pristine forested watersheds like line and kettle ect. They have to figure out how their going to adapt to this century and get unstuck from we stock trout to sell licenses so we can stock more trout to sell licenses to stock more trout. Thats like industrial revolution fisheries management and its so far gone from conservation and their stated mission of resource first its border line waste, fraud, and abuse. They are foing to get all this R.A.W.A money and their second largest expense will still be counter productive to this R.A.W.A money.
