Still Lots of Fish in STWs

[Dave_W]

In my neck of the woods, most of the stocked trout waters (STWs) are managed as put and take and are almost entirely too warm to sustain trout by mid-summer. As such, I have traditionally taken my creel with me and will harvest stocked trout from these streams in June before they die naturally. I almost never see other anglers.
When I was a kid fishing these same waters, it was conventional wisdom among local anglers that the creeks were "fished out" by late spring. This certainly isn't true these days.

Anyway, I've been at a bit in the last couple weeks and, with one exception, in every section I've fished there are still considerable numbers of stocked trout. Some popular pools have dozens of fish. This is way more than I or any other local anglers are going to "utilize" at this stage. These fish will be dead in days or weeks at best. I've noticed this for years.

If you're still fishing STWs under general regulations, are you seeing this?
It's got me pondering stocking policy. It seems to me that my local creeks are getting too many fish stocked in-season. Perhaps a bigger allotment for the pre-season stocking would make better sense.

 

[joebamboo]

There is no doubt that a "number" of stocked trout will not survive the summer heat, however, since the stocking releases the trout at the same time, one would think that those fish would all die at the same time. I and no one I know has ever seen a massive amount of dead trout.

 

[silverfox]

In my neck of the woods, most of the stocked trout waters (STWs) are managed as put and take and are almost entirely too warm to sustain trout by mid-summer. As such, I have traditionally taken my creel with me and will harvest stocked trout from these streams in June before they die naturally. I almost never see other anglers.
When I was a kid fishing these same waters, it was conventional wisdom among local anglers that the creeks were "fished out" by late spring. This certainly isn't true these days.

Anyway, I've been at a bit in the last couple weeks and, with one exception, in every section I've fished there are still considerable numbers of stocked trout. Some popular pools have dozens of fish. This is way more than I or any other local anglers are going to "utilize" at this stage. These fish will be dead in days or weeks at best. I've noticed this for years.

If you're still fishing STWs under general regulations, are you seeing this?
It's got me pondering stocking policy. It seems to me that my local creeks are getting too many fish stocked in-season. Perhaps a bigger allotment for the pre-season stocking would make better sense.

It's nothing new to me, but in my area, I see stocked trout holding over in some areas with no problems at all. Some of these streams are small mountain freestoners that never get too warm. They have had wild brook trout in them since I was a kid. There's no environmental reason the fish can't survive in those mountain streams, and while I'm sure some get picked off by anglers or predators, plenty hold over from year to year.

In other streams where the conventional wisdom is that the water gets too warm, I've found, or realized, that there are enough groundwater inputs IN the warmwater rivers to support at least some level of year-round survival of stocked and wild trout.

Last year in August, on a whim, a buddy and I fished a section of a warmwater river out of curiosity. We figured we'd catch a ton of chubs and fallfish. That was true in most of the areas we fished, but we found 3 "pools" that had obvious groundwater inputs that were absolutely full of stocked rainbows and browns. There was even a big (18" +) yellow trout in one. This area gets fished HEAVILY during the trout season opener.

Does that mean they're stocking too many fish? I don't know. Obviously, if wild brook trout live in the stream then I don't think it should be stocked at all. In the warmwater streams with some groundwater inputs that allow year-round survival, I think it's just a part of what happens when they stock those streams. For waters that get too warm and don't have any thermal refuge, I think they just write the fish off regardless of the cause of mortality. I don't think it matters whether they're caught by anglers and eaten, caught by raccoons/eagles/herons and eaten, or get slowly parboiled in frog water.

 

[Fish Sticks]

In my neck of the woods, most of the stocked trout waters (STWs) are managed as put and take and are almost entirely too warm to sustain trout by mid-summer. As such, I have traditionally taken my creel with me and will harvest stocked trout from these streams in June before they die naturally. I almost never see other anglers.
When I was a kid fishing these same waters, it was conventional wisdom among local anglers that the creeks were "fished out" by late spring. This certainly isn't true these days.

Anyway, I've been at a bit in the last couple weeks and, with one exception, in every section I've fished there are still considerable numbers of stocked trout. Some popular pools have dozens of fish. This is way more than I or any other local anglers are going to "utilize" at this stage. These fish will be dead in days or weeks at best. I've noticed this for years.

If you're still fishing STWs under general regulations, are you seeing this?
It's got me pondering stocking policy. It seems to me that my local creeks are getting too many fish stocked in-season. Perhaps a bigger allotment for the pre-season stocking would make better sense.

In my opinion stocked trout are heavily utilized for one month in many places and then when the catch rates drop, as you said, “its fished out” according to them because you can’t get 5 trout an hour.

Then they get left around in our ecosystems like forgotten toys that no one plays with and as we know they have harmful consequences. What id like to know is what is the financial waste dollar amount for these fish that people lose interest in when they can’t catch them one after the other. If we spend say 15-20million a year on the trout stocking program how many millions that could be buying more access are flushed down the toilet every year when you find all these fish in June?

 

[jifigz]

Hey Dave,

I wonder how the numbers of trout stocked have or have not changed due to the more universal practice of C&R. Even lots of guys who chase the stockies and are, more or less, traditional stockie trout anglers have adopted C&R more and more so that might be one reason more stockies persist. Also, we have so far had a pretty cool year, even if it has been rather dry..but that precip model is changing as we are all seeing now.

Just a thought. I understand there are still lots of guys and gals out there looking to fill their limits and take the trout home, good for them, but I bet there are more and more that just fish for fun and those stockies get released more than ever to linger on a while longer. Same amount of trout stocked as 20 years ago but only half as many being harvested = more trout in the water.

 

[Swattie87]

I found a stocking hole with a jack dam/pool set up over the weekend on a small STW. It probably had 30 stockies in it. I caught four in the first four casts before moving on. Was pissed that I didn’t bring a gallon ziploc along. Lucky for them, for now at least.

The stream they’re in likely stays plenty cold, but there isn’t enough food in that kind of stream to sustain 30 12 inch fish stacked up like that in a pool the size of a hot tub. They were already starting to look skinny.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I found a stocking hole with a jack dam/pool set up over the weekend on a small STW. It probably had 30 stockies in it. I caught four in the first four casts before moving on. Was pissed that I didn’t bring a gallon ziploc along. Lucky for them.

I hardly remember to ever have a cooler or proper container on me. I always wondered if it was technically legal to harvest a stocked trout limit and use as fertilizer for a tree planting or garden? Ignoring the obvious enforcement issue if it isn’t, I was just curious. To me the stockers taste like crap and with the amount of concerns for PFAS out there in fish these days I don’t eat too often but its ashame to have to release those stockers.

 

[Swattie87]

I hardly remember to ever have a cooler or proper container on me. I always wondered if it was technically legal to harvest a stocked trout limit and use as fertilizer for a tree planting or garden? Ignoring the obvious enforcement issue if it isn’t, I was just curious. To me the stockers taste like crap and with the amount of concerns for PFAS out there in fish these days I don’t eat too often but its ashame to have to release those stockers.

Fresh stockers do taste like crap, but once they’ve been in the stream, eaten a natural diet for a bit and thinned out and firmed up, they’re pretty good. June 1, is about when I’ll start keeping them. I would have easily eaten the four I caught, had I remembered a bag. I usually always carry a gallon ziploc in my pack, but I used it for a trash bag a couple outings ago and apparently never replaced it.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Fresh stockers do taste like crap, but once they’ve been in the stream, eaten a natural diet for a bit and thinned out and firmed up, they’re pretty good. June 1, is about when I’ll start keeping them. I would have easily eaten the four I caught, had I remembered a bag. I usually always carry a gallon ziploc in my pack, but I used it for a trash bag a couple outings ago and apparently never replaced it.

I will have to try eating later in the season then

 

[jifigz]

I've kept stockies out of Kish in Early autumn and thought they still tasted kind of bad.

Putting fish directly on ice is my favorite way to harvest them. It takes some planning and sucks for wading.

 

[silverfox]

Unfortunately, I really don't like the taste of trout. I've eaten wild brook trout from remote ponds in NY, remote streams in PA, wild brown trout, stocked trout etc., tried smoking them, and all manner of recipes, and I just don't like any of them. Yellow perch, walleye, crappie, bluegills, catfish, I love. Trout,

 

[Swattie87]

If I’m going somewhere during the Summer that I know has stockies in it along with the wild Trout, and it’s a watershed clean enough to feel safe about eating fish from, I’ll usually take a gallon Ziploc along and put one of those knockoff Yeti style freezer packs in my pack too. Keeps my beer cold, and the fish, should I choose to bonk any stockers.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I have always dreamt of having a custom made priest for my stocker clocker.

 

[CRB]

Trout season lasts till Sept. and the extended season goes till the end of February.

Fewer fish in the stocked sections will push the bait and gear guys to the headwaters not all of them practice catch and release.
Your bigger Brook trout will be the ones caught and creeled.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Trout season lasts till Sept. and the extended season goes till the end of February.

Fewer fish in the stocked sections will push the bait and gear guys to the headwaters not all of them practice catch and release.
Your bigger Brook trout will be the ones caught and creeled.

Thats a huge fallacy

1. Those “headwater brook trout” are downstream when stocking occurs in many cases as shanon whites research demonstrates. The large amount of stockers attracts more people and THATS where they come out on a stringer, april.

2. If theres all those stockers left over harvest of stocked trout after early season when brook tro it concentrate in headwaters is not going to be an issue.

There is NO SCENARIO where stocking more helps brook trout

 

[troutbert]

1. Those “headwater brook trout” are downstream when stocking occurs in many cases as shanon whites research demonstrates. The large amount of stockers attracts more people and THATS where they come out on a stringer, april.

What percentage of the brook trout population of the Loyalsock drainage do you think is downstream in the Loyalsock when stocking occurs?

 

[sixfootfenwick]

What percentage of the brook trout population of the Loyalsock drainage do you think is downstream in the Loyalsock when stocking occurs?

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/larger-streams-are-critical-wild-brook-trout-conservation/

"“In a separate study we used telemetry to monitor the movement of 162 fish and found that there is a small proportion of the population that moves,” she said. “It’s only about 20% of fish that get into Loyalsock Creek. In terms of males, females, and the size of fish that are moving, it doesn’t really seem to make a difference. This would suggest that there may be a genetic component to movement, in the sense that some fish have genes that are programmed to make them travel.”"

20 percent

 

[CRB]

stock less more brook trout on stringers

 

[sixfootfenwick]

stock less more brook trout on stringers

I don't believe that.

As I posted before:

"On unstocked wild trout streams, Brook compose of 69 percent of wild trout caught. 236,461 total brook trout caught.
The harvest data is also saying 19,297 wild brook trout 7 inches or larger are harvested.

Which is 12.25 percent the caught population
harvested.

Then compare that to this PDF on wild trout in PA Witten by Mike K.


I keep hearing it takes 4 or 5 years to grow a legal size brook trout, then I hear most don't survive that long, then we harvest 12 percent the total caught at 19,000 fish a year.....

Ouch.

What percentage of the total caught population is legal size?

Using the numbers, if 8 percent of a brook trout population is legal (and that's in our best waters, half the states waters have few legal size brook trout), we harvest at a very high rate the legal ones caught.

I'm doubting much, if any, get released that are legal size."

I don't believe more will end up on stringers. Rather I believe more brown trout will end up on stringers Or many anglers will stop fishing for trout.

Either way, I believe we over harvest them already and we stock the living crap out of PA.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

On topic, this has been experience also.

There is an ATW in Lancaster I like to fish in August that gets warm but is shaded. Now it's a large stretch, but if you fish the whole thing and fish it fast with a streamer, you can still catch your limit.

It's the only time I harvest trout, the stocked trout are still in the "fished out" creeks longer than we like to admit.

I'm with you, while I'm against stocking, if we are to do so, then a shift to more in the preseason would be better utilization of the fish.