Stocked vs Wild Trout

[afishinado]

The differences between stocked and wild trout are discussed in this article >

https://troutbitten.com/2020/01/22/do-stocked-trout-ever-become-wild/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=do_stocked_trout_ever_become_wild&utm_term=2020-01-23

 

[raftman]

I’m gonna say wild. That punctuation at the end gives it away.

 

[PennKev]

Dudes got some issues with stocked trout.

But he's not wrong.

The line about guys believing what they want in regard to stockers probably cuts some folks pretty deep.

 

[larkmark]

Bunch of mumbo jumbo. Hipster drivel. Article is more about the author than about trout. I suffered through it waiting for the "expert" to offer some useful FACTS rather than opinions. Nowhere does he say a single thing about how to tell the difference between wild and stocked holdovers. By the way, Martha Stewart magazine popularized that style of shallow focus photographs. Now it is used in every "blog".

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Good blog, IMO. Also, good comments below it (esp. those of the NY hatchery manager).

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I noticed that comment also. Very interesting.

I too think its a good blog

 

[jifigz]

I scanned the article, I didn't give it a thorough read. But let me play devil's advocate for a moment.

He and his friend caught the same 20 inch trout 6 times. He thought it was wild. It looked wild and is from an unstocked stream. Due to the way that it reacted to a streamer, "a poorly presented streamer," the fish is deemed not wild? Ummm.....can't this be an example of the author doing one thing that he is criticizing in the article? He is glorifying the wild trout to be harder to catch and since that fish had a propensity to crush a streamer so easily means it isn't wild? That is a seriously skewed perspective. Maybe that fish was wild. Not all fish of the same species in the same water have the same characteristics and disposition. It seems to me that the author's own bias

Is he possibly convincing himself of what he wants to be true? Just as he is calling people out for doing in his article?

I totally agree that wild fish are far superior, but his case right there seems invalid and his view seems short-sighted.

 

[PennKev]

jifigz wrote:

Is he possibly convincing himself of what he wants to be true? Just as he is calling people out for doing in his article?

I totally agree that wild fish are far superior, but his case right there seems invalid and his view seems short-sighted.

I think you are spot on.

 

[ColdBore]

The article is only "slightly" biased. :roll:

His thinkings and opinions are uniformed, baseless, and purely speculative much of the time.

Wouldn't it be great if every stream, everywhere, held only wild trout? Oh what a glorious dream.

However, the reality is that the vast majority of fishermen, including many self-professed purist fly fishermen, *happily* throw flies to stocked trout all day long, and love it.

 

[ColdBore]

"They feed aggressively. And that quality is nothing like our wary wild trout."

A wild brown can be a tremendously aggressive feeder.

"Don’t they learn to find natural food, don’t they blend in, learn the rules of the stream and become wild? No. Not really."

Yeah, they just drift around in the stream, waiting for the daily pellet ration, ignoring all of the natural food around them until they starve to death I guess.

"Notably, a human being walking overhead was a signal to feed, not to dart away to the nearest undercut bank."

Yeah, I like fishing for stockers. Sometimes I don't even take a rod. I show up in bright clothes, with a bucket in my hand, and they immediately swim over to be petted when they see me.

 

[Dave_W]

jifigz wrote:

He and his friend caught the same 20 inch trout 6 times. He thought it was wild. It looked wild and is from an unstocked stream. Due to the way that it reacted to a streamer, "a poorly presented streamer," the fish is deemed not wild? Ummm.....can't this be an example of the author doing one thing that he is criticizing in the article? He is glorifying the wild trout to be harder to catch and since that fish had a propensity to crush a streamer so easily means it isn't wild? That is a seriously skewed perspective. Maybe that fish was wild. Not all fish of the same species in the same water have the same characteristics and disposition. It seems to me that the author's own bias

I caught the same 19" brown trout in Spring Creek six times in one year.

Three different forum members caught the same wild brown trout in Falling Springs over three consecutive years (he grew from about 18-20 inches).

Some wild trout are gullible.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Dave_W that's great!.....It shows that other fisherman are releasing their catch as well.

When a person gets hungry they tend to go to the same store where they know the food they like will be. The more hungry they are, the more aggressive they will be.

 

[MKern]

I'm going to throw this out there:

I find it easier to catch wild trout over stocked.

Wild trout take lies where trout are supposed to be, so reading the water correctly and getting a good drift is all you need for an actively feeding fish.

On the flip side, I have made cast after cast to stockers and they don't make a move.

Not claiming they are smarter, just potentially more difficult to catch at times. Like in a heavily pressured delayed harvest section in June.

 

[Acristickid]

I like Tom R podcasts- I love his style. Obviously he is very knowledgeable without coming off like a know it all.

Anyway here is a podcast with Tom and a biologist that discusses trout markings stocked and wild fish.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-orvis-fly-fishing-podcast/id278930814?i=1000458134967

 

[Prospector]

It’s an interesting topic. Based on where I live (NWPA) I fish mostly stocked streams. It’s just the reality of being a trout fisher here. Growing up I always saw wild trout as the dumbest and easiest to catch. My best numbers of fish per day came from wild brook trout streams in Potter and Clinton County. By the same token the toughest place for me to fish was a special regulations area teaming with stocked trout. The fish that were midging were the toughest.

I believe “tough to catch” is all pressure related whether the fish are stocked or wild. When I go to the Rocky Mountains I don’t find the fish particularly difficult to catch unless you fish where the guides bring their clients every day.

Closer to my home you need to stealthy on a small stream with wild fish. I fish 2 regularly that are a few drainages apart. One stream gets non stop pressure. A good presentation there usually has one shot. If you miss the fish, he’s not coming back. In the other wild stream the fish usually will take up to 3 or 4 times if you continue to miss them before they stop darting out from under a rock to grab your fly.

 

[Swattie87]

I've caught the same wild fish multiple times too.

I like that blog, and don't take any issue with what was said in it. Not all of it perfectly lines up with my experiences, or personal opinions, (some does) but hey that's ok. I enjoyed the read.

We all prefer to fish for wild Trout over stocked Trout. Nothing wrong with that. As far as which is easier to fish for...It depends IMO...On a lot of variables that are constantly changing.

In certain conditions, wild Brown Trout are very easy to catch...Try fishing a small to medium freestone that has wild Browns after a mid-Summer Tstorm, with a Black WB. Come back when the water is low, clear, and cold, and you'd swear the stream is completely dead.

Wild Brookies will literally eat anything you toss at them...As long as they don't detect your presence first. With their vision capabilities, and the location of their eyes, they can literally see behind themselves though. You spook that fish first, it won't come back out for a live nightcrawler tossed into the pool.

Stockies IMO are initially very dumb...They think anything that hits the water is food. They've been conditioned to do that. But they figure it out. I've had stockies on Pine or Kettle refuse my dry fly presentation more times than I'd care to admit. When hatch fishing, and it's obvious what bug they're eating, I'd actually bet my take % per drift is higher on wild fish on say Spring, than stockers on Pine or Kettle. Why...I dunno? Pressure maybe, but Spring fish see a lot of drifts too.

Edit: Another example...I find the stocked fish on the lower Tully very difficult to catch, especially on dries. Go upstream into Lebanon County (above the dam), and the small wild fish up there I find fairly easy to catch.

 

[Millsertime]

MKern wrote:
I'm going to throw this out there:

I find it easier to catch wild trout over stocked.

^ +1

I love to fish the Brodhead but I don't start fishing it until June when the stockers start acting more "wild". I get flustered fishing freshly stocked trout. It's like you have to change your game to catch them.

 

[Bamboozle]

I'd like the article better if the author referred to the wild fish as "natives" so I'd really be confused...

...or possibly care.

 

[silverfox]

larkmark wrote:
Bunch of mumbo jumbo. Hipster drivel. Article is more about the author than about trout. I suffered through it waiting for the "expert" to offer some useful FACTS rather than opinions. Nowhere does he say a single thing about how to tell the difference between wild and stocked holdovers. By the way, Martha Stewart magazine popularized that style of shallow focus photographs. Now it is used in every "blog".

Pretty much nailed it.

I used to like troutbitten, but somewhere along the line the dude's head got so inflated that the quality of writing went down the tubes.

This article came across sort of like; "I'm an expert at catching huge wild trout and I laugh at the plebs that think their stocked fish are trophies".

He's not wrong about some of the differences he mentions, but I'm not sure what the point of the article is other than to point out that stocked trout are stupid.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Wild vs Stocked. One man's opinion is not Gospel.How does he know the fish he caught is really a "wild" fish.
I marvel that fished raised in a hatchery raceway ,fed pellets, and subjected to people from the time they are hatched will take to a foreign environment in a stream finding cover and feeding on stuff it's never seen before. Stocked trout maybe stupid, but they can master the survival learning curve pretty fast indicating brain development. I haven't read or heard of any one stocking a stream and leaving the trout alone and un fished over for a year. Then fishing them to check responses to man and his fishing techniques. Would they become "wild"?
GG