Stocking Help?

[delfam]

http://pfbc.state.pa.us/pfbc_webgis/TroutStockingDetailsFall.aspx

I'm a little confused on when you can fish. I was looking at the Wissihickon Creek and they say it's being stocked Oct. 5. Does that mean you can fish oct. 5 there or do you have to wait till a certain day?

 

[Swattie87]

delfam - The stocked section of the Wiss is an Approved Trout Water (ATW). You can fish an ATW now, including the day of the Fall stocking, up until March 1st of next year, when it closes for next Spring's stocking. There is no closed season for stocking followed by an "opening day" on ATW's in the Fall like there is in the Spring.

I will say this...it is sort of frowned upon by those helping with the stocking to see anglers show up immediately after the stocking to fish without helping out to stock the fish...for what it's worth.

 

[jayL]

Give them a day or two to acclimate, and as mentioned, you should consider helping out.

There is no sport in fishing for fish that were stocked that day, imo.

 

[ryguyfi]

jayL wrote:


There is no sport in fishing for fish that were stocked that day, imo.

I give the exception of that rule to kids.

By all means take your young kids out and have them catch a ton of fish in an hour or so.

 

[streamerguy]

If you are already there helping stock, I don't see why not wet a line while you're there. But yea I do kinda frown upon the truck followers who go there purposely to fish directly after they're stocked and don't help at all.

About letting the fish acclimate, one time I did go and help out stock some fish and decided to fish a little while I was there and I know there are fish in the stream(cuz we just put them in there) and I didn't even get a bite the half an hour or so I fished. But another day(well actually multiple times) I fished Neshannock Creek during the trout stocking day, which is a huge event there, and everyone was catching fish right away. So why do they sometimes bite right away and other times they don't?

 

[MKern]

I hate when "helpers" dump in a bucket with larger fish into a hole and then stop helping and start fishing...that hole.

 

[streamerguy]

I hate when "helpers" dump in a bucket with larger fish into a hole and then stop helping and start fishing...that hole.

Don't know if this was directed towards me or not, but that time when I helped I helped throughout the whole stocking and multiple locations, not just dumping in some fish in a hole and start fishing.

 

[CathyG]

I like to help stock, it's just fun. I usually don't fish the same day though. If the truck's water temperature and the stream's water temp are about the same they will start biting right away. If there's a big enough difference they're in shock from the temp change for a bit.

 

[MKern]

streamerguy,

Not directed to you at all. I used to see it all the time at Rock Run, Lycoming County.
By the top of the stocked section they were out of helpers.

 

[Chaz]

Get them out of there as quickly as you can. PFBC will make more.

 

[PennKev]

streamerguy wrote:
I fished Neshannock Creek during the trout stocking day, which is a huge event there, and everyone was catching fish right away. So why do they sometimes bite right away and other times they don't?

I firmly believe that the majority of fish being caught immediately after stocking on stocking day on Neshannock are fish that were stocked the previous fall, and in normal years, also a good number of fish that were stocked the prior spring. Trout have no problem holding over through the winter on many of our ATW's and Neshannock is no exception, I've consistently caught trout there every winter. In years when we've had milder summers, the number of fish present in the stream during the fall and winter was nuts.

In short, there are typically many fish already in the creek and feeding before the white truck arrives.

Kev

 

[streamerguy]

Really? The times I've fished there stocking day(even when I didn't fish, just watching others) I noticed usually after maybe 30 minutes of so after they're stocked people(myself included) start catching them left and right, and they were definitely fresh stockers. Before the new stocked fish arrived I may only get a couple fish, the same with other people, but after they stocked the fishing noticeably got better. Those were just my experiences though.

I understand lots of fish from the fall holdover throughout the winter, but I still think most of the fish caught after the truck arrives are the new fish. I have no other experiences fishing on stocking days though, except for Neshannock and that other time I metioned.

 

[PennKev]

Yeah, see I've never noticed fresh stocked fish hitting well immediately. The following day or even after several hours they become easy pickings, no doubt.

Kev

 

[Keppenbill]

i saw all this today at hay creek, its a very small stream there was no sport in it you could hand catch them rite after also wat is the limit not that i keep them

 

[Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah]

I never understood why they don't close the river for a few days when they stock in the fall. Is it only because they want the hook and cook people to be able to load up their spackle buckets up and come back next year to buy a fishing license? I don't get it.

 

[Squaretail]

Is it only because they want the hook and cook people to be able to load up their spackle buckets up and come back next year to buy a fishing license?

You get it exactly.

 

[Keppenbill]

I agree with zip notify of the stock a week or two after