Stocking over Wild Trout in PA

[afishinado]

misanthropist wrote:
The problem is the mentality behind stocking. There is a large segment of anglers in Pennsylvania who think trout come from a stock truck.

I know a guy in Potter County who is completely unaware of the wild Brown Trout element. He refers to them as "colored up hold-overs". I tried to explain it to him, but It was pointless. He just refuses to believe it. There are a lot of anglers who think along these lines and I believe it's part of the problem.

I am on the extreme end of the spectrum. I completely disagree with stocking on any level. My reasons are strictly ecological.

I'm against stocking over any decent population of wild trout. But stocking trout does have it's place in PA, IMO.

I'm from SE PA and there are many streams that have a decent water quality yet become too warm in the late spring or summer to hold trout. Stocking these streams offers an opportunity for anglers to fish for trout in the cool and cold months in the winter, spring and fall seasons.

Many anglers buy fishing licenses to fish these streams for trout, so trout fishing is stocked trout fishing in the more urban areas in SE as well as much of the SW part of the state. In fact the SE and SW areas taken together have more fishing license buyers than all the rest of the state combined. In fairness to these anglers, the streams close to home with decent water quality and public access should be stocked if they have no, or a very limited number of wild trout present, IMO.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

Tom you think they just dream up some of this? Most of the things that happen have push from private sources.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

It's always amazing they never have money but find a way.

 

[tomgamber]

If they aren't brook tout, at some point they were stocked fish. Good thing no one had a problem when they stocked all those brownies all over the place.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Unfortunately, they did.
All those brown trout stocked all over the place is in part why brook trout aren't there anymore.
Not in all cases but in some.

You do realize the brown trout in pa according to the EBTJV is one of the main detrimental factors to wild brook trout populations? In fact it ranks as the 3RD highest threat and impacts 27 percent of of our subwatersheds that are left.

 

[tomgamber]

"You do realize..."

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=you%20do%20realize%20...

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Kinda like "prove it"?
:lol:

Sorry to rain on your troll parade here.

 

[tomgamber]

Its the fourth time someone has started a post sentence like that in two days. I figured I'd find something interesting if I typed it in the search. First one.

Are you really gonna explain "prove it"?

 

[FarmerDave]

I know someone who lived on a class A that isn't stocked. And he knows these fish are wild. But vast majority are very small fish.

Awhile back, he expressed to me how much better it would be if they stocked some larger trout in it.

I slapped him upside the head (figuratively) and explained why that was a bad idea.

 

[Swattie87]

FD - Let me guess. Your buddy was a spincaster or a yakker. Or both.

 

[FarmerDave]

Swattie87 wrote:
FD - Let me guess. Your buddy was a spincaster or a yakker. Or both.

Careful.

All tackle and he certainly knows how to fly fish. And I doubt he has ever stepped foot in or on a kayak unless it was while trying to step on a yakker. (joking)

This was several years ago and all he needed a little "education."

None of us were born with a clue. We had to acquire those. Some did, some didn't.

 

[Swattie87]

Well if he’s either of those (or both), he’s good in my book considering I am too.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

I love the guys that that act like they came out of the womb with a fly rod in there hand.

 

[FarmerDave]

Swattie87 wrote:
Well if he’s either of those (or both), he’s good in my book considering I am too.

Yea, I sometimes spin fish, but prefer fly for trout and smallmouth. I have noting against yakkers, either. On the rare occasion a kayak has passed me while I was stream fishing, they have been very courteous. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe it's because I am courteous to them because I usually see them coming in plenty of time.

I was actually talking about my brother. He does prefer spin fishing over fly when we fish together because he consistently kicks my butt that way.

Or is it that I pick fly fishing over spin as an excuse for him kicking my butt. ;-)

Don't think he every kayaked before, but he knows his way around a canoe.

I've been beating around the idea of getting an open or ride on fishing kayak, but it will have to be a big one. ;-)

I may get a canoe instead. Not sure.

 

[FarmerDave]

Hook_Jaw wrote:

I love the guys that that act like they came out of the womb with a fly rod in there hand.

Sorry, that wasn't a fly rod. But being it had only one eye, I suppose it might qualify as tenkara.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Dave, you'd need an ARK.GG