Wild or stocked

wildtrout2 said:
Agree. Tuesday, I got this nice wild brown on an unstocked natural repo stream and it had no color to it at all.
It did have the eye spot, which I look for on wild browns.
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The eye spot is about as unreliable as any iother single feature IMO. I'd guess that 1/3 to 1/2 or more of wild fish don't have it or only have a slight blue irredescence behind their eyes. This is a conclusion I've reached only after catching hundreds of fish in MT rivers which are unstocked with 100% certainty, not just PA water which so many are quick to suggest migrating fish and clandestine stocking.

Edit: I should clarify that I think the eye spot is strong evidence of a wild fish, while absence is not proof of a stocked fish. Also, photos lie in this regard as a quick look through some photos shows that the spot's visibility can vary greatly depending on lighting and angle. I have multiple pictures of the same fish in which one photo shows the spot or blue coloration much more vividly than others. I guess that also raises the question of how reliably a single photo can be used to judge a fish.
 
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JeffP said:
You and a number of others (Wild Trouter, Hopback, Mike, PCray, and Swattie) I trust on here indicated wild on most of the fish or liked statements of wild.
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I'm not sure what happened but I bumped the Middle Creek thread from a couple years ago. It had 6 pictures that I asked if they were wild or not. Almost everyone posted that they they were wild with the exception of a clearly stocked one. The one I posted in 7 was in it. I don't think anyone question whether it was wild, now everyone says 100% stocked. I do have my doubts about #7 as well but just pointing that virtually everyone above said wild.
 
PennKev said:
The eye spot is about as unreliable as any iother single feature IMO. I'd guess that 1/3 to 1/2 or more of wild fish don't have it or only have a slight blue irredescence behind their eyes. This is a conclusion I've reached only after catching hundreds of fish in MT rivers which are unstocked with 100% certainty, not just PA water which so many are quick to suggest migrating fish and clandestine stocking.
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Looking through many pics that I've accumulated over the years, not all, but the vast majority of wild browns I've caught have had the eye spot. Maybe a genetics related thing on certain streams?
 
PennKev said:
The eye spot is about as unreliable as any iother single feature IMO. I'd guess that 1/3 to 1/2 or more of wild fish don't have it or only have a slight blue irredescence behind their eyes. This is a conclusion I've reached only after catching hundreds of fish in MT rivers which are unstocked with 100% certainty, not just PA water which so many are quick to suggest migrating fish and clandestine stocking.

Edit: I should clarify that I think the eye spot is strong evidence of a wild fish, while absence is not proof of a stocked fish. Also, photos lie in this regard as a quick look through some photos shows that the spot's visibility can vary greatly depending on lighting and angle. I have multiple pictures of the same fish in which one photo shows the spot or blue coloration much more vividly than others. I guess that also raises the question of how reliably a single photo can be used to judge a fish.
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I think your photo comment is spot on in a lot of instances not just the blue spot.
 
wildtrout2 said:
Looking through many pics that I've accumulated over the years, not all, but the vast majority of wild browns I've caught have had the eye spot. Maybe a genetics related thing on certain streams?
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Maybe, but could also be environmental or age related. I dunno. All I know is that I've caught fish not just out of the same stream, but also on the same day, and in the same spot and their coloration and characteristics can vary greatly. One fish may have a dark eye spot, yellow sides, and many spots, the next might be more orange/brown with few large spots and only a slight blue irredescence behind the eye. This variance seems to increase when comparing larger/older fish. I can't say I see as much diversity in fingerlings on up to about 10-12" fish.
 
PennKev said:
Maybe, but could also be environmental or age related. I dunno. All I know is that I've caught fish not just out of the same stream, but also on the same day, and in the same spot and their coloration and characteristics can vary greatly. One fish may have a dark eye spot, yellow sides, and many spots, the next might be more orange/brown with few large spots and only a slight blue irredescence behind the eye. This variance seems to increase when comparing larger/older fish. I can't say I see as much diversity in fingerlings on up to about 10-12" fish.
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Totally agree with this. I've caught other browns on that same stream and they were very colorful, including bright red on the adipose fin.
 
Atleast in my experiences in my area wild brownie streams.. the smaller ones say like 6in thru 13 in seem more colorful then the smaller or larger ones . Red spots and especially the adipose and caudal fins have a great red tint and border on those fins. Not all but a good number of them and the adults seem to lose the adipose coloration red. Heres a couple pics from a couple days ago to see the coloration and variation of spots. .... Same creek
 
Same area on stream diff colorations but both wild
 

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Whaddayathink about this guy, especially Mike...??

Beats Me

After the consensus I'll tell you where I caught it. ;)
 
Just to confuse the guessing game...

What would you think if I told you I ONCE caught a rainbow and a brookie (presumed NOT wild) on this same stream, actually in the same hole/pool on the same day... ;)

🎼 Theme from "Jeopardy" playing in background... 🎶
 
Bamboozle said:
Just to confuse the guessing game...

What would you think if I told you I ONCE caught a rainbow and a brookie (presumed NOT wild) on this same stream, actually in the same hole/pool on the same day... ;)

🎼 Theme from "Jeopardy" playing in background... 🎶
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I'd think it's a stream with natural reproduction that gets stocked. I'll be waiting for my "correct, select".
 
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My opinion is that every brown trout with an eye spot is wild but not every trout with lack of an eye spot is stocked. Larger brown trout tend to lose their eye spots when they surpass that 18 inch mark
 
Bamboozle said:
Just to confuse the guessing game...

What would you think if I told you I ONCE caught a rainbow and a brookie (presumed NOT wild) on this same stream, actually in the same hole/pool on the same day... ;)

🎼 Theme from "Jeopardy" playing in background... 🎶
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That looks like a trout from the Letort. If correct, the rainbow and brook could've come from Letort Park after it was stocked for the annual derby 🤷
 
Wild_Trouter said:
That looks like a trout from the Letort. If correct, the rainbow and brook could've come from Letort Park after it was stocked for the annual derby 🤷
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We have a grand prize winner!!!

It IS a Letort brown (that I assume is wild) caught just below the mouth of what we used to call the "Left Branch" (now known as "UNT to Letort Spring Run").

The rainbow & brook trout I mentioned and a different wild brown were all caught on a different day; all from the same hole, much further downstream about halfway between Vince's Meadow & Otto's. However that hole is still a ways upstream of Letort Park where they stock.

Despite often fishing downstream to the lower RR trestle which isn't too far above Letort Park and below the park, that rainbow & brookie remain the ONLY stocked fish I ever caught in the Letort in many, many years of fishing there which always made me wonder if someone dumped them further upstream from the park.

I also made mistake when I said it was Class A from the headwaters to the mouth, Section 1 is not Class A.
 
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Caught these two yesterday without moving. The first has a very unique spot pattern which is found in this specific river. Reminds me of Scottish looking browns. The second looks more German. Put on a blistering run with a half dozen jumps. Look at the rudder on that guy. He's got some horsepower


P51112942
P51112862
 
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