rustbeltwilds
Well-known member
Awesome possibly a heron poke..love those old gator post spawn males..how long was it ???
Your best wild trout in 2024
- Thread starter wildtrout2
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headhunting22
Member
Didn't get a measurement, a conservative guess is 17", he was healthy - minus the chunk out of his dome
TheFarBankIsAlwaysBetter
New member
SmittyTheSquatch
New member
Looked back through the year and am really glad I was able to out as much as I did.
Here are my two best from the year:
32.5 in. steelhead my first day ever targeting them
21.5 in. Rainbow out of river here in Pa after I moved here. Caught it on my 7ft 6 three weight after leaving my net in the car. 😂 I'm not sure how "wild" rainbows are considered around here though.
Here are my two best from the year:
32.5 in. steelhead my first day ever targeting them
21.5 in. Rainbow out of river here in Pa after I moved here. Caught it on my 7ft 6 three weight after leaving my net in the car. 😂 I'm not sure how "wild" rainbows are considered around here though.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I consider them the same way I consider "wild" browns. If they're the result of natural reproduction in a stream/river, then they're wild in my book.
Just like brooks and browns, there are wild rainbows in PA and there are stocked rainbows in PA. Wild rainbows are just the rarest of the bunch to find across the state, but they exist.
Typically "wild" steelhead that big are extremely rare in PA.
Plus, I see you're in State College. You can find plenty of wild rainbows in the Spring Creek watershed...
SmittyTheSquatch
New member
I've caught a few 6-7 inch rainbows near my house. Seems like I find them in pods sometimes.
Cougarbaby
Active member
You had the fish dog with you beautiful
wildtrout2
Well-known member
Rainbows that size would certainly suggest they're wild.
HopBack
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Well that one’s not wild so you would be talking about stocked trout. You either love em or hate em. As others said, their are some wild rainbows to be found in PA but they rarely get to 21”.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
Well, you don't know where it was caught, so it could be wild. I've seen what I know for sure was an 18" wild rainbow on an unstocked freestone stream. So, a 21" wild rainbow is very possible, considering he mentioned it was caught in a river. Are there not big wild rainbows in the upper Delaware?
HopBack
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I was just looking at the fins and they looked pretty ragged to me. Not one fin is clean in that fish but rainbows are definitely the hardest to determine wild or stocked based on visual cues.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I do agree, that rainbow doesn't have pristine fins, but that doesn't always tell the story. Like you mentioned, rainbows are often tough to distinguish wild from stocked. I think where a particular fish was caught really helps with that determination.
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The second Bow (not the Steelhead) is an obvious stocker. Wild Rainbows look nothing like that. Super razor sharp white tipped fins, sometimes with pink hues in them. Most of the wild populations in PA have a sparser spot pattern than the fish the PFBC uses too. When they’re little, they’re tough to tell, but a tank like that, with fins that raggedy, it’s an open and shut case IMO. 99.5% confidence interval.
Edit: This fish also has a distended anus. Classic hallmark of PFBC fish. I hope krayfish sees this post.
Edit 2.0: It’s got a short gill plate (also common on PFBC fish), and a gooney on its lower jaw below the gill plate.
Not trying to take anything away from the fish. It’s a tank, and no doubt was difficult to catch. But there are zero indicators that would suggest it’s a wild fish.
Edit: This fish also has a distended anus. Classic hallmark of PFBC fish. I hope krayfish sees this post.
Edit 2.0: It’s got a short gill plate (also common on PFBC fish), and a gooney on its lower jaw below the gill plate.
Not trying to take anything away from the fish. It’s a tank, and no doubt was difficult to catch. But there are zero indicators that would suggest it’s a wild fish.
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wildtrout2
Well-known member
Could well be a stocker. But, here's an enlarged pic of a ragged looking anal fin on a wild bow from the Porky. It's why I don't think the fins are always an indicator of a wild fish. Does have the white tipped fins though.
I also look for parr marks, but on bigger bows they're not as pronounced.
I also look for parr marks, but on bigger bows they're not as pronounced.
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rustbeltwilds
Well-known member
That fin looks fine to me still sharp. Not like it was cut with scissors they all have edges like this when we magnify them...stockers are blunt n rubbery lookin and rays on fins arent straight.
SmittyTheSquatch
New member
Thanks for the discussion fellas. Learned a lot from it. It was on the Clarion. I figured it was probably stocked at some point (especially where I found it), but I couldn't tell any clear indicators when I was looking at it to tell one way or the other. Swattie, I think you have pointed out some real good clues that point to it being a stocker. I think I learned a thing or two as well. I didn't see a clipped fin, but I know that's not always prevalent in all stockers. I didn't hang on to it long after I got the hook out because we were both exhausted. Haha.
I'm not sure how beat up the fins are is always an indicator tho. I've caught some older wild fish over the years that have been through some things.
I'd be curious to know which major rivers do have known populations of rainbows that successfully reproduce regularly.
I'm not sure how beat up the fins are is always an indicator tho. I've caught some older wild fish over the years that have been through some things.
I'd be curious to know which major rivers do have known populations of rainbows that successfully reproduce regularly.
