Stocked Trout

[roadwarrior]

On 9/9/2022 at 10:52 AM, TnRiver46 said:

They stock them anywhere they can around here. I avoid all those places if possible 

Fished my local stocked pond once, about 20 years ago. Not my deal.

However, I did catch one of the breeders and gave it to a group of little kids.

I told them to draw straws and the winner should tell his mom he caught it.

[Bluebasser86]

I catch most of my fall stockers on 110 jerkbaits. They're a nuisance more than anything but make great cutbait.

[fishwizzard]

I Fish for stock trout but I’m not super enthusiastic about it. I generally use it as a chance to give my white perch tackle some exercise in the off-season.  I have a noodly little 5 foot ultralight casting rod that makes the 12 inch rainbows a lot more interesting then the heavy saltwater tackle most of the guys around here end up using for them. 

[new2BC4bass]

On 9/9/2022 at 6:45 PM, Spankey said:

Pennsylvania has a extensive trout stocking program throughout the year. Helping the state stock fish is pretty fun also. Fall stockings are minimal compared to spring but in my section of the state the creeks they do stock are great pieces of water. Fall lake stockings are ice fishing holes for guys over the winter. I prefer stream fishing. I’ll fish them past Christmas up into the new year. Iced streams is what stops me. I’m fortunate to have stocked, wild and native trout fairly close to me. I put a lot of time on trout waters every year. 

My dad never fished for trout which means I never did either growing up.  Recently picked up a couple 3 & 4 weight fly rods for panfish, but discovered I have 3 'blue lines' closer to me than the nearest lake.  Would like to give them (the streams) a shot, but my balance and leg strength is not very good ATM.  Always felt the money spent on put-and-take trout would be better used on maintaining good populations of native fish such as smallmouth, largemouth, pike, muskellunge, walleye, etc.  Maybe extend their range where viable.

 

Normal fishing (non-trout) sucks big time in my area.  Well, except for the Delaware River...if you are able to fish it.  Trout fishing might suck as well (except for when trout are unloaded), but as I said...I haven't fished for them yet.

[Spankey]

I would think Penna. has one of the better managed trout programs in the country. There is quite a bit of wild and native trout populations. But I could be wrong, not like I fished all over the country for them. Living basically suburban I don’t have to go to far for them. They are special regs trout. Catch and release fish. Great program. Some of our stocked streams have special regs sections. No fishing in there with conventional tackle or baits. 
 

I’ve been chasing trout around since I was a young guy. No intentions of ever stopping. Wish I would have taken the fly rod serious when is was around 10 years old. I’m ok with it but there is a difference between being good/ok and having it in your blood.  
 

Someone post that their state would stock small ponds or wet holes with trout. We’ll that’s for kids or kids derby fishing. That’s a good little project for them. Purely put and take. I’d rather see them put them in a stream with a positive flow to some degree. 
 

But fishing stocked streams is not just fishing elbow to elbow in a circle around a deeper hole in a creek or fishing the slack water under a bridge with bridge rats. Most of those guys that’s all they know of trout fishing. 

[redmeansdistortion]

One place near me stocks tank scrubbers in early April specifically for fly fishermen to target, they'll swoop in there and fish it out within a few days.  They'll be shoulder to shoulder chasing those things, even to the point fist fights breaking out.  No thanks.  I completely understand the appeal of stocked trout.  In other areas where no cold water streams exist, it's a nice option to have for the weeks or month(s) water temps are decent for them.  

 

I too am a huge trout fisherman, and for myself as well as many others, the adventure of hiking to the destination is just as much fun as the fishing itself.  There are times I'll be living out of a backpack for 2 or 3 days just to get to truly spectacular trout water.  While that isn't necessary, it's nice having the stream to yourself, plus foraging along the way for mushrooms, ramps, and wild asparagus.  

 

This pic was from my 3 day backpack trip through the Jordan River Valley in northern Michigan at this time last year.  This is the clearest river I've ever fished.  The water is so clear that it's deceptively deep.  Brook trout are very abundant under those logs you see, big steelhead and coho were also around.  I got a 4lb coho and we had a nice campfire meal one of those nights.

 

  

 

[TnRiver46]

On 9/13/2022 at 12:18 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

but make great cutbait.

The greatest use I’ve ever heard for a stocked trout 

[gim]

A few streams round here are stocked with brownies or rainbows. I have a friend who fly fishes the Kinnikinic River in Western Wisconsin for them. I believe the Root River in southern Minnesota has trout also. Lake Superior has lake trout.

 

I don’t trout fish and I’ve never caught one on accident either. A trout stamp is required to fish for them where they are present. They require cooler, more oxygenated water to survive.

[MN Fisher]

42 minutes ago, gimruis said:

A trout stamp is required to fish for them where they are present.

Not just fish FOR them

"This stamp is now necessary for anglers 18-64 years old who wish to fish in designated trout water"

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_streams/stamp.html

 

For example: even if you were after bass, if you fish the Vermillion River anywhere between Lakeville and just west of Vermillion - you need a trout stamp.

[gim]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

For example: even if you were after bass, if you fish the Vermillion River anywhere between Lakeville and just west of Vermillion - you need a trout stamp

Is Christmas Lake just south of you still stocked with rainbow trout? It was years ago.

[MN Fisher]

8 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Is Christmas Lake just south of you still stocked with rainbow trout? It was years ago.

I don't know - it and Little Long here in town were both stocked, and designated trout waters years ago, but they've both been dropped from the list.

 

Closest designated water to me now is Courthouse Pond in Chaska.

[redmeansdistortion]

Michigan DNR stopped doing the trout stamp some years back.  It used to be $13 for a regular license then an additional $13 for the trout stamp.  Now the DNR charges a flat fee of $26 for all species.  From what I've been told, the sales of trout stamps progressively declined over the years so the DNR did away with it.  Previously, trout stamps helped provide funds for the state to maintain cold water fisheries.

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Michigan DNR stopped doing the trout stamp some years back.  It used to be $13 for a regular license then an additional $13 for the trout stamp.  Now the DNR charges a flat fee of $26 for all species.  From what I've been told, the sales of trout stamps progressively declined over the years so the DNR did away with it.  Previously, trout stamps helped provide funds for the state to maintain cold water fisheries.

I hope that happens here some day! I didn’t buy the stamp this year for the first time in my life. I can still fish for wild trout in the smokies without it. And stockers just make me mad anyway