Stocked fish

[Jeff S]

I've just been on the Whitby Angling site and wanted to reply to a question but was promptly banned while trying to register. (for using free email)

 

The post was about wild brown trout. What I was wanting to post was a question about how do you tell the difference between a wild fish and stocked fish? Is it not common practice here to trim the adipose fin prior to releasing stocked fish? In the USA it would apply to any trout/salmon (depending where you are). Just curious.

[Anderoo]

I've just been on the Whitby Angling site and wanted to reply to a question but was promptly banned while trying to register. (for using free email)

 

The post was about wild brown trout. What I was wanting to post was a question about how do you tell the difference between a wild fish and stocked fish? Is it not common practice here to trim the adipose fin prior to releasing stocked fish? In the USA it would apply to any trout/salmon (depending where you are). Just curious.

 

Hi Jeff. As far as I'm aware trimming the adipose fin is not usual when stocking trout. I fish a little river where there are both wild and stocked brownies (a fly-fishing club downstream of the bit I fish stocks them) and they're very easy to tell apart. The stockies are usually about the same size (a pound or so) and are quite pale, almost silvery sometimes, with small spots, whereas the wildies are any size from 4oz to 3lb (the big ones are terrifying on light tackle!) and are really dark brown turning to a rich buttery yellow underneath, with huge red spots. The wildies are more common, thankfully. Great fun in the closed season on light fly gear!

[Jeff S]

Hi Jeff. As far as I'm aware trimming the adipose fin is not usual when stocking trout. I fish a little river where there are both wild and stocked brownies (a fly-fishing club downstream of the bit I fish stocks them) and they're very easy to tell apart. The stockies are usually about the same size (a pound or so) and are quite pale, almost silvery sometimes, with small spots, whereas the wildies are any size from 4oz to 3lb (the big ones are terrifying on light tackle!) and are really dark brown turning to a rich buttery yellow underneath, with huge red spots. The wildies are more common, thankfully. Great fun in the closed season on light fly gear!

 

Thanks Anderoo. It is fairly common in the USA to trim the adipose. I did some reading after I posted and found that it isn't every stocked fish but a percentage. I also seem to remember reading somewhere that stocked fish were also sterilized. It seems beside the point and someone more knowledgable than I would be able to track the information, ie mortality and how they fair once released. It would be interesting (at least to me) It doesn't sound like the stocked fish you describe fair very well once released.

 

I know what you mean about catching them on light tackle. I fish a small private river with a nice head of grayling and wild brownies to 3 pounds on a 7' 3 wt! Absolutely brilliant!

[Anderoo]

Thanks Anderoo. It is fairly common in the USA to trim the adipose. I did some reading after I posted and found that it isn't every stocked fish but a percentage. I also seem to remember reading somewhere that stocked fish were also sterilized. It seems beside the point and someone more knowledgable than I would be able to track the information, ie mortality and how they fair once released. It would be interesting (at least to me) It doesn't sound like the stocked fish you describe fair very well once released.

 

I know what you mean about catching them on light tackle. I fish a small private river with a nice head of grayling and wild brownies to 3 pounds on a 7' 3 wt! Absolutely brilliant!

 

Superb! I've got a new 6' 6" #2 fly rod (half price, end of line Orvis, still with its lifetime guarantee - it's beautiful!) which I've barely used yet, because of all the flooding problems last year, and I'm dying to get out there in the spring and do battle with the spotties.

 

Most rainbows stocked into stillwaters are 'triploid females', meaning they're sterile and so do not breed but more importantly (for the lake owner) don't waste energy on developing eggs, and so stay in condition all year round. I don't know if it's common practice to stock triploid brownies into rivers - probably.

 

The stockies in my stream do seem to do well actually. The fish density (of all species) is pretty low, so they have plenty of space, and it's rich in natural food, and angler pressure is virtually non-existant. Just the odd otter to dodge! Most of them probably stay in the section where they were stocked and get caught by the fly fishermen there, so the majority in my bit are wild.

[Jeff S]

I can't imagine better sport than going after grayling and wild trout on light tackle. I haven't heard of any stocked fish being put into my local river in the past few years. They usually send out a letter once a year detailing events. If there is a flood within a few weeks of the stock going in, I think they get washed out.

 

So now the rivers are all flooded out here and I won't be able to get out for another week!!

[lutra]

I've just been on the Whitby Angling site and wanted to reply to a question but was promptly banned while trying to register. (for using free email)

 

The post was about wild brown trout. What I was wanting to post was a question about how do you tell the difference between a wild fish and stocked fish? Is it not common practice here to trim the adipose fin prior to releasing stocked fish? In the USA it would apply to any trout/salmon (depending where you are). Just curious.

 

The reared salmon smelts on my local river the Ribble are all fin clipped but not the trout, although one club had put some dye marks ( tattoo things) on its trout to try and track them and was asking other clubs to keep an eye open for them.

[Jeff S]

So the EA doesn't mandate how or why stocked fish should be tracked? It is up to individual clubs? Strange that they show so much more interest in the progression of signal crayfish... Section 30 permits- oh my head hurts! No offense Lutra