Great Site! Wild vs. Stocked Question?

[jeremy_cameron]

Hi,

Great site. I have only fly fished the Farmington river once. It did not dissapoint. I could not get over the amazing insect life .... hence the equally amazing hatches. I did get plenty of fish, but none like some of the pictures on this site. I hope to make it down there again soon, and this site will surely help with my research ... I specifically enjoyed the article on the home page about stocked vs. wild fish .... and the pics to support the text ... I will use that info for the many areas I fish that have a combination of stocked and wild fish and ... it can be difficult to tell what is what ... with that said, there is one attribute that sometimes helps me distinguish between a wild vs. stocked fish ... although, like all things, the line can blur here as well ... but in my experience wild fish fight signifigantly better than stocked fish. But, with all of the hold over fish you guys get down there --- it may be a tough distinguishing factor to use.. so my question is ... have you found any defining differences during the "fight" between a wild vs. stocked/holdover trout? ... thanks.


ps - we have a beautiful wild rainbow trout fly fishery here in maine, that i love. there are no stocked fish ... so if you catch anything it is always a wild rainbow ... i say "catch" carefully - because though there are many fish ... "catching" can sometimes be difficult ... and that is another distinguishing factor -- that i wonder if you guys experience too??? - wild trout are picky and unpredictable an tempermental and they drive me crazy!!!!

here is a pic of a beautiful wild rainbow that me and my friend caught a few weeks ago ... notice what i now notice (thanks to your article) - the "white lead ins" on the fins ... are the "white lead ins" typical of ALL wild trout, regardless of species or location??


http://www.fliesandfins.com/fisherboyrainbow06.jpg

[The Fisherman]

Jeremy, that's an absolutely fabulous looking Rainbow! We have no wild Rainbow trout population here in CT to speak of. It has happened sporadically of a few isolated streams, but that has been an extremely rare occurance.

I am an avid fisher of WTMAs in CT, specifically Class 1 WTMAs where there is never any stocking, or small unmarked streams, so I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable on the subject of CT small stream wild trout.

In my experience, wild brookies can be somewhat "easy" to catch. If you're stealthy enough, you can sometimes get a fish to hit your fly a dozen times. It's almost as if they're kamikaze Brookies. I find their coloration to be dramatically different from stocked brookies.

Wild Browns are another story. I find them far harder to catch than Brookies. They are very easily spooked, and once they see you it's all over. Their coloration is also dramatically different from stocked Browns: almost a dull, coppery color, with far fewer spots than hatchery Browns.

I agree completely that wild fish put up a better fight than hatchery fish.

IMHO a lot of anglers here think they've caught "wild" fish when it's probably more likely that they've landed a holdover. I don't have the figures in front of me, but from what I understand when the DEP does its annual fish census on the Farmington, Browns are by far the majority of larger holdover fish. In fact, the DEP has even developed what they call a "Farmington Survivor Strain."

I'd like to ask everyone again who wishes to take pics of their catch to land the fish quickly, especially in stressful weather. Handle only with wet hands. Keep the fish in the water as much as possible! Be sure he's revived before releasing.

I say this not in response to your picture, Jeremy, or to be a PITA to the fine members of this forum, but rather because I have seen some absolutley horrific overplaying, sloppy handling, and too long air exposure of fish that were then put back in the water this spring. :cry: I'm sure none of those fish are alive now.

[lar42]

Jeremy,

That is a beautiful fish! 8) I'm taking a trip to Maine this summer and I hope to find some nice fishing spots. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! :wink: :) I'll be in the Standish area but I'm willing to drive! :)

I agree with The Fisherman that is much more fun to fish the WTMA Streams here and go after the holdover trout. They put up a much better fight and are fun to catch. :)

[Todd K]

lar42 - if you want to better contact with Jeremy you can find him over at http://www.fliesandfins.com . He owns that site. A great site with stories from Maine to the Great lakes to the shores or Rhode Island. He is a true Flyaddict!

[lar42]

Flyaddict,

Thanks for the info. I'll look him up. :)

[Farmy Joe]

Over the past few years, the ctfisherman.com trout club has been releasing trout into the Farmington. The fish come from a wild aquaculture and not from hatchery tanks. They are also fed a more natural diet as to induce the "wilder" looking colors than your atypical hatchery born trout. The fish that are released look wild/native, and are tagged.

[lar42]

Farmy Joe,

I guess I could look this up but it's just more dang fun to ask! :wink: What is the difference between an aquaculture and a fish hatchery? Wouldn't it be close to the same thing? Also, is ctfisherman.com a private group and how are they allowed to put fish in the river? Are they regulated by the state? Not that I mind them doing it as it adds more fish to the river but I would think there must be some type of controls on how many fish are stocked during the year? How and where they are raised, etc? :?

[Farmy Joe]

Instead of tanks, the fish are grown in real ponds where they are fed a mix of wild feed and pellets. I'm not exactly sure how they are harvested, and the ctf club only puts a couple dozen of them in a year. But, they are in the 17" or bigger class. They're not doing it this year because the drought last summer really hurt the hatcherie's fish stock. Here's the link:http://www.ctfisherman.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/39/t/000203/p/1.html

[The Patriot]

Private individuals and groups can get a permit from the DEP to stock fish. The FRAA used to purchase and stock a bunch of fish in the TMA, but I don't believe they've done so in the past few years. At least I haven't heard of it.

The CTfisherman.com trout club solicited contributions and got a permit and stocked some large trout in the TMA. It was all legal and approved by the DEP.

Farmy Joe and I observed the DEP electroshocking in the fall of..... 2004? Yeah, 2004.... and I asked some of the guys a few questions about wild fish. The article posted on the home page echoes what I was told.

Another characteristic that can distinguish wild fish from hatchery fish is their scales. From what Bob O. from the DEP told me, hatchery fish's scales are larger, and more coarse. A wild fish's scales are smaller, finer, and smoother, and the fish will feel more slippery than a hatchery fish. Another is body composition. Wild trout are harder, while hatchery fish tend to be softer. Up in NY, when you get a wild fish, they say you got a "hard one".

All of that said, I'll tell you, during that electroshocking I saw lots of big fish, 18 inches and over, that I would have sworn were wild. Nope! Holdovers? Nope! Stocked the previous spring or summer!

Our hatchery does a great job, and once the fish are in the river, they quickly adapt and take on wild characteristics.

One point I must respectfully disagree with is the red spots and halos. Some hatchery fish have those too, not just wild fish, especially after a short time in the river. So it can be very, very difficult to distinguish wild fish from stocked or holdover fish, and holdovers from first year plantings.

[FK]

Very interesting discussion on stocking by private parties.

Many years ago an old timer friend would catch SM bass in Candlewood Lake and bring them back in an airated cooler, to his hometown of Naugatuck. His brother lived on the banks of Hop Brook close to the Naugatuck River, yes he would stock the brook with SM several times a month. Today the Naugatuck has a healthy population of bass. The old timer is long passed and this was very common practice when I was growing up in CT.

Regards,
Fred Krow