Wild browns in the farmington?

[jackg]

I read, somewhere, that there is a 5%? 10% population of stream bred browns in the Farmington TMA/Trophy Areas? Can anyone tell me where to find information on this?
thanks

[The Patriot]

Try contacting or doing a search on State of CT DEP fisheries division, or check out www.fraa.org.

Incidentally, I was fishing the upper reaches of the upper TMA Tuesday evening, and landed 4 fish, 2 of which I am quite certain were wild browns. They met all the requisite criteria, coloration, red spots, halos, all their fingers, hard body composition, very slick with small, fine scales, large head to body ratios...... and one was only about 6 inches long, and I am CERTAIN it was no salmon parr. One of the other four I landed was a salmon parr, and they looked very different.

Good luck on your search....

[The Fisherman]

I think a lot of exciteable anglers think they've caught a wild Brown when in fact they've caught a holdover fish. (I'm not saying this in response to 3weight's post; 3weight knows from which he speaks).

Many anglers also refer to wild Browns as "natives," which of course can't happen since the Brown trout is an introduced species here.

jackg, I'm pretty sure I've read the same thing. So somewhere, sometime, we've probably all caught a wild Brown. I found a spot on the Farmington last summer that was infested with wild Brookies. THAT was a fun little spot.

Of course, the only way to be 99% sure of a trout's lineage is to fish in a Class 1 WTMA. :wink:

[The Patriot]

I agree with The Fisherman. I too am often quite skeptical about natives vs holdovers/stocks, and even holdovers vs first year stocks. I observed the DEP electoshocking the TMA in the fall of '04 and saw some fish I would have sworn were natives, if not then definitely holdovers, but was shocked to learn they were first year stockers!

I think the tendency is to brand any fish 14 or 16 inches or larger with good colors and full fins "native" or "holdover" when in fact the size or condition is not necessarily a good indication of the fishes origin or longevity. I saw fish of 16, 18, or even 20 inches, which the DEP assured me had been stocked just a few months earlier.

The two I got Tuesday night were both small; like I said, one was barely 6 inches, and I had to look very closely before I decided it was not a salmon parr. The second one was 12 inches or less, and clearly had it's adipose intact, was very firm, and blah, blah, blah, all the things I said above..... again, it was with serious skepticism that I studied that fish, and was amazed but had to admit that the fish was in all likelihood streambred.

According to the DEP, as cited on the home page in an excellant article written by Kierran B., some characteristics to look for are intact and undamaged fins; red spots with halos (although this in and of itself is not proof positive in my view because I have caught fish that were obviously stocked that had both red spots and halos); a firm vs soft body composition; small, fine, very smooth scales, vs larger, coarser scales and a less slippery feel; and a large head to body ratio. (The reason for the head size is that hatchery fish grow faster than natives, with a constant and easy supply of food and less natural competition or threats from predators, so the heads on hatchery fish tend to be smaller in relation to the body, whereas native fish tend to have larger heads in relation to their bodies.)

But just because a fish is over 14 inches, with a beautiful caramel yellow color, big spots, and full fins, does not mean it is a holdover or native. And you should check above both eyes for elastimers. They are short, thin strips of plastic implanted above the fish's eye for identification and tracking purposes by the DEP. They are coded by which side and which color, and correspond to a particular year's stock.

[The Fisherman]

3weight,

Wait till I take you to a Class 1 WTMA...then you'll see wild Browns in all their native splendor...oops! Did I say native? :wink:

I think wild Brookies are much easier to distinguish from hatchery raised ones...staring with their size.

[jackg]

Thanks to all of you for your info, and insights.
jack