Native Browns in Northern Indiana Creeks?

[smallieman]

Native Browns Creeks?

Due to to many people wanting my spot I had to be a little less specific on the area but still enjoy

 

[williamhj]

At some point in time they were stockers. I don't believe there are any native brown trout in North America. They were all imported from Europe. They could be wild though, descendants of stocked trout that have been able to reproduce in the wild.

 

[jasonm2089]

Cool. Im from Northern Indiana would you happen to be near South Bend, or Elkhart area?

 

[smallieman]

nope no where near there way west

 

[kwb]

I would check with IDNR, my guess is the creeks you were on are stocked or were stocked in the past few years...

Michigan has a section on their website with details on where they stock fish, Indiana may have the same deal...

 

[Ard]

Whether they were stocked as fingerling's or whether they were stream born they look healthy. One thing I notice is the teeth, a stock trout of the size you have there seldom exhibits good color and their teeth are more like sandpaper than the fish you show. Hatchery trout develop so fast in body size / weight that things such as teeth are behind the growth curve.

As for the probability of their being born there; the brown trout has proven to be adaptable to a wide range of water temperature and often can be found lower in a watershed than the brook trout; this would be considering that brook trout are present in the area at all. In Pennsylvania many of the streams I frequented were occupied almost exclusively by wild brown trout in the lower to mid elevations of the watershed and as you move further up the system the brook trout were the predominate species.

Bottom line; possibly born there
What to do; Keep quiet about them and don't post to any more forums about their presence.

 

[diamond rush]

To clarify, native means the species is indigenous to that area. Wild is the word you're looking for.

 

[smallieman]

Re: Native BrownsCreeks?

I had to re move this photo becuase I changed its locatation

 

[chicagojohn]

What town in northern Indiana? There are quite a few streams that the DNR stocks on an annual basis. I have a list of some of these streams. If you had a specific name of the stream or area, I might be able to help more. These trout may not be native, but could possibly be sustainable in their populations. Many of the streams in northern Indiana do not support sustainable populations due to water clarity, hot summer temperatures, lack of gradient changes that enable increased flow rates, and lack of natural spring sources.

 

[williamhj]

Smallieman, if you're going to share where you caught these with Chicagojohn, I'd encourage you to do it via PM. I used to live in Michigan and am from the Chicago area and know that streams holding brown trout are few and far between. It's one thing to share it with another fisherman, but if their location is posted on the forum you might find the river busy and possibly the trout wiped out. (Not that I wouldn't love to know a spot to fish in that area next time I'm home )

 

[smallieman]

Re: Native Browns in Creeks?

I dont share my locations with anyone.. lol... Isnt code?
lol

 

[chicagojohn]

Smallieman, if you're going to share where you caught these with Chicagojohn, I'd encourage you to do it via PM. I used to live in Michigan and am from the Chicago area and know that streams holding brown trout are few and far between. It's one thing to share it with another fisherman, but if their location is posted on the forum you might find the river busy and possibly the trout wiped out. (Not that I wouldn't love to know a spot to fish in that area next time I'm home )

All of the sites where you can catch brown trout in northern Indiana are posted on the Indiana DNR website along with all of the stocking sites, which are easily accessible to anyone who wants to search out the information.

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-2011_Trout_Fishing_Locations.pdf

Using this information is not any different than buying the book "Improved Trout Waters of Wisconsin" or reading the generous information that Len Harris has posted on this site or his blog regarding specific Driftless Region locations, and going out and finding the fish.

Hopefully this information doesn't cause Indiana or Wisconsin to get fished out!

If anyone else wants specific Indiana fishing information, I would recommend joining the Northwest Indiana Steelheader’s organization. Meetings are the 1st Thursday of each month held at the Isaac Walton in Portage at 7PM. People there do not mind sharing information regarding fishing locations, techniques, and opportunities in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. They also do quite a few stream rehabilitation projects that help improve Indiana streams. Learning how to renovate these areas will help anglers learn how to find trout in the streams they fish. You will get a map of all the locations to catch steelhead and salmon in Indiana with your membership.

http://www.nwisteelheaders.org/