Stocked Wild Or Somewhere in Between?

[only adipose]

I have been thinking a lot about yearly stockers vs holdover vs wild fish and it left me wondering. What percent of the fish you are catching are stocked? holdover? wild? if you want to give native a category feel free. Of the fish you caught last year guesstimate me some stats and include your state. (Just Trout)

Maryland
70% wild
5% hold over
25% yearly stocked


This is not to judge anyone- a fish is a fish is a fish in my book. I happen to be close to a river which is mostly wild. We all know many fisheries would not exist without stocking.

I think it would be cool to get an idea of what fly fishermen from all over the country are fishing for. Also an idea of how important wild/stocked fisheries are to the normal fly fisherman.

 

[Ard]

I can't really answer your question but will share some thought on the topic with you here. It took me years to reach the point where I could make an educated guess at the actual origin of a fish I had caught in some Pennsylvania streams. Since I lived in the north central mountains of the state many of these streams were host to the three categories you outline in the post. After some book learning, some hands on experience with stocking programs and many hundreds of hours spent sampling the streams I found my way to predominately wild fisheries. It takes a well trained eye to discern whether you are holding a 4 - 5 year holdover fish or a stream bread fish and yet today I can't say that I could tell for certain.

There is a certain feeling of fulfillment when you are confident you are in the midst of a true wild fishery but for those places that have the population augmented by stockings, I enjoyed them as well........almost. Perhaps you'll end up like me and you will spend your fishing life in pursuit of the perfect place to fish. In the time it takes to get there I advise learning as much as you can about the fish and everything else that surrounds those streams you now call home. Knowledge is a transferable property and as you strive to know more you are building your path to your own special place.

 

[rasputinj]

I live in Southern California, most of the creeks I fish locally have not been stocked in a long time. 90% of the rainbow trout I catch are wild in their habitat, with 10% holdovers. When I fish in the Sierras I catch about 60% wild with 30% holdover and 10% stocked. I stay away from stocked areas when possible, sometimes holdovers come from lakes like Crowley and the fish head upstream. So I am either fishing C&R areas or I am hiking to areas that have not been planted in years. I have caught California coastal steelhead in Malibu Creek 20 years ago. Golden Trout on Cottonwood creek, Kern River Rainbows on little Kern river. Pretty lucky to live close to natural habitats of some different types of trout.

 

[wt bash]

Thats an easy one in Ohio

75% stocked
22% hold over
3% wild (being generous)

I most likely have the numbers wrong, I've been told there is some reproduction on the Mad. There are two stream I will not name that have native brookies that you're not allowed to fish (rightly so) and there are a few web rumors of other tribs that have some wild reproduction but I seriously doubt it.

 

[milt spawn]

Mine varies alot, mostly upon where I go. Lakes have a higher stocked rate, and streams give me more wild fish. milt.

 

[poke em]

My trout last year were probably as follows:

70% native
28% wild
2% stocked

 

[smalliesrule]

Here in SW VA
90% wild
10% stocked

They do a lot of stocking around here, I just don't fish those areas. The stockers I catch tend to be drifters that end up in the wild section. I caught a pretty decent stocked fish at least a mile above the end of the stocked section last fall! quite the swimmer I'd say.
Nothing against the stocked fish, I just don't like sharing bank space with the bait guys.
Stan

 

[Rip Tide]

Here in CT it depends on where you go. There are places to catch wild fish but you have to know where. Most people are satisfied to fish for put and take stocked trout only, but in the better streams and C&R "management areas" there's plenty of hold-overs as well

In the brook across the street from my house
100% natives
A few miles down the road in the main river
100% stocked

 

[dabluz]

Here in my region of the province of Quebec, it's 100% wild brook trout. Same thing for the landlocked salmon.

 

[newby]

This is an old thread, but a cool one. For me the ratio is heavily skewed because I prefer moving streams with wild trout, but I also fish some stocked areas, so my ratio is probably along the lines of

30% Stocked
10% Holdover
60% Wild

 

[williamhj]

In the brook across the street from my house
100% natives
A few miles down the road in the main river
100% stocked

Sounds like you moved to the right house

 

[Guest1]

100% wild here. There is absolutely no stocking here. First of all, you have a river that is half US and half Canada. A million acre lake that is owned by the US (33%), Ontario (About 65%) and Manitoba (about 5%). Other than the 33% US I am rough guessing. You could never get all three to agree on anything, and even if you did, how much would you need to stock in a fisherie the size of this to even slightly be noticed? What potential hazards could come from stocking if you did do it? Introduced disease, damage to the gene pool... You would never be able to stock a place like this.

 

[plecain]

In NH, I can determine whether I catch wild or stocked fish by where I choose to go.

So far, in winter fishing, it's been all wild. Stocking hasn't started for the year and the places I've gone don't get stocked anyway.

For the full year, I'd say I catch about 70% stocked and 30% wild.

 

[theboz]

Hard to narrow it down by percentages because of so many varied waters.Many of the small local streams are 100% native Brookies.Two that I fish regularly are natives and wild Browns.And then one stream is probably 50% stocked Brookies and 50% natives just look for clipped fins if your not sure.The bigger rivers seem to be 99% stocked Rainbows,Browns,Brooks and Goldens with 1% chance of a native or wild Brown.

 

[stenacron]

I've learned not to over-think it as the years go by. Perhaps as you get older you're just happy to get out fishing when you can that the "wild vs stocked" argument becomes as important as the Animal House vs Caddyshack argument.

Back in PA where most of the native brook trout have been replaced by wild (albeit - introduced) brown trout, and then those populations are being stocked over due to public demand for easy limits... it's enough to fry your brain. I was probably 50/50 most of the time leaning towards 75/25 as the season went on and the stockees thinned out.

It's a real mixed bag here in Utah. Lots of wild brown trout to go around, but my favorite fish to catch are the spring rainbows which were stocked in reservoirs (at some point) and make false spawning runs up the rivers. Not sure how to classify them.

A little side trivia here for those that own Caucci/Nastasi's book Hatches II... many of the pictures showing those dark forested, beautiful mountain streams that look like they're miles back in the Catskills? They're actually from the same, super popular trout fishery (close to urban sprawl) on Boyscout property in the Pocono's that is nearly 100% reliant on freshly stocked trout each spring (due to thermal pollution over the summer months). Great place to fly fish... but all stocked.

 

[theboz]

I've learned not to over-think it as the years go by. Perhaps as you get older you're just happy to get out fishing when you can that the "wild vs stocked" argument becomes as important as the Animal House vs Caddyshack argument.

Back in PA where most of the native brook trout have been replaced by wild (albeit - introduced) brown trout, and then those populations are being stocked over due to public demand for easy limits... it's enough to fry your brain. I was probably 50/50 most of the time leaning towards 75/25 as the season went on and the stockees thinned out.

It's a real mixed bag here in Utah. Lots of wild brown trout to go around, but my favorite fish to catch are the spring rainbows which were stocked in reservoirs (at some point) and make false spawning runs up the rivers. Not sure how to classify them.

---------- Post added at 02:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------



A little side trivia here for those that own Caucci/Nastasi's book Hatches II... many of the pictures showing those dark forested, beautiful mountain streams that look like they're miles back in the Catskills? They're actually from the same, super popular trout fishery (close to urban sprawl) on Boyscout property in the Pocono's that is nearly 100% reliant on freshly stocked trout each spring (due to thermal pollution over the summer months). Great place to fly fish... but all stocked.

And Im guessing that would be Resica Falls?

 

[stenacron]

And Im guessing that would be Resica Falls?

Correct sir!

(Big) Bushkill, Resica Falls property.

 

[dean_mt]

100% wild here. There are some places that the state still stocks, but not the main rivers and tribs that I fish.

As for native, that number dwindles rapidly and since rainbows cross breed with the native cutthroat, sometimes it is impossible to tell. But if you count the native whitefish (which technically is a salmonidae) then the number goes back up some.

 

[theboz]

Correct sir!

(Big) Bushkill, Resica Falls property.

Your on the money with great place to fish! Incredible scenery and no crowds!

 

[clarkii]

only wild or native for me.
i would say 90% native- 10% wild
the wild fish being browns/brookies/bass that have self sustaining populations.

clarkii.