Fingerling stocking on Little Sandy? ( Venango County)

Cornholio

Cornholio

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Me and a few others fished little sandy today and noticed a ton of small 5-6" browns near the pump house. We caught about ten and they all had banged up fins, so they are clearly stocked. Anyone know what's up with this? All I can think of is that they are excess hatchery fish, but why would they dump them in Little Sandy?
 
Interesting. I noticed the stream wasn't on the stocking list for this fall(I didn't check the fingerling list though), but I know in one of the PFBC reports on their site said the stream was stocked(assuming adult fish) the same day as Oil. I haven't fished it this fall yet.

There are wild fish in there though, I've gotten a wild brown and 2 brookies there in the past, and I'm sure the people who know the stream better catch more. If they just quit stocking all together and fix up the stream a little I'm sure that will help the wild fish.

Fwiw I think they also fingerling stocked W. Br. Caldwell.
 
Here's the list of 2012 fingerling stockings.

http://fishandboat.com/stock_fingerling.htm

Little Sandy Cr and Caldwell Cr are on there.
 
There are lots of wild trout in Little Sandy Brooks, Browns and even some Bows. i wish they would stop stocking it and do some stream improvements. I guess fingerlings are better than adult stockies. Atleast they can mature in the stream and become semi-wild.
 
Those two streams are two of the four or five C & R FFO areas in which fing stockings have replaced adult stockings through 2015 as an experiment in the success or failure of such stockings. All except Donegal are being stocked with browns. All fish are fin clipped for easy ID.
 
Mike wrote:
Those two streams are two of the four or five C & R FFO areas in which fing stockings have replaced adult stockings through 2015 as an experiment in the success or failure of such stockings. All except Donegal are being stocked with browns. All fish are fin clipped for easy ID.

According to the PFBC website the following C&R FFO areas will get fingerling stockings (if I read it right):

Little Sandy Creek, Caldwell Cr, Donegal Cr, White Deer Cr, Green Spring Cr.

Does this mean that fingerling stocking will replace adult stockings on all these? Or will some of these streams continue to be stocked with adult trout, as well as with fingerlings?

 
Fwiw, I noticed some fresh adult stockies in Little Sandy too.
 
the local TU chapter may throw some fish in there also, but like others have said, why? that stream has some great wild trout fishing, need to quit the stocking and let people learn how to catch real fish. plenty of other marginal creeks around that people can fish for stockies.
saying that, I do know there are some browns in there that would happily eat those fingerlings!
 
bikerfish wrote:
the local TU chapter may throw some fish in there also

Or, they may not.
 
I think fingerling stocking sounds like a great idea on Donegal and Green Spring. I don't know the other streams mentioned very well.
 
Fingerling stockings have always seemed to me to be something that should be expanded, even if on an experimental basis. Truthfully, fingerling programs have had very mixed success in PA and aren't anything new. In some streams around here, like the lower Letort, they did very well. In other local creeks, like Big Spring and Yellow Breeches.....they failed. Nevertheless, they're worth trying.

I checked on the fingerlings in Green Spring last week. They're still there after several weeks, although the herons have been on 'em. I'll check from time to time over the winter - will be interesting to see if a decent number will hold over.
 
So only 2 places get any natives, what's up with that?
There re new places added for fall fingerling stockings, that may not have been announced yet.
 
It's nothing new for this watershed. They've planted fingerlings a number of times since I can remember. I really can't see this stream supporting a fishable population of wild trout unless catch and release is strictly enforced. Poaching has always been an issue. Plus a lot of the water--especially in the project-- is shallow and featureless. Significant, lasting streamwork would need to be done.
 
90% of the wild trout i have ever caught have been above the pump house. The fly zone itself is incredibly over-rated. It's productive, but nothing spectacular. I will say that some of the prettiest wild trout i have caught have come from little sandy.
 
As far as i'm concerned the fingerling stocking is a great idea. If they would combine that with stream improvements Little Sandy would have some serious potential, but as mentioned above there are too many long shallow flats that lack flow and cover, so until that is taken care of any type of stocking will not work to its full potential.
 
Cornholio, did they just dump the fish in a few holes by the pumphouse and maybe farther down off of 62 also or did they try to spread them around a bit?

I'd imagine they'd spread themselsves out, especially since they're smaller and probably more of them, but if they're like the adult stocked fish there they might just stick to the couple holes they're stocked in. But then again those holes are of the few decent holes in the whole regs section. Habitat improvement would really help!
 
Fingerling trout stockings are occasionally successful in Pa streams, but usually they are not (low survival rates to adult size).
 
All five stream sections (C&RFFO) will receive only high stocking rate, fall (large "fingerlings) fingerling stockings through 2015. No adult trout will be stocked by the PFBC or its cooperative nurseries (sportsmens club nurseries).
 
Either were goinng to be fishing for sardines or maybe some of the fingerlings will grow into fish that closely resemble wild fish. I remember fishing the Tully when it was mainly stocked with fingerlings in the dhalo.... it used to be a much better fishery imo.
 
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