? Brook trout release

[Deuterium]

I was fishing some pocket water for brook trout yesterday, the type of water where there are physical barriers that prevent the trout moving from one area of the stream to another and where there are significant differences in the habitat in the different stretches. Do you always release brookies back into the pool from which they came?

 

[csoult]

I really do try to, but they are going to move up and down the stream during spawn anyway. So if you don't get it right back where it was I don't think it's that big of a deal. Oh and they will move you would be surprised.

 

[pcray1231]

I do if convenient. I admit, this is something I maybe should pay attention to more.

But generally, if there's low flows or something, I make sure to release them into a pool, not shallow riffles and such. Most of the time, that means the same pool they came out of, as I usually go to the fish to land it rather than dragging it over rocks to my location. But occasionally its in a different pool than the one they came from, most likely the pool below.

In high flows, I don't worry about it much.

I always took the approach that releasing it quickly was more important than where it was released. So I'd release it in reasonable flows quickly rather than carry it back to where it came.

 

[MKern]

They can swim you know?

 

[afishinado]

MKern wrote:
They can swim you know?

I thought the same thing, but didn't post it.

 

[Deuterium]

In the type of area I am talking about, and was fishing yesterday, it is a high gradient stream where the connection between sections is frequently a multiple foot waterfall. Unless they can swim in air...

 

[csoult]

Deuterium wrote:
In the type of area I am talking about, and was fishing yesterday, it is a high gradient stream where the connection between sections is frequently a multiple foot waterfall. Unless they can swim in air...

Do you mean like this?

 

[csoult]

Check this out.

 

[sandfly]

Wouldn't a faster section of a stream be better since it has more oxygen and will be cooler than a pool, therefore it would be better to release in a faster section where they can receive more O2 than in a pool, doesn't have to be rushing just running more than a pool would be. Pools are used for hiding more than anything else..

 

[csoult]

One more thing, this scientific study of brook trout jumping. Study
So basically what the study is saying is, the deeper the pool the higher the fish can jump, which make sense seeing how they can get a "running" start.

 

[Deuterium]

csoult wrote:
One more thing, this scientific study of brook trout jumping. Study
So basically what the study is saying is, the deeper the pool the higher the fish can jump, which make sense seeing how they can get a "running" start.

Thanks for the link.

 

[csoult]

No problem. That study kinda ties into another thread that was going about cutthroats out west. Interesting stuff.

 

[quillfly]

generally i belive its safer to release into any pool then a ripple even though a ripple will have more dissolved oxygen however the temperature is dependent on many factors one (and normally a saving grace in summer) is the depth of a pool . an example is a place where the water above the pool is normally to warm for trout but the water five or so feet down in the pool is cool enought for the fish to survive.also a lot of streams in pa where large pools develop are created by addational water coming into that area.

 

[csoult]

Deuterium wrote:
Thanks for the link.

Going off topic but....Something else of note that I would not have guessed but shows up in this study is how slow brookies are in comparison to rainbows and cutthroats.

 

[thetonyage]

i always figured releasing a fish into slower water was better for the fish, they can "catch their breath" so to say before choosing to fight the current.

 

[evw659]

i caught a brookie at my local stream, let it go and it watched swim down through the riffle/cascade that sits below the pool, and never would have thought that it could make it back up to his/her pool. i caught the same fish in the pool above the cascade 3 days later.

 

[Chaz]

No I usually release the trout I catch at my feet, the reason being that I don't want the fish I catch disrupting the place in front of me. But when I release them I do see some move right up into the pool or run I've been fishing. So I don't think it's that important to release them back into the water you catch them in.
I'd bet the speed is related to size, but without research to back that up I'd not sware to it.

 

[Chooch]

If you fight the fish properly, which is getting it in as fast as possible it should not really matter where you release it as it will be fine. I, like Chaz said, always release it at my feet. If the water is moving pretty good, I always release it downstream of my foot which created a little bak eddy so if the trout wants a few moments to get its bearings it has it.
As far as depth goes and water temperature difference argument I think it is a little exaggerated. The temp at the bottom of a pool that is five feet deep is not going to be appreciably cooler than the top water. If you are concerned that much about temps that you want the fish to be able to go to the bottom of a deep pool you should probably not be fishing that stream at that time.

 

[JackM]

Chooch mentioned creating a water barrier with your legs and I want to re-emphasize that. In faster water, simply turn downstream with your legs together and set the fish in the back eddy. If really tired, it will sit a short time, then take off. If not real tired, it will dart right back to where it came from. I believe trout that have "settled" in the stream, excepting seasonal migrations, probably have a shared territory with other fish of at least a few hundred yards of water. If he was able to hold a good lie and you took him 3-4 pools downstream, I'd bet dollars to doughballs that he'll be back in that lie within days if not hours.

 

[Deuterium]

Thanks for all of your thoughts. Certainly some valuable information here on release. After looking through the article that csoult posted, and thinking about the stream I fished, there are certainly areas where I wouldn't have thought brookies could have returned to the pool upstream, but not believe they can. However, there are other areas where I think there is a physical barrier that prevents upstream movement. I didn't take any pictures of the stream, but I found one on the web that exemplifies the type of water I am talking about. In this type of water, I have decided I will always try and release the fish back into the pool from which it came, even if I end up spooking the pool.