Fryin' up wild browns

[The_Sasquatch]

An interesting thought. As we pulled up to Lyman Run on Friday, BradfromPotter noted that "they" really encourage the harvesting of the browns on that stream. This is a wild brook trout enhancement stream, and many of us know how brownies can really take over a stream and push the brookies out. So how do you guys feel about the harvesting in this situation?

I realize many of us have no problem harvesting wild or native fish from time to time, others have a serious problem with it. Just a little fun for Wed. morning.

 

[pcray1231]

Yes, you SHOULD harvest in that situation.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Take a few of those stocked bows that come up from Lyman Lake while you're at it, in my opinion!

 

[midnightangler]

They require harvest of browns in Shenandoah park. I'm not sure I believe it makes a difference.

 

[wsender]

I hold zero reservations about harvesting any fish within the guides of the law.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Yeah there are a lot of folks who feel the same way. I personally don't make it a habit to harvest wild fish (especially natives), but I have been known to do it from time to time-especially when camping.

It's interesting to think about though. There are some who lose sleep over the idea that a wild trout might have died at the hands of an angler. I can't help but wonder how they feel in this situation.

Midnight, I tend to think you're right. It probably doesn't help the situation. It certainly won't hurt though (assuming the angler recognizes the difference between a brown and brook trout! LOOK AT THE SIGNS!), and its a tasty contribution I for one am willing to make.

 

[foxfire]

I think it makes sense and should be done, though personally I couldn't harvest a wild or native fish. I know, I'm a hypocrite.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

An honest one, though! I appreciate that.

 

[bstone97]

My thinking is this when it comes to both fishing and hunting.....if you plan on eating what you harvest then there isnt an issue. I don't like that taste of trout, therefore I practice C&R when I fish by myself but if I'm fishing with a buddy and I know that they will eat the fish I will keep enough to make a meal, which is usually only one or two nice size fish.

I often wondered why they stock Lyman Lake with rainbows when the headwaters are a Wild Brook Trout Enhancement area. I'm headed up that way on May 8-11, cant wait to get in God's country.

 

[wgmiller]

I have zero interest in harvesting any fish, even within the scope of the law. Fishing to me is a recreational endeavor, but I don't hold it against anyone who harvests legally. If I were to fish this stream, I would not harvest any fish.

The fact that brown trout are "pushing" out the native brook trout may be immaterial in a number of years as our waters warm to the point of not being able to hold trout!

 

[The_Sasquatch]

The lake is a popular spot for tourists and locals to fish for trout. I have no problem w/ them stocking the bows. Sure some come up from the lake, but not that far. The stream splits several times just about the lake for about 3/4 of a mile or so. I never caught a bow upstream of all those splits (that doesn't mean anything, I only fished the stream about a dozen times over the last decade so someone with more time put on it may speak differently).

Someone in the know, did they used to stock brownies in the lake? Is that how the browns got into Lyman Run?

 

[wsender]

foxfire wrote:
I think it makes sense and should be done, though personally I couldn't harvest a wild or native fish. I know, I'm a hypocrite.

But only wild fish from my backyard. Right?

I'm guessing most people who have similar reservations have zero problems buying wild fish from the store, often from fisheries that are in far, far worse shape. But people can't fly feesh for cod, and cod isn't in your local stream, so #censor#'em, right?!

I think native/wild fish are more resilient then most people give them credit for. IMO, if a stream is in such rough shape that fish shouldn't be harvested from it, it should just be closed from fishing.

 

[barbless]

midnightangler, the requirement for anglers to "remove" brown trout from Shenandoah brookie streams is apparently a success. (You either have to keep them for yourself, or toss them in the bushes for the critters to eat.)

However, I'm not sure how effective that policy would be if it were the only control measure taken- the Fish&Game (or maybe it's the US Wildlife Service) people have also done several electroshock sweeps of the affected streams to cull the browns from the Park streams (there aren't very many where brown trout had a natural wild population; the Rose River, iirc the Conway River, and maybe a few others.)

As for harvesting brown trout from native brook trout streams in Pa.- go for it!

 

[Hook_Jaw]

I don't ever keep trout but I find nothing wrong with harvesting a trout now and then

 

[The_Sasquatch]

wgmiller wrote:
I have zero interest in harvesting any fish, even within the scope of the law. Fishing to me is a recreational endeavor, but I don't hold it against anyone who harvests legally. If I were to fish this stream, I would not harvest any fish.

The fact that brown trout are "pushing" out the native brook trout may be immaterial in a number of years as our waters warm to the point of not being able to hold trout!

Or get too cold and hinder the growth season!
http://principia-scientific.org/supportnews/latest-news/163-new-discovery-nasa-study-proves-carbon-dioxide-cools-atmosphere.html

 

[wgmiller]

Sweet cheesus, you're one of those in "denial"! ;-)

I just did a "Google search" on global warming temperatures and clicked the "Images" feature. Damn near every graph shown goes up to the right.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Me and NASA haha! In all honesty, I tend to think the brookies will survive, regardless. Those fish have been through hell and back. If anything, we're more aware of their "plight" now and are taking steps to help them. I don't say that to give us a free pass to do whatever we want, environmentally speaking. I say it to encourage us. I honestly think the fishing for my kids will be better than it is for me. I hope so anyway!

 

[Pghtrouthunter]

In my opinion if the state is suggesting a harvest then I wouldnt. I feel the state should mandate a harvest if they are fully committed to managing the habitat in a particular manner. For example, the manadatory killing of lake trout within the Yellowstone eco system.

It is interesting though because even in Yellowstone you are allowed to kill rainbow trout on Slough Creek but you are not required to do so. Im not educated enough to know why its not mandatory as a threat to cutthroats similar to your scenario above, but if it is then why would you not get them out before it pushes the natives out like in Yellowstone Lake? Its curious to me....

 

[wsender]

The_Sasquatch wrote:

Or get too cold and hinder the growth season!
http://principia-scientific.org/supportnews/latest-news/163-new-discovery-nasa-study-proves-carbon-dioxide-cools-atmosphere.html

Did you even bother reading the cited NASA article? It's an article about solar flare activity, not about climate change. So I'm curious how the 'scientists' at Principia Scientific did their research and made the connection to climate change. No source or original research was given, no giant surprise. I guess they weren't counting on people reading their source article. Quite dubious.

They have no information about who's doing the writing, and they have hidden there whois information through domain privacy service. Doesn't sound like clear, open, scientific research to me.

They argue that CO2 is a coolant in the upper atmosphere, therefore it behaves as a coolant everywhere. It's like saying that if you dump a bunch of salt into water, and then find that water freezes at 3F, that all water freezes at 3F, when the reality is that there is a ton of other factors to consider.

There is more than enough good, and moderately good, research that shows that increases in CO2 does increase global temperatures. If you're interested, I could point you in the right direction.

 

[Twofly]

Our camp is right down the road from LR. Love it fish it often. I always wondered where the browns came from and faced that dilema a few years ago. Although I mostly catch smaller brookies I do see more and more browns showing up. have never caught a bow up there but couple of years ago, landed a very large brown but couldnt bring myself to kill him. Today ,he would be on my wall. I wonder how many brookies he consumed to get that size. As far as I know they only stock bows and paliminos in the lake. Last weekend I drove by the lake and it was loaded with anglers. The fish where rising everywhere.