Stocked or Wild

[Out4Trout]

Hello,

So I went down to fish Mauch Chunk creek in Jim Thorpe this afternoon and decided to try and find some holes that might have been overlooked. I caught a few smaller browns and then in this little pocket water pulled this guy out.

Looks like a native to me as the colors were beautiful and nicer than any of the stockers I caught.

Thoughts?

 

[Wildbrowntrout]

I’m pretty new to this stuff, but by looking at it, it looks like some of the stockers I have caught in the past. The fins just look a little too beat up to me. I’m not sure at all, just my guess. Also, not native, just wild browns. I could probably do a better job with a native vs stocked brookie.

 

[Swattie87]

Stocked. 100% certainty. Nice one though.

 

[Out4Trout]

So I had a look and they stocked Brooks and Bows when they stocked so was this one just in the mix or leftover from last years stocking?

Also, this is the other smaller brown I caught and it looks much different.

 

[Swattie87]

Yeah, could be either. Sometimes a handful of the wrong species gets mixed in, or it could have been a fish from last year. Its good color suggests it’s possible.

The second one you posted is a wild Brown.

 

[JerryC]

I would go with the first one being a hold over fish. The second most likely wild. Unless you have really huge hands, that's a fairly small fish and it looks like there are some fading parr stripes on it.

 

[ryansheehan]

First one stocked, second one wild, neither is native.

 

[phiendWMD]

ryansheehan wrote:
First one stocked, second one wild, neither is native.

I agree with this. First fish looks stocked to me and the second is wild IMO.

 

[Dave_W]

phiendWMD wrote:

ryansheehan wrote:
First one stocked, second one wild, neither is native.

I agree with this. First fish looks stocked to me and the second is wild IMO.

I'll endorse this view as well.

 

[Wildbrowntrout]

I don’t know if this happens everywhere, but my local creek says they stocked rainbows and browns only, but I dumped 2 buckets of brookies I’m there, and caught them, so I can see it not being on the schedule.

 

[csoult]

Stocked, wild

 

[jifigz]

Stocked on the first one and wild on the second. As others have pointed out not native. Don't trust what the stocking schedule says that they are stocking. I've witnessed it wrong more than once.

 

[Brown71]

Fish 1 stocked, fish 2 wild. Good looking browns.

 

[Chaz]

Stocked, but a nicely colored stocked trout.