Wild rainbows ???

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Sometimes, when I go to a certain stream or two I know for sure that I have caught a wild rainbow.

Other times while fishing stocked waters, I can tell right off that the rainbow I have caught is a pale scratched battered hatchery trout. And I've seen some decent looking stockies too.

But then, there's one or two streams I've fished where although parts of the watershed may be stocked I am pleased by the great healthy looking specimens I catch. Also at the same time puzzled because I wonder if a wild pop. may exist and go unnoticed or mistaken for the stocked trout in the same stream.

I know I can sometimes tell if a brown is wild depending what stream I'm on but rainbows are difficult to tell.

Wild? Yes or No.

Holdover?

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

The 3rd pic is from a limestone spring stream and it is wild for sure.

However the last pic on the bottom I believe is just a nice looking stockie from yet another stream, note the grayish color to the fins.

All of the rainbows have a different look or coloration and were caught in 3 different streams. The last pictured trout (bottom) seems to have more small dark spots (particularly on the belly) and the top three trout tend to have very pink fins and little or no spots on the belly. They also have the large subtle gray spots on the belly.

1. Holdover ?
2. Holdover ?
3. WILD !
4. Stocked ?

1. Wild ?
2. Wild ?
3. WILD !
4. Stocked ?

I don't know, except for number 3. Definately wild. What do you think.

 

[mute]

Stock
Stock
Wild
Holdover

 

[stevehalupka]

I play the guessing game...

stock
holdover
wild
stock

hatchery fingerlings are identical to smaller wild bows. Now, when they get bigger, they lose the par markings, but their lat lines and cheeks are rosey. I've posted this a million times over, but damn, it's prob. my most memorable fish.

fins are sharper than razor blades

 

[Fishidiot]

I certainly can't tell.... however I've caught my fair share of wild rainbows from Falling Springs and the they look much like the pics you've posted. Smaller wild bows often have large, clear, pink fins with noticeable white tips on the pelvic and ventral fins, which can be seen on some of your fish. Tough call.

 

[barbless]

I fished Kish Cr. for the first time Thursday, and got these...if they're stockies (and they are, I suppose) the hatchery must be learning how to treat them better. They're hardly the washed-out, pale fish that I associate with stocked trout. I guess the fingerling-holdover program works out fairly well- although I'll always prefer wild fish, and don't like stocking in a habitat that can support them.

The fish in the second pic got a lot of camera flash, it was actually more deeply colored. Although neither of these are like the rainbows I've gotten from Falling Springs. I wish I had photos of those fish. One of them was only about 4", but it was caught in a part of the stream that was darkened, by a stone wall near a bridge. That rainbow was like a black opal- a sort of olive-emerald barred with dark blue parr marks, a rose stripe, and about a thousand tiny black spots from top to bottom, from head to tail. I've caught wild rainbows from the Upper Sacramento River, and the rainbows from Falling Springs are every bit their equal in beauty.

from Kish, 10/14

from Honey, 10/14

 

[Hammerhead81]

I fished Spruce Creek and caught this bow last weekend. I would have no idea how to tell if it's wild or stocked but the colors were amazing. Don't know if this pic does it any justice.

 

[Chaz]

1, 2, 4 stocked they have bad fins, they aren't holdover fish until they have been is the stream 1 year or more.
3 possibly wild

 

[wsender]

Hammerhead,

I'm think that's a stocky.

 

[stevehalupka]

^ I disagree... adjust your brightness and you'll see the par on that guy or girl.

 

[MKern]

Keep in mind that many hatcheries have switched over to more "natural food pellets which gives the stocked fish better color.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Mkern wrote:

Keep in mind that many hatcheries have switched over to more "natural food pellets which gives the stocked fish better color.

Yes, good point, I noticed the rainbows in Muddy Creek that were stocked about 2 years ago had an orangish pinkish stripe to them that was very pigmented and vibrant.

Those fish looked great, however they did not have pink in the fins and tails, and they did not have the large grayish blemishes and parr markings on the belly.

The idea that a rainbow may be wild, at least to me, arrises more often when I catch smaller specimens that are between 7-9 inches which are completely unmarked, unscratched, have immaculate looking fins that are very pink and also have the parr markings and large, light gray shaded spots on the belly.

I have never seen a stocked rainbow that has had all of these signature characteristics collectively.

 

[Bluewing]

Fish on the grass is wild in my guess. The other fish with mangled fins, even though they may have par marks, are still stockers... All trout can exibit par marks, even in a hatchery, but the tell tale sign of the primary bone in the pectoral fins being mangled by the raceways never goes away...
Same with the mangled dorsal fins that alot of these fish get...Erie steelhead are a good example

 

[Bluewing]

I also think Steve's fish is wild, or at least from a very good quality private hatchery (but most likely wild)

 

[mike_richardson]

i posted this guy before but his colors and fins look like he is wild but for certain he is a stockie

what makes them get so much darker and brighter colors, more spots. Is it the food they eat, they can move more, They are blending in with the surroundings.

I have fished for trout in a few lakes and ponds and they are like chromers. but in colder water it seems they really change. Their heads get pointy and fins get sharper. Anyone know why this happens.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Mike, #1 and #2 appear to be the exact same photo only the one photo is highly saturated with color.

Either that or you simply changed the white balance in post processing. Number 1 looks a little cool to me and #2 a little warmer WB.

 

[Acristickid]

It's neat to catch them. Not as prevalent as the brown or the natives in PA.

As I continue to learn about fly fishing and fish; the one thing I have come to know is that it is nearly impossible to unequivocally state a fish is wild.

No matter, still fun.

 

[mike_richardson]

jakes, it is the same fish someone on here took out the blue color i just wanted to post both pictures. The "blue" was crummy with it being a cell phone pic. just gorgeous fish.

Rainbows are my favorite. LOL i know its a sin to say that on here but oh well.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

I tend to like all of them almost equally, although the brookies got my vote.

Akid wrote:

As I continue to learn about fly fishing and fish; the one thing I have come to know is that it is nearly impossible to unequivocally state a fish is wild.

I agree, when I fish for trout if I catch one that looks almost like it could be wild I am happy just to see a nice healthy looking trout. It then loses the distinction of being wild or stocked. It is just a nice looking trout and just as deserving of my appreciation as a wild trout if not wild.

 

[Sylvaneous]

For rainbows, its really hard to tell sometimes. I've caught bows from totally stocked water like Oil Creek that looked pretty close to fish from the madison or Galatin rivers. Browns are an easier guess. I think it comes down to this logic: because they aren't clearly hatchery fish, doesn't mean they clearly aren't hatchery fish. There ARE some logical impossibilities I have experienced, unless something outside the plausible is happening. I've caught 4-5 inch rainbows in 7 mile creek on Lake Erie that are stunningly colored. It was done before spring stocking and they are smaller than what the commision put 'em in at.
For a 10 inch trout, there are fewer historical, logical limitations to form a guesstimate of their origins. You'd have to examine a scale sample under a microscope and look for striations or rings that show seasonal growth like trees.
Syl