Are you more or less likely to fish LJR now?

PennKev

PennKev

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OK, so in the past there have been individuals who have dismissed the reports of excellent fishing on the J due to their belief that the trout population was comprised mostly of stocked fish. If I recall support for Spring and Penns was offered based on the certainty of wild fish.

Soooooo.... What is the feeling towards the the Little Juniata now? Personally, I've always loved the river and felt that even if the fish were not wild, it was still one of the best and most dependable trout streams in the state. Has the confirmation of a primarily wild fishery changed your feelings toward the Little Juniata?

Kev
 
More likely. Really wanted to prior to seeing the report anyway.
 
I have enjoyed my 3 or so trips to the j. I'm no more likely. I greatly enjoyed it under the assumption that the fish were fingerling stocked.

The problem for me is always that it requires driving beyond already excellent fishing, and it's just out of reasonable day trip range.

I chose the second, but don't consider myself a regular fisher of the j. I do so when I feel up to going that far, and occasionally when penns/BFC (I enjoy both more than the J) are out of the question.
 
It won't effect my decisions to fish there. I probably hit the stream a dozen or so days a year. As Jay noted, the fishing has always been good and it never concerned me whether the fish were wild or grown-up fingerlings. I had to plead continued skepticism, however. I don't think the reports of findings on the PFBC site are complete enough for a novice like me to reach a firm conclusion, so being left only to accept or reject others' conclusions on faith, I opt for a guarded curiosity and hope for additional data in the future before commiting myself to a conclusion of my own.
 
jdaddy,

That's one of the first places I took you. You shouldn't be having memory issues already... too young.
 
PennKev wrote:
OK, so in the past there have been individuals who have dismissed the reports of excellent fishing on the J due to their belief that the trout population was comprised mostly of stocked fish. If I recall support for Spring and Penns was offered based on the certainty of wild fish.
Click to expand...

I don't recall such posts being made. There was discussion of whether or not there were many wild trout in the Little J. But I don't recall anyone dismissing the good fishing there.

Regarding whether the report will change my fishing on the Little J. No change.
 
Agreed. I also have no recollection of that.
 
There wasn't a huge amount of disdain for the fingerling stocking, butI distinctly remember a few posts that slighted the LJR due to the lack of wild fish (among other reasons). There was one user in particular who had a strong opinion. In any case, I thought it would be a interesting poll since Spring and Penns are usually mentioned first in the "5 Best streams in PA" thread. My interest is in how the survey results influence our opinions of streams.

Kev

P.s. If you need an example, search sundrunk's 2009/3/29 9:28 posting.
 
Being pretty stupid and/or naive, I am hoping that fewer people will fish it b/c of the findings. If that somehow happens, I might actually go there more often. But, since that probably will not actually occur, I imagine I will probably fish it about the same as I do now, which is not very regularly.
Having said that, I am really glad that these were the findings. I have long believed this was the case, and with the no-kill restrictions now in place on this beautiful stream, the lovely wild trout have a chance to really show their stuff.
Kudos to the FBC being willing to survey the stream to determine whether the wild trout can take care of themselves, and kudos to the LJRA for keeping this in the forefront. 3000 trout per mile -- whew! It certainly makes me humble when I think about how few of them I manage to c/r on an outing there!
 
jdaddy,

That's one of the first places I took you. You shouldn't be having memory issues already... too young.
Click to expand...

I have tons of memory issues, but most fishing we have done together I cannot get out of my head no matter how hard I try. LOL. J/K.

My answer is still "I am now more likely to fish the LJR." meaning exactly that. The words "for the first time ever" are not implied in my opinion. I actually have been there 3 or 4 times since we went. I like it and was really thinking about heading up there middle of this month, but now I am more likely to do so. The report was encouraging.
 
I choose the second one I already fish it quite often. But the survey and being there during the 3 days of it has changed my view on it I always believed the wild ones strive there I just didn't realize how much and how concentrated it really was. Its a great stream the past 2 weeks I have fished it 5 times and I have seen a total of 2 different anglers besides me.Also i'm one of the ones that believe the fingerlings are just expensive fish food. I have always believed that but with doing work with the LJRA with the redd survey and the elctro shocking its pretty hard to think other.

Jeremy
 
I'm as excited as everyone else about the verification of a substantial wild trout population in the LJR. However, I've fished it for years and it has definitely improved since the 1980s in my limited experience. And I suspect fingerling stockings may have helped with this increased population. Whatever the case, the quality of the browns I've caught there in recent years has been very high - great looking and strong fighting fish - and lots of 'em. I couldn't tell whether they were wild or stocked and really didn't much care as there was obviously a great fishery in the LJR.
I'll continue to fish it but not any more than in the past.
 
I don't care what the survey says. I fished LJ last year for the first time and love the place.
 
To me, a grown up fingerling is every bit as good as a wild fish. I'm delighted the spawning on the Little J is more successful than I thought it was. I fished it a lot before and I will continue to fish it about the same amount.

I'm a snob for fish that thrive in the wild setting, not necessarily wild fish.
 
I't not going to change my mind on fishing the LJ. I only get there a couple times a year, I would like to get there more often! In the Fall, Maurice, Fritz and I will probably make our anual trip up that way, I hope!

PaulG
 
I've only been there once as I also have a problem going there with other streams that are in the area.
The stream and its fish were very impressive and I pretty much had to talk myself into believing the fish were most likely stocked after I caught them.
No change in fequency of visits.
 
you can't tell they are wild until u get em in your hand ....who cares !!!
 
Fishidiot wrote:
I'm as excited as everyone else about the verification of a substantial wild trout population in the LJR. However, I've fished it for years and it has definitely improved since the 1980s in my limited experience. And I suspect fingerling stockings may have helped with this increased population. .
Click to expand...


It's funny but I think the opposite. For me, fishing seemed much better on the J -- in terms of numbers -- 15 to 20 years ago than now. Maybe I've just been hitting it on bad days recently, but back then the number of fish was amazing for me -- I had 40+ fish days quite a few times. Now -- while maybe the average size is a bit larger -- the number of fish per outing has dropped drastically. (Maybe my skill rate has dropped too since I was able to fish much more often back then.)

Either way, its still a nice river to fish and you can always depend on at least a few cooperative trout.
 
I love J, regardless.

I've been convinced, as many people who live in the area and fish it regularly, but more importantly, the data may convince the PFBC to consider redirecting the resources used to stock fingerlings to enhancing wild trout population. In addition, showing wild trout reproduction can lead to greater protection of the river.

How many people can really tell the difference (with a high degree of accuracy) between a wild trout and one that's been in there for a couple of years

If you doubt the accuracy of the report, also consider the results of the recent redd count conducted by the LJRA and its partner agencies

People think Spring and Penns have more wild fish or exclusively wild fish? Parts of Penn and its major tribs are stocked, right?
Stocked bows and browns make there way up Spring (I know, I catch them) from the Bald eagle, at least up to the dam in bellefonte. There are "escapees" from the hatcheries in Spring upstream of bellefonte.

The J is in such great shape due to the LJRA and its president Bill Anderson.
Check out the things they are doing to improve it further http://www.littlejuniata.org/

Where else can you become a life member of a great organization for only 100.00 and get a hat or t-shirt in the process

All those interested: they are having a low water river clean up Sept 11th. Check out the site for details. In addition to cleaning up the river you can meet and talk with people who know the river very well and can give you some useful information on where and how to fish the J
 
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