NO MORE STOCKING!!!!!

[Peterm]

Here's an interesting question..... Can't wait to see the responses... What would happen if the state no longer stocked any fish in any stream or river in Pennsylvania???? Instead they took all that money and spent on stream and river restoration...... Food for thought......

 

[BradFromPotter]

There would be only parts of the state that would have trout. They also would not sell many trout stamps.

 

[JackM]

And the good wild trout waters would be inundated with anglers harvesting wild trout.

 

[DGC]

See above. Brief, persuasive and comprehensive. If they were writing for Reverend Maclean they would already be on the river.

 

[pcray1231]

Yep,

You'd have far less fishermen buying licenses, and the income for the PFBC would go off a cliff. There would likely be less money than there is now available for stream restoration and enforcement.

But you'd still have a huge increase in pressure and especially harvest on wild trout streams.

 

[StarvinMarvin]

fihsing would suck for about a decade than it may return but doubt it

 

[lv2nymph]

JackM wrote:
And the good wild trout waters would be inundated with anglers harvesting wild trout.

^This^ I'm pretty sure no one would be happy with the resulting occurrences of that.

 

[geangler]

Brad, forget the trout stamps..regular fishing licenses will take a huge hit which they would never recover from.

 

[salmonoid]

Why do folks think that hordes of anglers would descend on the wild trout waters? Perhaps the majority of the catch and kill mentality is predicated on the ready annual availability of 3 million stocked fish. Making people walk for dinks might not have such a deleterious effect on wild populations..

The reality of what would happen is what just did happen. At the announcement of the cessation of stocking, the PFBC would bow to political pressure from the legislature and reverse course. Would be a grand experiment, though, to pit nature against harvester, where harvesting is no longer predominantly for sustenance, like it would have been the last time things were setup this way, centuries ago.

 

[Peterm]

I just think it might take a year or two maybe a few more... But all the people who fish the first week and nothing more would go away and the serious fisherman will remain..... Revenues would go down through reduced licensing fees.... But so would expenses...... Without the cost of all those millions of fish that wouldn't be needed..... Instead of requesting funds for repairian projects.... Local clubs would have to request permission to stock.... And find their own funding.... And revenues would be spent as they should river and water quality and enforcement..... Aaaahhhhh to live in a perfect world.....

 

[jbomb]

not sure if they already do it this way (or are trying), but i'd like to see waters that show the potential for natural reproduction receive a small supplemental stocking along with some special regs. to get them to class a rating.

once that happens the stocking stops and that area becomes a C&R artificial lures only stretch. continue stocking the marginal waters for the people that want to harvest their catch. if that's not enough keep the reduced creel limit on the improved fisheries with natural reproduction. I guess that's the aim of the delayed harvest areas ...

to me it makes sense that trout stocked in waters that can't sustain them should be harvested ideally at a rate that allows that fishery to remain productive for longer than the two weeks following each stocking.

All of that being said, I haven't really thought about it that long and there are lots of variables that I'm not taking into account...

I hope the increased penalty for poaching helps the whole situation. I also REALLY hope they hand out the maximum fine every single time.

 

[teacreekfreak]

In my part of the state (Lewistown: Mifflin County), wild trout streams assuredly would not be overrun with harvesters. Outside of the first day pressure and the trout derby crowd, Kish Creek is not really fished that hard at all and it is heavily stocked throughout the season. I fish year round in the unstocked waters in the area and rarely see other fishermen

They stopped stocking Honey Creek, a local trib of Kish Creek, in the eighties i think, and i heard secondhand accounts of some anglers killing wild trout in spite of the rule change, but it continues to be a class A fishery. I think the festivities of opening day and millions of stocked trout is what draws anglers and dollars, not sure there are many people who enjoy the sport enough and/or really enjoy eating the fish to find trout in streams that aren't stocked. With that being said, PFBC would be doomed, no money for restoration and less interest in the sport for generations to come because most kids start fishing opening day, stocked waters situations

Like I said, just my opinion for this part of the state

 

[freestylefisher]

Keep stocking and lower the limit to 2 trout and when you stronger your 2nd fish your done..... Get caught with more fish you lose your car/truck that the state auctions off and you do 100 hrs of stream restoration

 

[BeastBrown]

As someone mentioned, the number of kids that get introduced to trout through the state stocking is huge. Even if everyone here and and another 1000 people became catch and release missionaries, it would not have the same effect as stocking in terms of exposure to trout and trout streams.

Don't stock, and it becomes like deer hunting. The deer herd is fine in my opinion, but there are certainly less deer and less people hunting. Reduction in hunter numbers then leads to a reduction in conservationist hunters, and the same effect would be seen with a no stocking of trout policy.

There may be a brief utopian period in some people's opinions of decreased pressure on most streams which would probably increase wild populations of fish. However, then the flood gates would open to habitat degradation which lack of state-wide support to defend unstocked waters. Streams with no friends get abused fast.

If stocking ever did cease, then fines would have to be raised tremendously with low daily limits. With a decreased amount of enforcement, as a function of reduced revenue, fines and loss of license would be essential on the most popular wild trout waters.

 

[azjackstraw]

Great post, and a lot of great responses. I looked around a bit and found this:
http://fishandboat.com/images/admin/lars/fishlice_county2012.pdf
From what I gather, last year >1/3 of the licenses sold included a trout stamp or combo stamp. Thats 578,030 trouters. (only 1/3 of total license sold, which leaves for a lot of other citable boaters/ lake shore bait dunkers)(only a small percentage compared to the population of the Commonwealth 12,763,536)(of which apprx. 7.1million are of legal fishing age)

Other than opening day, think about the times you have seen a WCO on a trout stream, compared to lakes, rivers, etc. We are the minority. Trout fishing is showing to be a loss, in a fiscal perspective.

I would wager that 1/2 to 3/4 of those stamps go to 1st day bait dunkers or the "always get a stamp, just in case". The PFBC knows this. That leaves a ballpark of around 150,000.
Reduce that by the number of guys that REALLY fish, or care about fishing. The guys that hike to a stream, just to see if it holds. The guys that go fishing on a day off, or an afternoon off. The guys that donate money or time to stream repair. The guys who fish before work. The guys who work to fish. The fishermen, the fishers of men.
Now divide that by the Commonwealth of Pa. Now your talking single digits. Does stocking REALLY matter?
I will still fish. I will fish till I can't. I may have to drive further, I may have to walk further, I might catch smaller fish(only ethical), but I will be there. And when there are no fish, after I catch the LAST one, I'll just stand in the river in my waders and throw rocks!
F'in right were elite

 

[FGSIII]

I wonder what a year round trout season would be like? No opening day and the trout would be stocked at various dates during the year....mostly fall and spring when the water has good temps and flow.

 

[geebee]

i wonder what would happen if you made it no stocking, and C&R only ALO...apart from kids ponds...

would we see more angler initiatives to improve more waters or the angler numbers drop off a cliff ?

i do wonder about how after rearing, hatchery operating costs, man hours, transport and distribution, how much is actually left for enhancement and enforcement ?

it would be an interesting experiment i think. and anyone caught in possession with a trout would be put in the stocks streamside and thrashed with a wet lettuce....

and of course banning stocking would put paid to private clubs buying up waters like spring ridge does.

not many downsides imho.

 

[mike_richardson]

"i wonder what would happen if you made it no stocking, and C&R only ALO...apart from kids ponds...

would we see more angler initiatives to improve more waters or the angler numbers drop off a cliff ?

i do wonder about how after rearing, hatchery operating costs, man hours, transport and distribution, how much is actually left for enhancement and enforcement ?

it would be an interesting experiment i think. and anyone caught in possession with a trout would be put in the stocks streamside and thrashed with a wet lettuce....

and of course banning stocking would put paid to private clubs buying up waters like spring ridge does.

not many downsides imho."

just that bait anglers would not be able to fish

 

[geebee]

mike_richardson wrote:


just that bait anglers would not be able to fish

good point, but i believe bait rods work with lures. if they want to bait fish they can fish ponds.

fly and lure guys couldn't take fish either, which i'm sure some people would not be happy about - but if the fishing was better the sacrifices would be worth it imho.

 

[KenU]

Montana halted stocking in streams many years ago. It's trout fishing just got better and better. And the fishing pressure on many of Montana's best known streams has increased tremendously.

You say we can't match Montana: Anybody been to Spring Creek during the sulfur hatch lately? Or when the Green Drakes are hatching on Penns Creek and Fishing Creek. And how about the upper Delaware? Just to mention a few of the best.

And we have thousands of miles of relatively untouched wild brook and brown trout streams that aren't stocked and offer great fishing. I know, because I fish them. And that doesn't count the ones near the road that would improve tremendously if stocking were halted.