R
RRR
Member
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2007
- Messages
- 114
I've been trying to figure out why so many wild browns are showing up on stringers on many S.E. PA streams this year compared to other years. In years passed, I never saw or heard of all that many wild fish being creeled by bait/spin fishermen. This year that's all people are talking about on stocked streams that have wild trout in them.I never used to worry much about bait fishermen catching the wild ones as I could fish a stretch that a bait fisherman had already been thru and catch them pretty good on flies. I beleive that once the bugs start to get active and are more readily available to the fish, the wild ones switch over to eating insects almost exclusively. Especially once they start surface feeding. This year with the early opener the wild fish were probably eating more minnows or whatever else they could find as the cold water and air temps. kept bug activity to a bare minimum until after the season would have normally opened. The bugs were staying under their rocks and were not readily accessable to the trout. Or possibly it's because fewer hatchery fish were available and fishermen had to fish longer and cover alot more water to limit out so more wild ones were caught and creeled in the process. Whatever the reason, I know alot more wild fish have been taken out of the streams than in years past.