This stream is primarily wild browns with a trib that occasionally introduces some some brook trout. Caught this guy and am assuming its impossible for it to be a wild bow even though its slender and clean looking stature could argue against being stocked. I would only imagine to breed wild rainbows, you need to be catching other wild bows both bigger and smaller. One rainbow this size in a years time with no other rainbows of any kind i guess just means a fish that was privately stocked in some watershed that made its way up through internal habits and intentions?
Wild Bow Or Clean Holdover?
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Are there some examples of wild bows in Pennsylvania about this size you guys can provide ? Just so I can have a accurate resemblance of one for me, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to determine them in their yoy stages. But once they get past that like this one for example, it's hard for me without really knowing what I'm looking for or looking at to determine. Besides using logic and common sense like I did here that something is or isn't wild.
Bamboozle
Well-known member
Maybe???
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
I always forget rainbows are actually real and non engineered creatures with their own native range when fishing in PA until i see an article about dam removal on the snake or something.
redietz
Well-known member
I lived in their native range for almost a decade. The native and the poor excuses for a fish that stocked here might as well be two different species.
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
Yea they don’t even spawn same time of the year, they have been in hatchery system here for over 100 years. Life and death changes to genetics can be phenotypically(appearance) invisible. You can obviously tell the difference between a Mcleod river rainbow and ours(not saying thats all or even mostly genetics at all but the point is its a different fish with how radically we have degraded them. Imagine what would happen if you inbred a human family for 100 years to a degree?
Fish sticks profile picture is fish sticks profile picture for a reason
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
Don’t get it why everyone has such a you know what on for stocked rainbow trout. If PA game commission stocked these it wouldn’t fly why do rainbow trout that are the fish equivalent of honey boo boos mom get so much fan fare????
redietz
Well-known member
I'm tempted to say something unkind about West Virginia here.
However, being originally from South Jersey, I'll insult my own demographic and say you'd get a bunch of Pineys.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I've read that parr marks will disappear as a trout matures, but every wild bow that I've caught had them. And they were pronounced as you mention.
silverfox
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Somehow farming wildlife to create unrealistic standards (24 inch long yellow trout) to sell licenses is totally acceptable when it comes to fish. I think if you related it to terrestrial animals, it would be like the PGC raising and releasing these in the wild to attract hunters here to buy licenses.
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
I am originally from south Jersey as well just went there on native chain & redfin excursion. Was also looking for native banded sunfish and native mud sunfish. Those Pineys got some rediculous fly fishing water to them selves. Altough i learned not many fly fish saw Zero people. Would catch these all day for 4000 years before hitting a Pa fishing license and boat artifishal fishery.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I've always wondered what your avatar was. 😆
