Best Video I’ve seen explaining how brook trout populations work by world expert on brook trout ecology David Kazyak

[Fish Sticks]

so this video explains exactly why we need watershed level management(not stream section) . Pay attention to all the man made types of barriers to gene flow mentioned and the effects of isolating brook trout.

Also this video is just a primer for monday feb 6th 12pm 1 hour lunch and learn presentation. Register and send a question to be answered live on air below.

Lunch n'Learn: Importance of isolation, drift, and genetics for conservation of native Brook Trout — EBTJV

Feb 6, 2023, noon, available by registration

easternbrooktrout.org

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Def worth the time to watch. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Def worth the time to watch. Thanks for sharing.

no problem!

 

[silverfox]

so this video explains exactly why we need watershed level management(not stream section) . Pay attention to all the man made types of barriers to gene flow mentioned and the effects of isolating brook trout.

Also this video is just a primer for monday feb 6th 12pm 1 hour lunch and learn presentation. Register and send a question to be answered live on air below.

Lunch n'Learn: Importance of isolation, drift, and genetics for conservation of native Brook Trout — EBTJV

Feb 6, 2023, noon, available by registration

easternbrooktrout.org

I submitted a question about the tradeoffs between isolation and invasion. Specifically where AMD is remediated in a low gradient, medium-sized subwatershed where the AMD serves as a species barrier today. I think that's an issue that is somewhat unique to Pennsylvania where we have a lot of AMD pollution functioning as a barrier between brook trout and nonnative trout.

 

[troutbert]

Thanks. I thought it was good. Regarding "the small population problem." In places where stocking is being done over native brook trout, simply ending stocking is likely to increase population numbers, and especially numbers of larger brook trout. A brook trout 8 inches long lays far more eggs than a 6 inch brook trout. So, this has genetic implications.

Ending stocking generally reduces the amount of harvest. But even many unstocked streams have brook trout populations that are significantly "cropped off." The 5 trout per day, 7 inches bag limit is not conservation oriented.

They are right about the role of habitat. A small forested stream in my region was surveyed by the PFBC and rated as Class C, which is pretty low. And this is probably accurate for most of the stream. The habitat is poor on most of the stream as a result of channelization, stream straightening and relocation, splash damming, an old railroad grade, and loss of large woody debris from the early logging days.

But in a short section there is good habitat from large rocks that naturally occur there due to the geology in that stretch. Large rocks occur there, but not further upstream or downstream.

In that section, it's loaded with brook trout, including some "larger individuals" (PFBC term.) That section is Class A. Same stream, same water, same watershed, just a different stretch. If habitat was equally good all along the stream, the population overall would be far higher than it is now.

 

[troutbert]

There's been a lot of discussion of larger watersheds with brook trout populations. Here are two that I haven't seen discussed yet:

Mosquito Creek, Clearfield County.

The upper part of Bowmans Creek, in the State Gamelands, Luzerne County.

Mosquito Creek is infertile and its population is only brookies, no browns or rainbows. It has several tributaries that also hold only brookies. The stream is about 70 feet wide in its middle to lower stretches. It holds brook trout the whole way down to the Quehanna Highway bridge, just above Karthaus, so not very far above the mouth. Mine drainage at that bridge kills it from there to the mouth. Mosquito Creek and Gifford Run, the largest tributary, are stocked.

Bowmans Creek up in the SGLs is also quite a large stream, with several tributaries. Like Mosquito Creek, it's infertile, and the only wild trout I've caught up there were brook trout. There may be a few browns in the lower elevation tribs, I'm not sure. But the whole upper end is infertile and the browns have no chance up there. This is also stocked.

I fished both of these streams when they were unstocked. Liming was done on both watersheds, then the stocking began. On both streams there were plenty of brook trout before the liming. The brook trout population went down hard on both streams as a result of the stocking. There were 2 old ice dams on upper Bowmans, which were removed in recent times. This should benefit water temps and brook trout movement.

 

[silverfox]

There's been a lot of discussion of larger watersheds with brook trout populations. Here are two that I haven't seen discussed yet:

Mosquito Creek, Clearfield County.

The upper part of Bowmans Creek, in the State Gamelands, Luzerne County.

Mosquito Creek is infertile and its population is only brookies, no browns or rainbows. It has several tributaries that also hold only brookies. The stream is about 70 feet wide in its middle to lower stretches. It holds brook trout the whole way down to the Quehanna Highway bridge, just above Karthaus, so not very far above the mouth. Mine drainage at that bridge kills it from there to the mouth. Mosquito Creek and Gifford Run, the largest tributary, are stocked.

Bowmans Creek up in the SGLs is also quite a large stream, with several tributaries. Like Mosquito Creek, it's infertile, and the only wild trout I've caught up there were brook trout. There may be a few browns in the lower elevation tribs, I'm not sure. But the whole upper end is infertile and the browns have no chance up there. This is also stocked.

I fished both of these streams when they were unstocked. Liming was done on both watersheds, then the stocking began. On both streams there were plenty of brook trout before the liming. The brook trout population went down hard on both streams as a result of the stocking. There were 2 old ice dams on upper Bowmans, which were removed in recent times. This should benefit water temps and brook trout movement.

Mosquito would be a great place to stop stocking, make brook trout C&R, and focus on water chemistry and habitat improvement.

 

[Fish Sticks]

There are so many candidates in the north central region and they can’t even give em one.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I submitted my question


I have seen data from Dr. Casey Weather’s Thesis at Penn State that invasive trout species can act as barriers to gene flow and that removals of invasive trout could increase wild native brook trout gene flow.



1. How about stocked invasive trout?

Would these too serve as a barrier to gene flow? The kettle creek watershed here in Pennsylvania gets roughly 50-60 thousand stocked fish annually by my count of stocking receipts and public data. It seems stocked invasive trout densities often exceed wild invasive trout densities in some of these systems. There have been culvert projects done in the kettle watershed to help Metapopulation connectivity but it would seem a biotic barrier might still be limiting the effectiveness of those investments?

2. Should stocking of invasive trout species be factored into eventually, or considered along with for now, things like Aquatic Organism Passage(AOP) scores for state managers during planning connectivity projects or assessing the success of a connectivity project?

3. Is this something grant funders would ever consider to steer our limited connectivity funds to where they can generate the greatest increases in connectivity?

 

[GANGGREEN]

There's been a lot of discussion of larger watersheds with brook trout populations. Here are two that I haven't seen discussed yet:

Mosquito Creek, Clearfield County.

The upper part of Bowmans Creek, in the State Gamelands, Luzerne County.

Mosquito Creek is infertile and its population is only brookies, no browns or rainbows. It has several tributaries that also hold only brookies. The stream is about 70 feet wide in its middle to lower stretches. It holds brook trout the whole way down to the Quehanna Highway bridge, just above Karthaus, so not very far above the mouth. Mine drainage at that bridge kills it from there to the mouth. Mosquito Creek and Gifford Run, the largest tributary, are stocked.

Bowmans Creek up in the SGLs is also quite a large stream, with several tributaries. Like Mosquito Creek, it's infertile, and the only wild trout I've caught up there were brook trout. There may be a few browns in the lower elevation tribs, I'm not sure. But the whole upper end is infertile and the browns have no chance up there. This is also stocked.

I fished both of these streams when they were unstocked. Liming was done on both watersheds, then the stocking began. On both streams there were plenty of brook trout before the liming. The brook trout population went down hard on both streams as a result of the stocking. There were 2 old ice dams on upper Bowmans, which were removed in recent times. This should benefit water temps and brook trout movement.

I've driven past that creek literally hundreds of times (many, many hundreds) and have always wanted to fish it, but never have. Maybe one of these days......