Are stocked fish virgins?

[mikeg126]

So yesterday I had a stellar day on a C&R stream. I was catching multiple fish in the same pool that I would have expected to be more of a one an done due to spooked fish. When I got home I realized that it had been stocked a couple of weeks ago which is probably why I had such a good day. It got me thinking.... Normally this stream gets a fair amount of pressure and the fish tend to be more reluctant to take anything that floats by. But, with stockers, they are not use to the angling pressure so a less than perfect drift may be good enough. So are stocked fish more representative of fishing streams that are less pressured? I feel that they are but curious of others opinions.

 

[JeffK]

Yes and no. Less pressured fish may take more flies and poorer presentations and in that way may be more like fresh stocked fish, but they may be spookier. Hatchery fish are around people all day and do not spook easily from a person's presence. In fact, feeding time means people hanging about. Fish that have lived in the wild a while have run a gauntlet of predators and hide from a shadow or other sign take you are there.

 

[FarmerDave]

Your post reminded me of a time when I was fishing Tionesta Creek. Early in the season. Might have been opening day.

I was using a strike indicator about the size and color of a cigarette butt, and had more hits on the strike indicator than I did flies. That is when I invented the buckeye fly. Its a hook with a stick-on foam strike indicator. color doesn't matter.

IMO, it takes a couple weeks for pellet head trout to figure out that they are trout.

I agree with JeffK. I've seen wild brookies bat around a small piece of a stick that I tossed on the water to prospect. But they didn't see me. If they had, I likely wouldn't have seen them. If freshly stocked, it probably wouldn't have mattered.

Are the stocked trout virgin? Not sure, but I suspect that those who prefer fishing for them, are.

 

[mikeg126]

Your post reminded me of a time when I was fishing Tionesta Creek. Early in the season. Might have been opening day.

I was using a strike indicator about the size and color of a cigarette butt, and had more hits on the strike indicator than I did flies. That is when I invented the buckeye fly. Its a hook with a stick-on foam strike indicator. color doesn't matter.

IMO, it takes a couple weeks for pellet head trout to figure out that they are trout.

I agree with JeffK. I've seen wild brookies bat around a small piece of a stick that I tossed on the water to prospect. But they didn't see me. If they had, I likely wouldn't have seen them. If freshly stocked, it probably wouldn't have mattered.

Are the stocked trout virgin? Not sure, but I suspect that those who prefer fishing for them, are.

FarmerDave - I felt like it was cheating once I realized the stream was recently stocked. For the record I did not use an egg pattern!

 

[FarmerDave]

Never feel guilty about fishing.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

Are the stocked trout virgin? Not sure, but I suspect that those who prefer fishing for them, are.

😂 That is the funniest thing I've read on here in awhile.🤣

 

[DomR]

For the record I did not use an egg pattern!

No need to, a small pheasant tail nymph is close enough in color and resemblance to a hatchery pellet. I've seen people just hammer stockies fishing a PT under an indicator.

That would bore the bejesus out of me.

 

[djs12354]

Are stocked fish virgins?

Nah, they are just really, really shy!

 

[FarmerDave]

Are stocked fish virgins?

Nah, they are just really, really shy!

I was going to say fat and ugly, but that wouldn't have been politically correct.

 

[salvelinus]

I was going to say fat and ugly, but that wouldn't have been politically correct.

But they have great personalities.

 

[krayfish2]

I think that if you can find less pressured fish, they are more user friendly. They'll take a dragging fly, one that you are picking up to recast or one that looks like nothing on the water. The challenge lies in getting a cast before they freak out which is difficult more times than not. They are very much in tune with the surroundings. Movement, shadows or flash might trigger flight.

I remember fishing the ditch in the 80's and you could take your rod and push it up against a fish to make it tip to the side. The fish knew you were there, knew it was being messed with but never stopped feeding on scuds and midge larvae. Not every fish was that bold. Some would slowly drift away when you approached and others would bolt in fear. The bigger fish tended to be less tolerant of humans.

If that doesn't work, try a fake promise ring.