Dear FisherOfMen,
I haven't kept any trout in well over 20 years. I'd wager that most of the people who post here rarely, if ever, do.
The average angler thinks trout come in white trucks.
That's where the effort needs to be focused, on them.
Regards,
Tim Murphy 🙂
True, but you really didn't understand the full context of what I was saying.
There are some watersheds in the state that would and could be really good candidates for a massive brook trout revitalization project. I won't name them simply because this board frowns upon that amongst other things but ill detail what characteristics they have, why they are good candidates and what would need to be done to them to make a robust and healthy brook trout fishery.
Characteristics:
- large scale interconnected watershed. larger stream with multiple tributaries
- AMD impacted but recovering (less species diversity)
- decent habitat in larger watershed and good spawning grounds in tributaries
Good Candidate:
- large scale watershed allows for seasonal movement of fish to avoid environmental impacts, seasonal impacts, access to various food, habitats and spawning ground. Also allows for brook trout to diversify genes at spawning for more resiliency
- larger stream is transitional, meaning it goes from cold water to warm water at a point along its length. Transitional waters increase species diversity as in the watershed as a whole as both warm and cold-water forage fish. As the brook trout move along its length seasonally, they will find higher amounts of and a diversity of foods.
- AMD impacted but recovering means the watershed has less predator fish which includes invasive species that would impact brook trout by either feeding on them or out competing them.
- larger watershed includes good habitat in winter/spring with deeper water/cover in transitional warm water stretches and good spawning habitat in tributaries. Brook trout can move about the watershed seasonally to find needs.
What would need to be done:
- Removal of larger watershed from stocking program by both state and/or private entities. No more permits to stock these watersheds regardless of sportsman's club desires, PFBC desires to create opportunities, access or whatever other desire anyone might have.
- Wide scale removal of any brown trout or any other invasive species in the watershed, mainstem and tributaries, if it be by electroshocking or some other means. Not once, not twice, not three times but multiple times in multiple years.
- No season, no limit on any invasive fish species in watershed.
- Reintroduction of any native fish or minnow species.
- C&R regulations on all brook trout, regardless of size
- Strict regulation enforcement with high penalties for regulation violations which include introduction of other fish species by private entities.
- No fishing for 5 years or more until project stabilizes
- Any issues in watershed addressed if it be environmental impact, habitat degraded or some other limiting factor
- Finally, multiple fish barriers in lower end to keep any other invasive species out of watershed.
Now please keep my comment in context. I'm not saying we should do this, though I think a few watersheds in the state would be prime candidates for this type of project. It would be very expensive, time consuming, hard to regulate, along with a plethora of other issues. What I'm saying is, in my experience in locating these watersheds that produce bigger brook trout specimens, there are some viable candidates for this type of project.
Yes, the white truck chasers will kick and scream. Yes, the state will hate it. Yes, you have to change their mentality but that's not what I was addressing in my comment that you quoted and responded to. Rather, how are we ever to change their mentality, when the conservation minded, trout loving extremist that inhabit this board would kick and scream themselves? Just the thought of one of my points is enough to set this board on fire, much more so because there are many, each would light this place up. However, they need to be done to fully restore a watershed back to being a true stronghold like it was in the past.
I think if this was to ever happen, which it won't, we ALL need focused on. It's easy to point fingers at stocking over wild brook trout, but even if stopped today, that ship has fully sailed yesterday and more would need done tomorrow for all watersheds.
