Minimum size raised on Pa trout

[troutbert]

Unstocked Brookie stream or unstocked mixed brook and brown stream?

Both

 

[sarce]

It could actually make things worse as
It means less brown trout are harvested that are on the verge of entering both their reproductive and fish-eating life phases.

Who is harvesting 7-8" browns??

Barely legal brookies get harvested by some people because they have a reputation as tasting the best of the 3 main species in PA. If someone is going to harvest browns I am sure they are going to target streams that produce bigger browns.

 

[JimKennedy]

I would assume this means bigger (meaning legally harvest-able) fish need to be raised which costs more.

If the creel limit stays the same and the number of fish stocked stays the same to satisfy those who measure sucess by "limiting out" or catching & releasing many fish...

Won't the end result be even more money allocated to the trout stocking program???

Doubtful. Most (though certainly not all) of the stockers are 9 inches and bigger. This really sounds like a move to protect wild trout. Not entirely analogous, but in Maryland it's been pretty clearly established that the heavily fished yellow perch population has an average size of whatever the state minimum size is. Back when it was 7 or 8 inches, yellow perch were mostly 7 or 8 inches. Now that it's 9 inches, the average size is closer to 9 inches.

The trout situation is different for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is each trout stream is different, while the tidal yellow perch population is, to a large degree, a monolith. But upping the size limit will likely up the average size of wild fish.

 

[5footfenwick]

Who is harvesting 7-8" browns??

The Backpacking/camping fisherman actually do harvest quite a few that size.

 

[jifigz]

The best call here would have been to just make brook trout C&R statewide and ensure that none are being stocked. Oh well.

Some sportsman clubs stock many trout under 9". I've caught these fish from wild trout streams, and the majority of this one club's fish averaged smaller than 9".

I ocassionally fish for stocked trout (the horrors, I know) and can't say I catch many, if any, fish under 9".

 

[wildtrout2]

The best call here would have been to just make brook trout C&R statewide and ensure that none are being stocked. Oh well.

That would have been the best move.

 

[Mikey2006]

Who is harvesting 7-8" browns??

Barely legal brookies get harvested by some people because they have a reputation as tasting the best of the 3 main species in PA. If someone is going to harvest browns I am sure they are going to target streams that produce bigger browns.

In my eyes, the new state minimum will only apply to brook trout when I’m fishing a brookie stream that happens to hold browns as well 😉

 

[Maurice]

The success of the size change will be determined in the same way it was created. The wild trout surveys and average minimum size of fish stocked determined the study. It makes sense. and future surveys will determine its "success". Its a mild, science supported compromise with the wild brook trout constituency.

This coulda happened long ago when the 2004 wild brrok trout enhancement program determined near half of the brook trout streams put into catch and release for ten years increased in population but the other half or more that dragged them back into general regulations.

So its a long time coming.

 

[JG63]

Maybe it’s time to quit releasing all those wild 😱 Browns as they’ve established themselves to the point of being invasive - it’s nice to see wild BT where there weren’t any in the heyday of “put and take” - it’s a simple matter(as this is a blood sport) to kill some BT where they overlap with the ST - and leave some BT where ST can’t survive - I will agree that BT are the worst tasting of the big three, but a smoker and the right salt helps … none of the pictured BT were harmed - but each one wouldn’t have made a dent in their particular streams if I had creeled them …

 

[sarce]

In my eyes, the new state minimum will only apply to brook trout when I’m fishing a brookie stream that happens to hold browns as well 😉

Yeah I would take my chances getting away with it on a blue line.

Problem is you'd need a bunch of people doing it or a few people doing it repeatedly on the same stream to have even a slight chance at eradicating browns via harvest, even in the smallest streams. Not that I'd discourage anyone from trying.