fished all day, caught the first rainbow in a riffle on a bugger dead drift, the next on a hairs ear and the third on a copper john. also helped stock, holes were crowded with guys waiting for the truck. so many have been harvested this year. Can't wait for bass and bluegill's to heat up.
Wissahickon creek, Philadelphia county, 4/15/15
- Thread starter Beorn
- Start date
I'm sure my thoughts have been voiced here a hundred times but it is this philosophy of waiting for the damn hatchery truck that is so repugnant to me and many other people who fish for the sake of getting out in a nice environment and maybe getting a few tugs on your line be it fly, spinners, or bait.
I noticed on the PFBC stocking schedule that not only are the exact day of the week listed but also the GPS coordinates are provided in case one might not know where such and such road might be. Is it really that important to know exactly where the fish were stocked? Where is one's sense of anticipation and adventure to really fish for the trout not knowing where you will be rewarded with a strike.
Yes, I realize that the fish raised in the hatchery are stocked in the PA streams and lakes purely for the enjoyment of the anglers who buy licenses and trout stamps and many of those anglers feel they must know exactly when and where those trout are going to be stocked because God forbid if they didn't know and they might have to actually look for the trout and really fish for them.
Okay if the PFBC wants to list the dates and locations of the stockings that is fine but why can't the stream be closed to all fishing until 8:00 the following day. It might give those dopey hatchery fish a chance to get acclimated to their new home and hopefully move out of the pool they were dumped into.
On Wednesday I decided to do some exploring of a stream in Cumberland County. (This is not a trip report, just a comment) I drove around the area of the stream looking for any public parking, bridges, any access points where I might be able to legally get into the water.
I found a nice place with clear water, a nice flow, and no other cars. I fished .3 miles of water (I used the measurement tool on Google Earth) and in an hour and a half had twelve fish on and landed eight and never saw another angler. I've never purposely gone to a stream on the day of a stocking but of course there has likely been days where fish were stocked on the day I chose to fish.
I am not a native to PA but arrived in 1984. Prior to that I lived in NJ and for a number of years they stocked whenever they decided was a good day but I do remember the last decade or so I lived there streams would be stocked as early as possible on a given day but then that water was closed to fishing until 5:00 p.m. that same day. Was it ideal? No but it still eliminates the carnage of having guys follow the hatchery trucks and start casting before the truck has a chance to leave.
Nothing wrong with harvesting trout from the Wissahickon; that is what they are there for. The stream gets warm later on and harvested fish early in the season are later replaced by more stockings. Harvest must not have hurt the population too badly since you caught a few.
Wbranch,
The harvest is rarely high on the day of the stocking; those who think it is regularly psych themselves out from good fishing over the days that follow, and especially the next morning.
When you live in York County You should not have to do much driving to find good stocked or wild trout fishing.
The harvest is rarely high on the day of the stocking; those who think it is regularly psych themselves out from good fishing over the days that follow, and especially the next morning.
When you live in York County You should not have to do much driving to find good stocked or wild trout fishing.
I think you are missing my point, or maybe I didn't make it clear enough, but I have absolutely nothing against harvesting your limit day after day if that is what guys want to do. My complaint, if I can call it that, is the persistent PA philosophy of having to know exactly what day, time, and place the trout are going to be stocked.
Yes, I caught fish but I have the distinct feeling where I chose to fish is not on the radar of the guys I saw downstream.
To make a long story short, I've seen guys surround the fish just stocked and actually casting over them as they were being thrown in from the bucket! :roll:
I've been fishing the first day of trout since my Dad first took me out when I was 5 years old. So, as a tradition, I fish a stocked stream the first day or at least the first weekend (I work on Saturdays).
I fished the same ATW close to my home each year on Sunday afternoon. It was Easter and the I saw but a handful of anglers all afternoon. The stream was low and clear. Every one of them I talked to said the stretch was fished out and they were waiting for it to be restocked the next day (Monday).
In about four hours of fishing (fly-fishing) I caught and released somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 trout. (Sometimes I do keep some for the pan, but didn't feel like messing with them.) The results are pretty much typical during my opening weekend fishing trip each year; 4-5 hours fishing, 20-30 trout.
My Dad has just passed away, but the tradition lives on.
They let us know the day and time so volunteers can be there to help with the stocking, I was surprised to see full stringers that very afternoon, I watched a big rainbow swim out of a bucket and start rising right away, I suppose they were hungry.
in regards to stocked fish, I like fishing for them, yes the sheer quantity of anglers in my local stream bothers me, but I can always fish for bass and bluegill without seeing another angler all day.
Again the day and time is released so volunteers show up for stocking.
in regards to stocked fish, I like fishing for them, yes the sheer quantity of anglers in my local stream bothers me, but I can always fish for bass and bluegill without seeing another angler all day.
Again the day and time is released so volunteers show up for stocking.
FYI - The PFBC only provides the GPS coordinates of the upstream and downstream limits of the stocked stream sections so angers know they are fishing a stocked portion of the stream. The coordinates are not meant to be the actual stocking points although sometimes the limits are stocked. In the case of the Wissahickon, the streams runs 31 miles from headwaters to mouth but only 9 miles are stocked so there is a lot of stream where you're unlikely to find trout.
