Stocking Brook Trout

One of the major dissapointments I encountered the first day of this seasons trout season was we never caught a brook trout all day. Last year supposedly over 1500 were planted in the stream we fished and you couldn’t go fishing without stumbling into one. Anyone have any thoughts on how succesful stocking efforts of this fish are? I do know that after stocking them last year it only took them a week to show up almost 5 miles downsteam.

Brook trout stocking or re-introduction is a tricky proposition beause of many variables: water quality, forage base, and other salmonids (other trout species) in the watershed – just to name a few. Brook trout have a tendency to become “snack sticks” to brown trout as they are more predatory in nature than brookies. Throw in the fact that brook trout need some very constant water temperatures and water quality, and now it gets tougher to create a successful brook trout stocking program. I know the MNDNR has done some brook trout rearing in the past as to re-introduce them to headwaters areas and into streams where brook trout populations have declined. I do know for fact that they are considering putting up a weir on one southeast MN stream to prevent brown trout from invading some of the stream’s brook trout range.

Bottom line: brook trout stocking versus browns or rainbows is much tougher to be successful.

Dave,
Wanted to tell you that I always enjoy reading your posts.
Having been fly fishing for over 30 years and being fortunate to have been raised next door to Bud Lilly in Bozeman I applaud you for your insight and depth of knowledge. I hope the folks in SE realize just exactly what an information resource they’ve got! As for disappointment in stocking brookie…this is exactly why the careful management of habitat and special regs are sooo important.
Keep up the great work and gettin the info out there!
Kevin Biegler
http://www.sourdoughcreek.com

Thanks for your kind words – just trying to share what I know (which at times isn’t that much ). I’d love to see more brook trout reintroduction. I have a very soft spot in my heart for them as that’s what I gew up catching. Unfortunately, with CREP the way it is, land usage the way it is, and the proliferation of brown trout into waters that were at one time ALL brook trout waters, I don’t see an easy solution to getting more brookies out there unless there are more protective regs. and more habitat designed specifically for them.

Who knows, it could happen .

Later,
D.A.

DA, the spot where they released all the brook trout last year was a catch and release section of stream. In fact, the hole they released them in has a major spring feeding it. I think they made a mistake by not stocking them farther up the stream (even if it would have been in the area where you could keep them) where the water is cooler. The speed they moved downstream to me was unbeleivable, they moved into smallmouth territory and beyond.

It does make me wonder though if reestablishing brookies is worth the hassle. Perhaps trout money would be better spent keeping a better brown trout population since they “stay put” better. As much as it was a blast to catch then last year while they were around it sure is dissapointing that they didn’t stick around. Are you sure their putting up that barrier to keep the browns out or are they putting it up to keep the brookies in.

Brian, you’re right about the money issue. Brook trout reintroduction takes a lot of time and money. With browns and rainbows, they are heartier fish by nature, and here in MN., the catchable stocked sized rainbows (10-11 inches) have a very specific purpose – to end up on the dinner table. That’s not necessarily the same mentality with brookies.

The weir I spoke of earlier is to do both that you mentioned. Apparently, the weir’s purpose is to protect a stream that feeds into a separate stream that has browns and stocked rainbows both. Like those smallmouth downstream that you mentioned, the local browns chow on those brook trout, so in an essence they are trying to keep the browns from moving up into the brook trout water and keep the brookies from moving out. This time of year is tough with so much high water – fish get jostled around a ton, and you catch them in areas that you may not normally think that they would hold. If a stocked brook trout gets blown down stream into smallmouth water…… .

I’d certainly relay any observations you’ve made to the local DNR office and see what they have to say about it.

I totally agree with you DA, and I have contacted the area fisheries person about it. I wonder if brook trout fingerlings were stocked in the very upper reaches of streams if they would stay better and perhaps make the stream their home. The ones they stocked last year were about 7 to 11 inches. The weir idea also sounds like very sound stream management to me. I could see with that in place a stream would have alot better chance of sustaining a population of brookies.
Perhaps part of the problem may be the snack stix thing too. This last weekend over 6 trout were caught over 20 inches within a quarter of a mile of where the brook trout were released, I hate to think they stocked them for bait.

Brian,

Your observation of the 20 inch convention is a valuable piece of information that I wish fishery people would listen to….most fingerly stocking serves as ‘Trout Chow’!
LOL
Seriously, I spent almost 2 hours on the phone yesterday catching up with a friend of mine, Kelly Galloup. Kelly lives in Montana now but is originally from Traverse City, MI and a well known author and frankly one of the most well versed fly anglers on ‘Trophy Size’ trout. We discussed this exact issue of feeding large trout with poorly designed stocking plans. Also, one thing that is important is that trout whether brown, brook, bow or cutts simply do not stay put. Telemetry studies show trout that move over a mile a day in search of forage. One trout in a study in Idaho repeatedly through out the season covered over 24 miles of streams. I can tell you that with seasonal temp changes in Montana water that holds exceptional trout in April are barren come August and those fish have moved over 10+ miles to better water. SO that having been said water that is attempting to be restocked with brookies will have to be managed carefully to be re-established and protected from competition from other fish. What a dilemna! In Montana the brookies represent a nuisance in certain water to the rainbows FWP will not allow their stocking in private or public waters whatsoever! But I am with Dave…next to cutts my fave are brookies there is just something magical about them and I would like to see more streams managed specifically for brook trout. Don’t get me wrong I love browns n bows too but those lil brookies are just a unique resource.
Kevin

Good stuff guys! Brookies rule!!!

However, it doesn’t help when stocking occurs only 1% of catchable brookies have been reintroduced.

Shows a lack of interest to me.

Hey, maybe we should go smuggle some coasters from up nort eh and transplant them ourselves??

Keep the rods bendin’

Jim W

So what are the creeks out there that have a good Brookie pop? I know Hemingway is decent, Garvin has a few and others? What are some good creeks that could handle them?

Craig Hensel

Actually Jim stocking catchable fish while popular with the anglers is probably the worst thing you can do to a trout stream. In the 1970’s Montana started down a road of ecological sense when they studied and subsequently discontinued stocking their rivers. Catchable hatchery fish put undo pressure on the biomass of a stream and disrupt it to the point that it becomes completely dependent on the truck to have fish. It is smarter to do habitat improvements and water quality maintenance than to dump a cement pond transplant even a coaster! Better yet lets bring back the streams up north on Superior so that the coaster runs come back! Oh well the never ending argument.
By the way stocking small fish to re-introduce usually results in hold overs that have wild-like charateristics and it is far more economical than rearing ‘cathcable’ fish.
You just don’t get the immediate results of snagging a 3 ppound fish everytime you wet a line.

Kevin

Good points!!!!!

No offense but comparing SE MN streams to Montana’s doesn’t compare. However, I do understand your points and enjoy your posts. You are an asset to the fishery and so is DA.

Might be a little of kilter when applying only one technique in your pursuit of trout, but hey whom I to say!LOL

Keep the rods bendin!

Jim W

I would say that the largest fish I’ve caught fishing for trout have come on spinners, but streamer patterns are a close equivalent to hardware. I spinner fish once in a while in the summer, especially if I’m floating in a canoe down the Root. It’s easier to cast from the canoe and make lots of casts while I’m floating than with the long rod. Maybe I should get a Mckenzie boat for the Root .

Actually having fished from CA to NY, WA to FL and Canada to Honduras and points between the Midwest Trout Streams are exceptional in my book. They are not comparable on a one to one basis to the rivers in Montana but when examined as small limetone spring creeks offer exceptional potential and already surpass many of the ‘fabled’ creeks of Pennsylvania. As for one method well if you put a spin rod n real in my hand I am lost and I live to streamer fish having recorded numerous 20+ inch fish by that means. When I have fished on ESPN and in the Great Outdoor Games I exclusively fished streamers in an effort to target large fish. That method of fly fishing closely mimics spin fishing in why it works on big fish. Thing is the water in SE Minn and W Wis gets a bum rap cause it’s not Montana and Wyoming but when compared to small spring creeks ‘our’ water here is pretty incredible and holds far more large fish than I think alot of people realize. That is the reason that I think we need more careful management because of the unrealized potential for this water. These creeks are starting to get ‘noticed’ in national fly fishing publications. Don’t panic cause at the same time in this country trout habitat is expanding rather than shrinking as it was 3 decades ago. Ok I’ll get off the soap box.

Kevin