Wild Stream or Stocked Stream

[xspook2158 0]

Do you prefer a wild stream or stocked steam? How does the techniques differ.

 

I am 6ft 8 the wild streams make me use casts that I would not usually use, such as the Bow and Arrow Cast and the flies more true to nature. The stocked streams are usually over fished and creates their own challange. So may I ask what is you view?

 

Jeff

[Rocco 0]

All IMO stuff. To me, wild trout fight harder pound for pound and reject my dries -- laughing a lot -- after inspection far more often than stockers do. They also seem quicker on the take and spit than their hatchery raised chums. I haven''t eaten one in years but I seem to recall a hint of commercial trout kibble flavor in the stockies...

 

Rocco

[Simon Lidster 0]

My heart is in fishing for wild UK brownies and grayling with flies I've tied myself - preferably dries.

 

Just started playing with Tenkara rod, which adds a whole new dimension!

 

Simon

 

Derbyshire Derwent

[Crackaig 0]

I'd go for wild if I had the choice.

 

Some years ago on the Dorset Piddle the keepers carried out an experiment. They electro fished it to establish a base line. Then spent the money, usually spent on stocking, on habitat improvement. A year later they electro fished it again, and found a 600% increase in brown trout stocks. It makes a lot more sence to improve the stream rather than stock it.

 

Cheers,

C.

[gadabout 0]

Given a choice I would much rather fish for wild fish than stocked fish. As the previous poster suggested, I would rather see the money spent on habitat improvement than on raising fish to be stocked. Sometimes it seems that Fish & Game departments are catering to the guys that come out once a year and chase the exhaust fumes on hatchery trucks.

[Piker20 0]

I agree with gadabout and crackaig.

[Piker20 0]

Just started playing with Tenkara rod, which adds a whole new dimension!

 

What size elastic does the pole need for wildies? I've got a few spools of size 3 left from my match days. only pulling your chain. The whole tenkara thing is going back to Cotton and Walton using cane poles.

[xspook2158 0]

I thank all you guys for the response.

 

I like the challenges that I have to overcome when fishing wild streams. The flies have to reflect both the look and the size or phase of a certian hatch for that area and that time of the month or year.

 

Wow that can be a challange.

 

Then you have the fact that wild fish are a bit more spooky and less likly to be fooled by a poorly tied fly or bad presentation.

Then you have the terrain to consider. How will it limit your cast? Will you have to change youre delivery or fly presentation?

 

Stocked streams also have their challanges. They tend to be over fished and used to most of the tricks, techingues and flies that we use.

 

I would like to touch on Stream and Habitat improvement. How can we do this without disrupting or changing the streams?

 

Bottom line is:

 

I guess that is why they call it fishing and not catching, ROFL.

 

I hope to see more responses.

 

Jeff

[Crackaig 0]

Things to improve a stream include: Raking out the gravel. Silt in the gravel stops it being used by trout for spawning. Suring up banks against things like cattle. I often see waters with wide stretches of shallow water where the cattle have been on the bank and crossing. One that springs to mind instantly is at Paythorn on the River Ribble. The river is 20 to 30 yards wide, but for a couple of hundred yards it widens to about 100 yards.

Other than that just general maintenance like removing snags and keeping the place generallyy clear of rubbishh helps a lot.

 

Cheers,

C.

[willbb 0]

For me, fly fishing is going to the beautiful wild untouched mountain streams, preferably remote, and catching a fish that you know has grown up eating what you tried to imitate and you managed to trick it into taking yours, but sometimes it's fun to go to a stocked stream and catch a ton of stocked trout.

[Steeldrifter 0]

It depends on how the stream is stocked as to if the fish fight act as if they were steam born wild fish or not. Unlike some states that stock fish at larger sizes, Mi stocks trout when they are 5-6" in length. The downside to that is a good number of fish become food for larger brown trout at that size. But the ones that do make it act and become just like wild fish since they were stocked at such a small size. So if a trout is stocked while it is small and grows up in the stream then you would never be able to tell that it was not a wild fish, So 6 of one half doz of the other really.

 

Steve

[joops 0]

I like a wild river, if I want to catch stockies I go to a fishery.

The river test in Hampshire has been ruined in my opinion because people want big easy fish.