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Randi

Float stocking box

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a mesh box with floats around the edge, used to transport stocked trout down a stream from the point where the stock truck pulls off the side of the road.

 

They are used on a few streams here in Pennsylvania by volunteers. Instead of all the fish being dumped in one spot by a bridge, pull-off, or whatever,

it enables people to take a bucket or two of fish and drag them up or down the stream to spread them out.

 

In Pennsylvania it is sad and comical to see the parade of cars following a stock truck during in-season stocking runs. Pre-season stocking is usually in

the one or two weeks before the season opens, at exactly 0800 on the given day, and the majority of the fish don't travel too far from where they are dumped.

 

BTW there are several plans to be seen on line. Google.

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Ah thanks. Like a big floating landing net head.

So do you guys have a habit of stocking keeper size fish in fishable areas rather than stocking parr in inaccessible areas and hoping they grow on and self spread?

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Ah thanks. Like a big floating landing net head.

So do you guys have a habit of stocking keeper size fish in fishable areas rather than stocking parr in inaccessible areas and hoping they grow on and self spread?

It's a very highly managed state as far as trout stocking goes. There are many streams which are capable of supporting year-round trout which are stocked with juveniles

in hopes of multi-year survival and growth. There are many small "native" Brook Trout streams which are not stocked but support wild populations of Brook trout.

 

The large majority though are stocked with keeper sized fish, this year the Fish Commission says average size 11", and it is looked upon as a put-and-take fishery.

Many of the waters stocked with trout don't support much in the way of hold-over fish or high survival through the summer. I was born and grew up in a fairly rural part

of the state, and there were many streams which did support good trout populations year round. When I moved back after being gone 20-some years I am in a very

much more populated part of the state and the put-and-take trout fishing pressure is astonishing.

 

According to the Fish Commission, there will be almost 3.9 MILLION total trout stocked in Pa during 2016.

 

Here's a link: http://fishandboat.com/stocked.htm

 

Piker- I think it is a vastly different philosophy than what exists in the UK, from what I've seen. While they do exist, there are not very many "pay to fish" private waters here.

Stocking and fisheries management is largely done by the state Fish and Boat Commission and public access to waterways is the norm rather than the exception,

although that is certainly changing. You buy your annual license and "trout stamp", and you can fish anywhere in the state you are legally able to access.

 

There are a hell of a lot more than just trout waters too.

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I saw a video a couple of months back... they were actually making a floating box to fill with ice and drink cans in a swimming pool, but I think it might work for you. They took a rectangular plastic tub with a lip, left the lid off. Got a foam noodle like they sell in swimming supplies, and a poly rope. Cut the noodle into four pieces, one for each side of the tub, threaded the rope through it and tied it so that it would stay under the tub lip.

post-52210-0-07839800-1457575250_thumb.jpg

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3.9 million fish over how many recognised anglers? That seems a huge number of fish.

Is it the shear number of anglers out fishing the natural rate of production?

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Too many people keeping every fish they catch and going fishing two or three times a day for as long as the bite is on.

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The number of fishing licences sold in PA peaked at just over a million back in 1990. The last count was about 740,000. Given that the average angler fishes 5 days a year, that would be about 3,700,000 angler days. Fewer than one fish per angler per year. As J said, many waters in PA will support trout in the cold months (April, and May,) by June, these same streams will become too warm to support a trout population. Yes, there are wild trout, and year round streams and rivers capable of holding trout year round, and they do help.

 

What with the history of acid mine damage, its a wonder that PA has any water capable of supporting fish at all. The state has made good efforts over the last 50 years to provide funding to mitigate that historic damage, but there is still a long way to go. Cleaning up a major river requires that each and every source of pollution in the entire watershed be found and eliminated. Its a giant ongoing effort, and was something I was involved with for many years.

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