Off the point of that larger rocky outcropping is 8 feet in the summer drought and 10 feet during the spring rains. There is definitely a spring that seeps out of the rocky outcropping into the deeper park of the pool. I've put a mask and snorkel on and dove in... There is almost a cavern and cuts about 10' feet under that rocky ledge. I think most of my hold over trout hold up right where the chilly spring seep meets the warmer water. Temps in the heat of summer stay in the 66 degree range, however I don't know what the DO levels are. The largest brown trout I stocked this spring was 15" in late March and my dad caught a 21" brown trout in late May. I doubt a non supplementally fed brown trout is gonna pack on 6" in 2 months. So I am thinking at least a few are surviving each year.
Interesting. No a trout will not grow that fast even on a supplemented diet. The fastest a pellet feed trout will grow according to the literature I have is 1.5 inches per month. That doesn't sound like much but it can actually be a lot when you consider how much weight they can put on with that length increase.
My fish put on a maximum of 4 to 6 inches from March to November. I get them at 10 to 12 inches so by the following fall they are 14 to 18 inches. One more year and the brooks will be 18 to 21 inches plus and another year is anyone's guess if they would survive that long. Rainbows are the fastest growers following by browns and then brooks.
I threw in a twister tail jig today again which has the hook cut off to do some observation of the brook trout as they either hit it and hold on briefly or come up shallow to hit it. There may be an at least on two year old 18 incher but most are running 14 to 16 inches. I'm just hoping there are more live fish than it appears. I've had about 12 floaters out of a hundred in the year I've had them. Not all dead trout float to the surface but I can't imagine having a good amount of them not float up if they died.
I just hope the mink I blew away this spring had not been dining for a while. My "edumacated" guess is no, as I didn't find any remains on the bank and I would think the trout would be quite fast to catch. It would seem the mink was more likely to be after the numerous frogs on the bank. I could kick myself for not getting a extra 20 or 40 to make up for morts! My supplier has much smaller brook yearlings and most likely the larger fish would stress them if I added them to the pond.
The colors right now on these fish are outstanding! Very brilliant reds and oranges! Unfortunately it would be hard to get pictures right now. However this winter I will coax them up into my ice hole in my ice shanty and will get some good pictures.
