Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Trout transfer

This year I decided to put back some of the brook trout that I have taken from the stream that runs thru my property.
The stream is not stocked and I can't find any record of it being stocked so I believe they are a Heritage strain brook trout, hopefully they will add to the spawning base of adults.
I catch them in the spring and they grow well in the pond so I've put 6 back into the stream by one of my dams, and will catch more to put in by another stream dam.
They appear to be well fed and ranged from 8 to 11 inches.

This was the biggest one at 11 inches.

Beautiful fish, AP! Is this the first time for your stocking plan, or have you been doing it for awhile?

Todd, this is the first time I have done this and hope to improve the habitat of the stream by putting in small brush and log dams reinforced with steel fence posts.

Sounds like a fun project. Good luck with it and certainly keep us posted on updates. Just curious, have you given any thought to building barriers in the stream - i.e., fencing or something slimilar - to let water through, but keep your trout in within a certain range? I know they'll likely be able to get out during a higher water event, but it may allow you to keep your own area of the stream better populated. Of course, I know riparian right and navigation rights conflict in a lot of states, so you may have legal issues with placing any sort of barriers in the streambed. As a formerly avid whitewater kayaker, I had a lot of experience dealing with fences in inopportune spots on small creeks and also had occasion to read up on legal disputes focused on that issue. But, again, just wondering out loud if you had given any thoughts to trying to keep control over your stocked fish.

The stream is small and unnavigable but it does supply my pond with water through gravity feed pipes.
It snakes it's way along my property for about a half mile, and the small dams I've put in still allow the trout to move through them if they want while forming some deeper pools for them to survive when a summer might get too dry.
I'm not worried about keeping them in a specific area cause I know some will always be using the deeper pools I have created, and I can get stock for my pond if I need any.

Here's one of the small dams.

Wow, what a pretty setting that is. Makes sense about the dams creating some areas where at least some of the fish will stay. As for navigability, I'll just say that I've paddled some streams at flood that are nothing more than trickles at normal flow. The key is to have a LOT of downhill gradient to make it fun! Looks like this is more of a meandering stream, though. Thanks for answering my questions. I'm always curious about the thought process people are going through when they embark on a new project because there's almost always something good to learn!

Sure is nice to see brook trout without bacterial infections!

Cecil you have my sympathy, I hope medicating the BRKT solves the problem, especially considering they're part of your income not just a hobby.

In nature nothing is ever right, therefore, if everything is going right.....Something is wrong.
MURPHY'S LAW

Nice stream, very pretty, and a cool fish. What a neat experiment.

Thank-you, I gotta have something to do, I sure don't feel like painting the house, cleaning out the garage, or building the plant shelf my wife wants, but I guess I can't stall much longer.

That reminds me of my brother-in-law. We were working on a very important project and he said, "Stop something's wrong here!" I said, Oh my God what's wrong?" His reply was, it's coming out right!"

That brookie is gorgeous AP... Hopefully they'll make some babies for you! I sure hope your trout make it through this winter for you! Any sign of the brown trout yet?

CJ I trapped the 6 BRKT out of the pond and also 3 RBT which were put back into the pond, but no BRNT.
I took 36 BRKT out of the stream this spring, and about the same last year so they seem to be doing well but I figured I'd try returning some for spawning and see if I get some larger ones next spring. Next year I would like to get a tagging kit and tag the ones I put back into the stream, then if I catch them in the spring I can check overwinter growth.
This week I will put a submersible pump in below the dam and insulate the waterline so I can pump water into the pond when my gravity feed lines freeze up.

I would suspect you're not gonna see much growth from the brook trout during an Adirondack winter... Tagging kit would be cool to see if you are keeping the same trout in the area or if they are migratory?

With the difference of opinions on winter fish growth it might be a neat project for some pond owners to tag their favorite species and let everyone know the results in the spring.

I think certainly species of fish will grow in the winter, but it will never be anything substantial. Perhaps a 1%-5% of the total length at most. Now trout in a spring fed creek may grow as the spring regulates the water and keeps it warmer that it might otherwise be...

Oh come on Cecil, I know you, you'll figure out a way and yours will be fine!

Thanks for the vote of confidence but this really has me worried. Lots of potential income and time lost.

I got two 7" BRKT from the pond this trip and put them into the lower stream dam.



The upper dam received 6 BRKT last week and I spotted a trout there today.

Looks nice... Hopefully they'll spawn up some babies for you! Any grouse, woodcock or snowshoe hare in your area?

The other Trout in the stream always spawn so I'm sure there will be no shortage.
We have plenty of grouse and snowshoe hares but the only woodcock I've ever seen was crossing the road near Raquette lake.

That stream corridor just screams grouse and hare... We have a few grouse in southern PA but not hare. I saw a few hare in central PA when at college and helped with a study doing flush surveys on grouse there. They had an entire State Game Land closed to grouse hunting to study habitat manipulation. It was pretty cool... Never could seem to find a hare to shoot in the 3 day hunting season they have for them in PA...

Yea it's funny, many times when we hike around the property we will flush a grouse, If my wife is with me it usually flushes near her and scares the heck out of her.
Up here it's too cold for pheasant but I bet you got them in southern pennsy.

Only pheasant we have are freshly stocked ones or the rare one that figures out how to avoid all the predators and eeeks out an existence in submarginal habitat. The weather is fine for them, the habitat just aint there anymore... Back in the 60's and early 70's they were as abundant in PA as any Midwest state. Then the soil bank programs ended, farming methods changed, predator numbers increased and there went the wild pheasant population! The Pennsylvania Game Commission in recent years has selected areas of the state with the most promising habitat and worked with surrounding land owners to produce quality pheasant habitat. They then paid Montana, the Dakotas to trap and transfer wild birds to these areas... So far the program seems to be working. They actually have some wild birds.

Yea they're doing something similar in western NY where they seem to be having success in keeping a good population.
My nephew lives in NJ and he does alot of pheasant hunting with his 2 labs, but he buys them from a farmer who raises them and also lets him hunt his land.

Yeah, pheasants are less affected by cold and more affected by bad habitat... The Adirondacks just don't have the habitat for pheasants. The farmland areas of western NY just might. Interestingly enough, there is a healthy population of wild pheasants in northern NJ near the Meadowlands where the Giants and Jets play. The population is low density as they rely on wild food sources mostly and less on farming but the natural salt marsh habitat seems to work well for them.

Even here in northern Indiana pheasants and especially quail or down considerably from years ago due to different farming mehthods. That is, fence rows are removed to farm every square foot of ground and not much grain is left over. I'm not blaming the farmers as they need to make a living too and pretty much aren't gettin any more for a bushel of corn than they did in the 50's.

And yeah the predators. My guess is the explosion in feral cats doesn't help. I've done my share to reduce their numbers but it's a losing battle when people don't neuter their cats or dump them left and right.

We don't see many feral cats here, the coyotes get them during the day and the owls nail them at night.
Our cat stays indoors but if he ever got out an owl would get a hernia trying to pick him up.

I remember when I was a kid, one of my dad's best friends had an outdoor cat they called Bobby. He had a naturally bobbed tail and looked about as much like a bobcat as a house cat could. My dad's friend lived in a very remote area of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Bobby was nasty on flying squirrels, you'd find their flat tails laying all over the place after he ate them. He did a number on the song birds as well... Anyways, the only thing Bobby wore was a small flea collar. Well, one day Bobby disappeared and never was found again. One day I was turkey hunting and was walking the edge of a field near the cabin my dad's friend lived in. There on the edge of the field I could see a flea collar much like the one Bobby wore. I don't know for sure, but I am betting Bobby's demise was at the hands of a rather large Great Horned Owl and Mr. Owl left the collar hanging in the tree.

I AM NOT A FAN OF FERAL HOUSE CATS... Just like dogs shouldn't be left to run loose, cats shouldn't be either. They are nasty predators on small mammals, song and game birds. JMHO