Originally posted by SmallFry:
Ric & Cecil,
"Thanks for the replies. The rainbows shouldn't decimate the brookie population as I bought all female stock. I intend to harvest these as soon as they are big enough to catch on hook & line."
"As for Size, of the 40 fish I caught & kept.
37 were 7.5 - 8.5 inches, never smaller. In this size they are not very deep chested at all. To me they have the same physical appearance as mountain stream dwelling brookies. Is this overcrowding or normal for 2 year old brookies?"
"3 were 9.5 inches or better at this size they are deep chested and heavy. I wouldnt have kept these but fishing with live bait doesn't always leave you the option of letting them go."
"I fished in all conditions sunny through cloudy weather, hot to cold, early morning through evening. The fish always bite.... I usually fish to keep 8 Fish, under the best conditions it takes longer to put on a worm than catch a fish and the worst day I had (cold/cloudy/light rain) was 1 hour to get my 8 fish."
"So any ideas how many fish I should keep per season (2 acre pond) & what sizes should be kept and what should be released to get bigger fish overall?"
"Thank you all for your input"
You wouldn't have had to worry if you had male rainbows. It is very, very, rare for rainbows to successfully spawn in ponds. Brook trout can do it with ease while rainbow and browns cannot.
I assume you are talking of the brookies? If so, at that size they are typically not as deep as older more muture fish. If they are really skinny with large heads in proportion to their bodies that is an indicator that they are too crowded. As you know male muture brook trout in the fall will develop somewhat of a hump back (not as pronounced as a sockeye or pink salmon) and will have a taller profile so to speak. The head lengthens somewhat too.
It's hard to say just by what to tell you without actually doing an electroshocker survey etc. or age determination via scales or otoliths. Sounds like you've got plenty in the pond. I would thin them out a little and once your catch rate drops back off. Be aware it is possible out fish out brook trout. They are very easy to catch. But unless your PH and alkalinity is quite low and you pond does not produce enough food I would think you should be able to produce 12 to 14 brook trout with the right density. Be also aware that you may have larger fish that you are not aware of yet. The smaller fish are more agressive and less shy than you larger fish and may beat the larger fish to the hook. I have found trophy size brook trout a challenge at times to catch.
Brook trout can have a relatively short life span compared to other salmonids although they tend to live longer the farther north you go. Any idea what strain you have? You could add some different stock to freshin up the gene pool and a stock that is known to be fairly long lived as in the Lake Nipigon strain which is what I have.
