Wild or not?

[Drake Side of The Moon]

Originally Posted by Backcountryfishing

Thanks for your help. By "wild" I mean anything born in the stream. I've heard that stocked trout won't breed so if you take one out you only take that trout out of the system, rather than the rest of the trout it might spawn.

Well stocked in lakes rainbows have little to no chance to spawn as the conditions are not right, rainbows need high O2 levels i.e. a running stream or a lake with a inlet for successful spawns. In Arizona that's not happening in most put and take lakes only in streams with good conditions or again a lake with a inlet stream they can run up and spawn in. I would include Oak Creek as having active breeders just not enough to sustain the masses of anglers and that's why its supplemented with hatchery fish to keep numbers up.

Sounds like your thinking of triploid trout that they stocked at Becker Lake. Triploid trout are sterile trout. Some of the many benefits of utilizing triploid trout in your stocking program include: Fish are suitable for release without genetic impact, as they cannot breed with native populations. Also, the triploids grow bigger sooner because they don't waste energy on reproduction.

[joe]

Drake,

Do you you teach a class on fisheries for the self educated, if so, I need to partake.

[MGIII]

Originally Posted by joe

Drake,



Do you you teach a class on fisheries for the self educated, if so, I need to partake.

If you are SELF educated wouldn't you be your own teacher?

[Drake Side of The Moon]

Well I know you could teach a class and others on the forum that are active biologist.

I'm painting the broad stokes here feel free to help fill in the blanks guys.

Someone asked a interesting question just doing my best to answer it
and get the discussion going when others chime in with more info.

[joe]

Originally Posted by MGIII

If you are SELF educated wouldn't you be your own teacher?

Self educated people direct (teach) themselves to seek knowledge from many sources and are very passionate about that subject. Self educated people do not have degrees in the subject but can compete, knowledgewise, with the degreed folks.

[Backcountryfishing]

Thanks everyone for your help. I only see what I think are wild trout in streams, and usually some distance from where any fish are stocked. I just had a couple trips in a row where we caught what looked like wild fish but near stocked areas. Sometimes it seems really clear, sometimes not. I'll keep putting them back except sometimes in stocked areas, I would just hate to bring home a stream bred trout from a stocked area. I did that once and wish I had realized it sooner...

[SAT]

Originally Posted by Backcountryfishing

Thanks everyone for your help. I only see what I think are wild trout in streams, and usually some distance from where any fish are stocked. I just had a couple trips in a row where we caught what looked like wild fish but near stocked areas. Sometimes it seems really clear, sometimes not. I'll keep putting them back except sometimes in stocked areas, I would just hate to bring home a stream bred trout from a stocked area. I did that once and wish I had realized it sooner...

Don't beat yourself up over it too much. Like you, most of us on here preferred C&R, but keeping one wild fish every now and then for the most part won't hurt anything. Keeping stringers of them on a regular basis… That's a different story.

Enjoy your time on the water!

[Drake Side of The Moon]

So was I wrong on the part that rainbows don't spawn very successfully
in still waters here in Arizona? Thought that was the case, right? Joe.. anyone

[Backcountryfishing]

I'd always understood that all trout (other than lake trout) don't reproduce well in lakes. I think the eggs need the aeration from flowing water and clean gravel beds that streams provide. I've seen rainbows and cut throats trying to spawn in lakes though. Of course no clue what came of it...

I'm sure you're right about keeping an occasional fish, but you get what I mean. Stream bred are too few and far between.

[joe]

Originally Posted by Drake Side of The Moon

So was I wrong on the part that rainbows don't spawn very successfully
in still waters here in Arizona? Thought that was the case, right? Joe.. anyone

I am not aware of Rainbows being able to spawn in lakes without feeder streams or lake-bed springs.