Ok, time to vent a bit. The above photo is of a fellow that I guided on the Millers last May. In his hands is a nice brown trout. It was caught in the upper C&R (Bears Den) section of the Millers. It is a species of trout that provided excellent fly fishing throughout the Summer and into the Fall but only in the C&R sections. Why is that? Well, the DFW will only stock them in the C&R sections. The rest of the river, prime brown trout water to say the least, is only stocked with rainbows. Rainbows are a false fishery on this river. Throw them into the Millers in April and May and watch them disappear by mid July. If we had to rely on that species for a season long opportunity we would be casting for bass by the 4th of July!! The DFW thinks that we are only after some kind of immediate gratification, a lot of sunny May afternoons where we fish for a species of trout that are bent on extinction soon afterward. Why is that? The official word is that browns survive TOO well. They will pick up toxins and present a health hazard to people who want to EAT them. Guess what? The VAST majority of people who fish the Millers are FLY FISHERS who practice CATCH & RELEASE!!! Guess what else? The DFW's own studies show a dramatic reduction of PCB's in fish samples taken from the Millers!! What else is true? The river is posted, as are many rivers in this state, with consumption warnings about brown trout and other species.
Only 25% of the trout stocked this year in Ma. will be browns. Connecticut will stock over 50% browns in their waters. Why is that? Why waste resources in freestone rivers on a species of trout that are ill equipped for those environments? Fly fishing for trout is the only angling segment that is growing. General license sales have been down for years yet the charade that the angling population wants a lot of easy 'bows in the Spring continues.
The Millers and other freestones need Brown Trout, period!!
Ken
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