Autumn On The EB

Autumn On The EB

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

I Don't Want To Start Anything, but.......

 "The solution to any problem - work, love, money, whatever - is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be".  John Gierach


Well, they did it again!! The stream to the left may be recognized as the West Branch of the Swift River, a very important body of water because it sustains a good native brook trout population AND it is the home of a great run of LL Salmon that sustains the population in Quabbin.

That's why it's a mystery why the DFW would stock this stream with hatchery fish.  The month of April saw the carpet bombing of the West Branch with brown trout and then with rainbows.  We have been told all along, by those in the know, that hatchery fish don't get along with the natives.  So why stock hatchery fish to compete with natives?  It's not just the little gem that's in the above photo but EVERY stream that has natives should not be stocked with competing fish.  I know that this may upset Joey Hookandbullet and the boys down at the club but they don't really fish these brooks as their reputation suggests. In fact, many of these "blue lines" hardly ever get fished so stocking them is a waste of a resource and a destructive act on the resident fish.

There's a growing portion of the fishing population that cares more about self sustaining  trout in a "blue line" environment than stockers with ripped tails and missing fins!

Spring Insects

It's been aa banner year if you like caddis.  They are everywhere. I've seen spotty hatches of Quill Gordons and some early Hendricksons. Water temperatures should hit the mid 50's to trigger a hatch but these COLD nights and mornings of the past two weeks  seemed to have stalled that.  No problem - just keep fishing!!!


Ken





23 comments:

Matt said...

New York finally adopted regulations that takes any stream that supports sufficient natural reproduction off of the stocking lists. In most, the "natural" reproduction is brown trout, not the native brook trout, whose habitat and cold water refuges have been decimated by development, climate change and stocking of non-native trout. Those populations that are still present will be protected by stopping stocking and adopting catch and release or more stringent creel limits. In Western NY, we have many streams with natural preproducing brown trout, a few with natural reproducing rainbows and some brook trout water. My hope is that the DEC will publish stocking lists with dates and times (like Mass does) so that the people who want to catch and keep can do so without killing wild fish.

Charles said...

I couldn't believe it when I saw that stretch had been stocked. I've been catching native brookies there since my wife and I moved to Amherst in 1976. Probably will go somewhere else for a while. So, count me on the side of preserving our native fish populations.
Charles

Unknown said...

Spot on about stocking of the blue-lines. A real travesty.

Btown Jim said...

Well I have to agree totally. The WB Swift should be a little purist stream. If lucky, catch a salmon. If not so lucky a wild brook or brown trout. It is not a put and take stream, which the state says is their goal - so stop stocking it! Thanks Ken

Btown Jim said...

Well I have to agree totally. The WB Swift should be a little purist stream. If lucky, catch a salmon. If not so lucky a wild brook or brown trout. It is not a put and take stream, which the state says is their goal - so stop stocking it! Thanks Ken

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Yes, it makes you wonder what the DFW goal is - restoring and protecting resources or bringing finned cattle to market!!Ken

YellowstoneBound said...

Finned cattle. I'm going to remember to use that expression when discussing stream management decisions!

Brendan said...

Sadly, this is so typical of management, or lack-there-of, in Massachusetts. It appears as if there is no attempt to distinguish between different water bodies with differing water and habitat quality. It's a lazy, thoughtless one-size-fits-all approach... high quality rivers and streams that can/should support natural reproduction get treated the same as any old marginal river, pond, or puddle... dump in some rainbows and maybe a few browns or brookies for variety. Connecticut's management plan at least attempts to promote higher-quality fisheries where the opportunity exists... multiple rivers and streams are managed for wild fish, even if some still receive stocked fish; rivers that support trout through the winter but not summer are regulated for catch-and-release from the fall through the spring; more marginal waters are stocked heavily to provide easy fishing in the spring. When everything isn't managed for put-and-take the quality of the fishing experience is greatly enhanced... it's well-worth the longer drive and the sixty bucks for an out of state license. I'm happy to pay since it appears my money is supporting thoughtful management, and not just on the Farmington.

Paul Fay said...

This may sound however it sounds but... I do think stocking should cease in bodies of water that support wild fish but I think marking these streams on a wild only list would be a mistake that would bring poaching and high fishing pressure to some streams, that's just my take

Brk Trt said...

There are a group of dedicated wild native small stream guys here in CT that are pissed that the state still stocks prime wild waters with rainbows. The question has been asked why????silence.

A few weeks ago while fishing a class 1 WTMA that holds both wild brookies and browns I caught a ugly rainbow. It seem like a form of state sponsored pollution.

Brk Trt said...

There are a group of dedicated wild native small stream guys here in CT that are pissed that the state still stocks prime wild waters with rainbows. The question has been asked why????silence.

A few weeks ago while fishing a class 1 WTMA that holds both wild brookies and browns I caught a ugly rainbow. It seem like a form of state sponsored pollution.

Anonymous said...

Ken,
We may not agree on some things, but your are 100% spot on with the efforts of DFW and questioning their goals. Their website states they are responsible for "conservation of fresh water fish" and to "restore, protect and manage". When it comes to trout, that could not be further from the truth. When was the last time you heard of any major MA river restoration efforts completed by DFW to help improve wild trout populations in MA? Isn't it the state's duty/responsibility to "manage" our fisheries through eshocking and monitoring trout populations, then focus on improving those rivers that can self sustain and supplement only those that require stocking only? I would much rather see them spend less on rearing less tank trout and using the spare money to restore rivers that can naturally self reproduce and remain wild.

mike said...

Living in far off northern MaineI don't have a dog in this fight, beyond my sense of outrage at the destruction of wild brook trout habitat by people who we assumed would know better. My question is: how are the Massachusetts F&G commissioners appointed? What wildlife biologist worth a damn would concede to this stocking plan?

Hibernation said...

My assumption was that the Swift WB was always stocked? Was it off the list, and now is back on? Regardless, it's a challenge to me. There are many cool little streams with wild trout that could do without the stocking... but which would be hammered by catch and keep folks until June, then not see a hook until the following spring.

Makes me wonder, would not stocking help or hurt, if it was not also done with added regs. For example, streams like that - or the other few in that area containing wild fish - get a label as wild trout water or something or wild coldwater fishery and they end up with special regs, perhaps CR or similar.

Now you have wild fish, but not heavy pressure, and they get a shot to do their thing.

I dont know the best answer. It just seems turning off one nozzle while the other flows strong doesnt stop the flood, it just slows it down... if you follow me.

Sort of related, but watching 2 foot salmon and browns that seem similar in size swim up that little river in the fall is amazing. They seem so so so to big to fit in there, but they do it.

Falsecast said...

...with all this agreement I wonder why it is so hard to convince people not to stock Rainbows in the Swift? :)

I was at the Housy (in MA) on Monday and managed a few nice browns in high flows. I saw a lot of Hendrickson nymphs very active in the rocks, none really hatching though. I think the Hendricksons should get going after this rain.

Chico said...

Pisses me off to see brown trout put into lakes and ponds. Put these fish in streams and fill the lakes and ponds with rainbows. Also pisses me off to see repeated electro shocking to study habits of stocked rainbow trout in streams...... Waste of resources.

Sam said...

The DFW interest in stocking small streams with hatchery trout is a mystery to me also, Ken. A small stream in my area, South branch of the Mill River which rises in Hampden and flows through Wilbraham on its way to Forest Park in Springfield and beyond, has been stocked the last two years. Never stocked before as far as I know. The browns they stocked this year may make a go of it, but fishing for them would be a challenge as overgrown much of the stream is.

Sam

Millers River Flyfisher said...

Chico,

I would put bows into ponds but make all the rivers on the Ma major rivers list C&R

Brk Trt,

I agree!!!!

Paul Fay,

I disagree. I think most bait and lure slingers don't care about little native brookies. Put up a sign that says "monster bows live here" and they will swarm it.

Ken

CapeSalter said...

Contact the Board at DFW ,they are the people that have to make the policy change.

Dave P said...

Stocking on top of wild populations does seem incredibly stupid. I feel like this is something that we, collectively, could do something about. We might, for instance, get TU MA on the case. In addition, I know my state senator and rep very well, and I bet some of you do, too. Mine are very ecologically minded, so I imagine they will be willing at least to listen. I'm going to be at the MA TU "Caddis Fest" in early June, and I will start by bringing it up there. If others are members of TU, why not bring it up at your next chapter meeting? This really seems like a case where we could effect some change.

If others are interested in working on this, we could set up an email group to communicate. I'm not exactly sure how comfortable I am advertising my email address here, but Ken has access to it, and I would be happy if he would pass it along to anyone else who is interested in working on this.

Tight lines, all! Conditions are really picking up. See you on the water.

Cheers,
David P.

Millers River Flyfisher said...

CapeSalter and Dave P.

You are right. All change goes through the Ma. DFW Board. When we, a local TU Chapter, got CR for the Millers we petitioned the Board, got Ma/TU to sign on as well as a local environmental group (Millers River Watershed Council). We also had support from a biologist or two. It should not be too hard to make the case for NOT stocking on top of native populations. It may be difficult to garner support to limit rainbow stocking with people who just want to fish even if it's just for stocked bows.

Ken

Unknown said...

You really want to save trout fishing? Catch and release,it's the only way. The oceans are going down the tubes as we speak. Cheers,Chet

Jake Tippet said...

I dont think guys are lining up to catch five in brookies. Just us weirdos for the most part. Either way dfw should survey that river.