Wild Vs Holdover Vs Stocked

[Dub]

I caught a couple of brookies this past weekend about 6-7" and very dark. How do you tell the difference between stocked brook trout, wild and holdovers? The place I caught them gets stocked once a year but at some point had wild brookies.

[FlyFishFrostie]

By no means an expert, the way I try to guess whether a trout is wild (stream-bred) is whether it is very brightly colored and whether all of its fins are well shaped and DO NOT have any of the following:

(1) deformities (strenuous conditions in the wild quickly weed out those with genetic flaws, so trout with deformities in any fins are likely to be stocked),

(2) worn ends (stocked trout in crowded hatcheries often have their lower fins worn down on the bottom of the hatchery tank), or

(3) clipped ends (some hatcheries clip certain lower fins to identify them as stocked).

With a stream-bred brookie, the colors are going to be especially stunning, such as a dark green body with white spots, maybe mixed with a few pink ones, and most notably, with fins that have bright orange and white edges.

Holdovers start to take on the appearance of wild or stream-bred trout, so they can be harder to identify, but a 6-7" brookie, being comparatively small, probably is not a holdover, and if it is not strikingly bright and/or if it has any of the above fin conditions, probably is a stocked fish.

Hope this helps.

[edsly42]

i ran into a similar situation where I had caught some 6-8" browns in a creek in Western Mass. I contacted Mass F&G to see if they might have stocked parr and they said they don't stock fish that small, in that watershed anyway, so those fish would have to be naturally reproducing. It may be as simple a solution as that. I'd contact the F&G, they may want to know anyway about a stream holding natives.

[bb1]

Sometimes a catch a very 'dark' fish in spring (trout & bass)....some say that they are holdovers, while others say they came from deep water, while others say they came from shallow water and deep fish are lighter colored?

[SteepBank]

I hope a biologist will chime in on this..Ive caught trout in northern maine with no clipped fins brilliant colouration...and they were stocked. The old footnotes I used to gauge stockies by.. which was clipped fins...washed out color dont always hold true nowadays or so Ive been told...

[lhonda]

Not for nothing, but I have been told that the color of the fish's flesh is a good indicator of whether or not it's a holdover/wild vs. a stockie. The flesh of a stockie tending to be much lighter in color (a pinkish white) as opposed to deeper pink/reddish. The pigment from their diet is what's at work. Flamingos in captivity not eating their regular diet in the wild will eventually lose their pink, and turn white. Of course, this isn't a good method for the strict C&R guys... ;)

[Scunz]

Of course, this isn't a good method for the strict C&R guys... ;)

What the hell is C&R....I just don't get it?--125-3

[Cheju]

Catch and regurgetate? I would imagine that a 6" brookie must be mainly skin, scales, fins bones and guts.

Cheju

[Dub]

I'll try to remember to post a picture tonight of another nearly identical fish I caught in the same place on Friday. I don't recall if one of the fins was clipped or not. The water in this particular place is coffee colored. The coloration of the fish seems to suit him well for the environment...

[bb1]

I'll try to remember to post a picture tonight of another nearly identical fish I caught in the same place on Friday. I don't recall if one of the fins was clipped or not. The water in this particular place is coffee colored. The coloration of the fish seems to suit him well for the environment...

I wonder how much that government "fin clipping" job pays....benefits, pension? --125-3

[Dub]

Here's a couple pics of the fish from Friday. You can't really see the tail in its entirety, but I didn't notice if was clipped...

[bb1]

Here's a couple pics of the fish from Friday. You can't really see the tail in its entirety, but I didn't notice if was clipped...

That's about the size of some of the micro-lakers in Wachusett!

[tom.perignon]

Look pretty wild to me. It's those beautiful delicate fins, those guys in your pics have never been in a tank. Nice fish!

They tend to be a little less colorful in the spring if I remember back correctly to the little NJ stream I used to catch wild ones in.