Re: What was your best fish of 2009
Rs01,
Fin structure is only one way to attempt to judge the origin of a trout. I the trout is stocked as a fingerling or even parr the fins will look the same as if the trout were born in the stream. Of course the obvious exception would be if the fins were clipped for identification purposes.
The only way to truly identify the origin of a trout would be to take a scale sample and send it to a biologist. There are rings on the scale that are similar to those in a tree bark. These rings and their spacing are the only way to tell the origin of the fish with 100 percent certainty.
Re: What was your best fish of 2009
Thanks Aaron, I wondered why Magnet noted the fin and thought it was a native.
I lost track of the number of days I went fishing and the number of fish I caught this year, but it was definitely my best year streamside ever.
Although they weren't nearly as big as some of the trout noted above, my largest brown was in the 16", 4 lb. range caught on Fishing Creek and its twin rainbow caught yesterday on Meadow Run just above where it runs into the Yough.
I'm just wondering how I'm going to top this year....
Re: What was your best fish of 2009
RSO1,
Please understand that I am only a mere casual fisherman and poster here at TPO and not knowlegable enough to be answering questions. So I was glad Aaron explained it for you. I was only refering to the redish color I have observed on the caudal fin of wild fish. If you spend time at fishing creek then you know more about wild fish than I as I fish mostly in CT.
Re: What was your best fish of 2009
Hey I know that spot! I actually had that spot as a beat in the comp. The water was 8 feet higher than it was in that picture. I wish that it were that level that day!
Re: What was your best fish of 2009
i always assumed that the brown was a holdover from the season before. the stream i caught it in has some wild fish but very few. I caught it in a section that recieves a lot of stocked fish. it is possible it was wild though. we will never know. Either way its a beauty of a brown.
Re: What was your best fish of 2009
Hey Magnet, I consider myself a casual fisherman too. I've been fishing for trout since I was ten, and I'm still learning about them.
I made a real effort this year to get out more, and managed around 60 days streamside so far, which is no where near some of the guys on this site.
Also, I've never fished for trout outside of Pa., so I am really envious of the time you had on the Yellowstone.
Re: What was your best fish of 2009
Rs0i,
When you get the chance to fish other places you will think about how lucky you have been to be a fly fisherman born and raised in PA. It doesn't get any better.
