Croton Watershed - 5/15 - Bashed-up Trout

[scottiedog]

[smg id=236]Wee one

[smg id=241]Bashed-up Trout...

[smg id=238]Stream view

[smg id=240]Fish

Spent bit of the day on the West Branch of the river down from the Croton Falls Reservoir - beautiful weather and good amount of action on the river. Thought I'd post pictures and include one of a particular trout - actually the first one I pulled out - about 12", but it had these recent, big scars - I was kinda wondering what might have caused this - and would be interested to hear what the forum thinks! Zoomed in photo included above too.
My first time up there - pretty easy to get to - but somebody needs to tell me why there were 20 bikini-clad girls wandering about Grand Central at 8am this morning...

[alanb_ct]

Those wounds were most likely caused by a bird, probably a heron or an osprey. This kind of thing is really common.

[VTflyfishing]

Most likely a Mink, Herion or a Common Merganser. I took these pics from google.

Female Common Merganser.



Mink.

[AaronJasper]

Those megansers are bad. They hammer the smaller trout. I catch a lot of fish with displaced scales, which tells me that that fish escaped a near certain death. You really see this on streams like the Housatonic, where the fish bunch up at thermal refuges and become easy targets for the birds. Can you hunt them year round??

[VTflyfishing]

Only during duck season in the fall.

[AaronJasper]

There are about 50 of them that need to bite the dust. They are worthless as far as eating right? They are not as bad as a cormorant though! Those are the worst. I don't mind herons, ospreys and eagles as the belong there! I guess the trout don't belong in a lot of our streams so it might be a wash!

[VTflyfishing]

You can eat them and I know people that do but I don't like them. That is why I don't shoot them. I do not believe in killing animals for the hell of it. Unless your are doing some "pest control" or there numbers have become so great that they need to be put into check.

[Davyfly]

The State GF can issue a depradation permit. Mergansers are as bad as cormorants which generally habit cold water systems for short periods of times, while Mergansers may be there 365 days a years.

The only use for these is feathers on a hook. Or a bird mount, they are a attractive bird.

DW

[Flyfisher]

When you are looking at stocked streams I think the neck snappers a lot worse than any bird.

[scottiedog]

Thanks for the insights guys - appreciated.
JW