Stocker Trout on the fly.

[RonS]

Late last year Gofisher from the CT board told me about the creeks that TWRA stocks in the spring and early summer.

They won't hold trout through the summer, water gets too warm. It's a put and take. You can either fry them up at home, or let them boil in the stream come July.

You all probably know about them already since most of you have been chasing trout in TN longer than I have lived here. On the TWRA website there is a stocked trout streams link. It will take you to stocking schedule and maps. I fished one of those spots Wednesday afternoon.

I know catching fresh stockers is not the most challenging fly fishing, however it did give me some good, fun practice with this equipment that still seems foriegn to me.  It's a small stream so a short cast, or a long (long to me) roll cast will get the job done. I caught probably 20 fish in 2 hours.

Fishing a Hare's Ear, and a Wolly Bugger, I learned how to get a feel for the take on the swing. I accidently learned that most of the takes would come at the end of the swing as I was lifting the fly up to strip it in for another cast. It was pretty cool.

Check out the links and find a stream near you. I think they are in all 4 regions. This would be a great way to get any one new to the sport some relatively easy practice while actually catching a fish or two.

[MikeA]

Sounds like a good time Ron. TN has sooo much to offer for fishermen. Sometimes, like today,  I just don't feel worthy.

Mike

[bd]

Ron, not all of the streams on the spring-and-summer stocking list get too warm in summer.  Some of them do, but a few of them hold over fish, at least in good years when there is enough rain to keep the cold springs flowing.  A few of the creeks even support natural reproduction, though in most cases it's not enough reproduction to support the fishery without stocking. 

I am still doing scouting to figure out which of the streams are worth fishing year-round and which only hold trout during the stocking period.  Information about the good streams is hard to come by.  I got a bit of hateful e-mail after asking about these streams on the CT board.

bd

[RonS]

Thanks bd, I stand corrected on the "too hot to hold em over" comment.

I guess I should have said that some of them won't hold trout all year. My ignorance of TN streams is showing here.

According to TWRA, the stream I fished last week does get too warm.

I am going to try to search another stream or two in that program to investigate this year. I'll take a thermometer and log water temps this summer just to see.

I could probably google and find out, however do you happen to know water temp range of rainbows?

[MikeA]

That would be some good info Ron. Be sure to post it with some kind of searchable tag so you can find it in the years to come. BTW, I or BD can point you to a few holdover streams. 

[bd]

Ron, if you can get Frank Fiss or any of the TWRA stream guys on the phone, they can be a great source of information.

The only reason I pointed out that some streams hold over is that it might make a difference on the decision whether to keep fish.

On the streams that get too warm, definitely keep some trout - no reason to let them go to waste.  But on the holdover streams, I'm inclined to throw them back.  Those streams can be a great "secret spot" when you want to get away from the crowds later in the year, but only if the trout haven't all been caught out.

bd

[RonS]

bd,

I agree 100% with your philosophy. If they are gonna die, they might as well fry. If not, hold em over for another year.

I'll be doing some more research!

Modified to add: I've been reading TWRA Tailwater studies all morning. I got this from the Normandy/Duck River study.

Although the precise temperature that will kill a rainbow trout will vary according to
several factors, stocking trout in the Duck River in late summer, when temperatures
routinely exceed 25 C, is clearly a waste of resources. Fishing pressure is low, catch rates
are poor, and few trout live long enough to be harvested.