Sunday, April 13, 2014

Losing Touch with Reality or Relativity Part 3

Hatchery trucks attract fisherman and birds, the river comes to life with osprey,  herons, and other fish eating birds every spring. Like clockwork we all gather as new fish are introduced to the world of eat or be eaten. Natural predation is part of life and those pellet feed tame fish better learn quick what's up or they are a meal. Those that survive and reproduce pass those facts to the next generation. The brook trout hide and until more cover grows, more food shows up they stay hidden despite the birds and the fisherman. Those wily old browns that were dumped in and survived the onslaught do the same until it's safe. Feeding mostly when most of us are home watching TV or in bed. So what do you think is the survival ratio for a stocked fish? One hour,one day, one week? By the end of the season 80%, 2% or zero? My next question is is catch and release valid for a stocked fish? Are we catching only the very stupid or just the very hungry? And finally what can we do as a group to improve the chances of fish to "hold over" and survive that first season and become those wary trout that legends are made of?

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