Should they stay or should they go?

[bigsteel]

I think it's disgusting the way many of you look down upon people who enjoy fishing for and catching stocked trout! Sometimes your opinions are better left unspoken. Just because someone fishes for stocked trout does not make them any less of a fisherman than someone that fishes for natives.

nobody put anyone down for fishing for stocked trout,its about keeping them out of a river that doenst need them.

should we just start stocking all rivers with hatchery trout because people enjoy fishing for them?go to the local pond if you are interested in taking meat home.

 

[brandon4455]

jay, read my previous post,i stated i and im pretty sure everyone else in this thread does not look down on people who fish for stocked fish. i fish for stockers once in a great while with my fly rod at a pond... what the intimidator03 previously mentioned there are several reservoirs around like blue river reservoir that could be stocked rather then the McKenzie.....
there is jcp and alton baker right there that get stocked , yet they still stock the McKenzie. This shows odfw does not give a rats ass about native fish and just wants to sell their overpriced fishing liscenses its going to take a lot of support to get them to finally wake up and make a change

 

[rippin fish lips]

nobody put anyone down for fishing for stocked trout,its about keeping them out of a river that doenst need them.

should we just start stocking all rivers with hatchery trout because people enjoy fishing for them?go to the local pond if you are interested in taking meat home.

Yeah!! Beaverfan, Im pretty sure most of us that want more wild fisheries, learned how to fish the rivers by catching stockers. JMO.

 

[brandon4455]

Yeah!! Beaverfan, Im pretty sure most of us that want more wild fisheries, learned how to fish the rivers by catching stockers. JMO.

thats how i first started trout fishing, i still do sometimes to bring friends and family trout as a gift

 

[halibuthitman]

It's pretty obvious by how most comments are written that a great deal of this forums members think only tools fish stock trout.. Quit acting differently. Brandon I'm proud to see you have found a cause to embrace. Good for you man. I think you should get rid of the drift boats and guides down there if you really want to doll the joint up.

 

[bigsteel]

mckenzie river guides association are the ones who plant the fish,so i would love to see them go away.

then they turn around and charge people hundreds of dollars to catch 8" fish.its a bogus deal all the way around

 

[rippin fish lips]

mckenzie river guides association are the ones who plant the fish,so i would love to see them go away.

x2!

 

[benkearney]

Because in the end a fish is a fish isn't it?

No, it isn't.

 

[Drew9870]

No, it isn't.

:clap:

Anybody can raise a fish in their fish tank and take pride in catching it, I mean, a fish is a fish right? I'm not saying a grown person shouldn't fish a stocker pond, but mainly the people who do not open their mind to new places and fishing for the sport rather than the table fare, I see the same crowd at Wirth of over a dozen people EVERY DAY for about a week and a half after stocking, even after.

Now when I was a kid/young teen, I could have fun catching Sculpin all day, heck, maybe I did tie a worm straight to fishing line and drop it in my tank as a young lad , no way you'd catch me harrassing them now.

 

[brandon4455]

It's pretty obvious by how most comments are written that a great deal of this forums members think only tools fish stock trout.. Quit acting differently. Brandon I'm proud to see you have found a cause to embrace. Good for you man. I think you should get rid of the drift boats and guides down there if you really want to doll the joint up.

thanks brad.. really something i plan on getting more envolved in this issue next year... to each is their own, if someone thinks catching stockers and eating them is fun i have no problem with that at all, i just have a problem with them being put in a native trout river and i have a problem with people tossing bait on treble hooks and gill hooking natives while stocker fishing McKenzie guide association are morons and only care about money,not the river,the fish or their customers this stocking program only has negative effects!!

 

[Team CF]

I cannot believe they stocked the system at all, it makes no sense. They probably wont mess up the genetics because stocker trout probably wont survive long enough or be robust enough to spawn with the natives.

I am for the stocking of trout, Bass need something to eat.


There is nothing wrong with fishing for stocker trout just don't brag about it...ever...

 

[Willyspu]

I live near and fish the McKenzie below Leaburg Dam regularly, quite close to the Greenwood boat landing.

I agree that stockers are great for kids to learn how to learn how to fish and they have their place. However, the McKenzie is a special river that once held a sustainable population of native trout. My Grandfather would regularly pull 25-30" Redsides from the river. Yes, he would even eat them.

Once Cougar Reservoir was built the fishery was severely damaged. The Reservoir, drains water from the bottom which is super cooled (below freezing) and does not have an after-bay to warm the water like the Navajo Dam or the Flaming Gorge Dam. This super cold water killed most of the bug and plant life for miles down stream. As a result, ODFG looked to stocking as a way to bring fish back to the river, first with trout, then salmon and now steelhead. You can visit the old Leaburg Fish Hatchery on the other side of 126 from the lake and read about how it all began.

A few years back the new water release tower was put in place and the water has warmed up a few degrees and if you take a look in the water the river is greener, more bugs are hatching and the river is healthier and support more life.

There is no longer a need to put fish in the river. There are abundant tributary streams that hold both native cutthroat and redside trout to stock the river naturally and support a balanced population.

Personally, I would rather catch a small native cutthroat than a small planter trout. But I can appreciate those who would like to take a few fish home for a meal.

But to return the McKenzie to a native fishery would mean stopping all stocking and allow the river to reach an equilibrium and allow the native fish populations to find their own levels. This would mean closing the river to all fishing for several years. Based on the comments in the previous posts it sounds like people are not willing to do that for many reasons, most economic.

If you are old enough to remember the two terrible chemical spills in the Upper Sacramento River then you will also recall that that river was closed twice for 5 years at a time to rebuild it's native fish population, it is now considered a blue ribbon trout stream, just as the McKenzie was a world renowned blue river trout stream before Cougar Reservoir.

Living next to the river I can tell you that for the first time in a very long time I have seen significant hatches of Stoneflies, Green Drakes, March Browns and even some decent Caddis. The river is in pretty good shape and is ready to support a lot more life. I have also found a lot more "hardware", styrofoam worm cups, tangled line, broken coolers, clothing and piles of tissue paper covering human waste along the bank on my property.

The river is ready to return to a more native balanced state, but I don't think most people are.

That's my 2 cents worth.

Tight Lines.

 

[rippin fish lips]

I live near and fish the McKenzie below Leaburg Dam regularly, quite close to the Greenwood boat landing.

I agree that stockers are great for kids to learn how to learn how to fish and they have their place. However, the McKenzie is a special river that once held a sustainable population of native trout. My Grandfather would regularly pull 25-30" Redsides from the river. Yes, he would even eat them.

Once Cougar Reservoir was built the fishery was severely damaged. The Reservoir, drains water from the bottom which is super cooled (below freezing) and does not have an after-bay to warm the water like the Navajo Dam or the Flaming Gorge Dam. This super cold water killed most of the bug and plant life for miles down stream. As a result, ODFG looked to stocking as a way to bring fish back to the river, first with trout, then salmon and now steelhead. You can visit the old Leaburg Fish Hatchery on the other side of 126 from the lake and read about how it all began.

A few years back the new water release tower was put in place and the water has warmed up a few degrees and if you take a look in the water the river is greener, more bugs are hatching and the river is healthier and support more life.

There is no longer a need to put fish in the river. There are abundant tributary streams that hold both native cutthroat and redside trout to stock the river naturally and support a balanced population.

Personally, I would rather catch a small native cutthroat than a small planter trout. But I can appreciate those who would like to take a few fish home for a meal.

But to return the McKenzie to a native fishery would mean stopping all stocking and allow the river to reach an equilibrium and allow the native fish populations to find their own levels. This would mean closing the river to all fishing for several years. Based on the comments in the previous posts it sounds like people are not willing to do that for many reasons, most economic.

If you are old enough to remember the two terrible chemical spills in the Upper Sacramento River then you will also recall that that river was closed twice for 5 years at a time to rebuild it's native fish population, it is now considered a blue ribbon trout stream, just as the McKenzie was a world renowned blue river trout stream before Cougar Reservoir.

Living next to the river I can tell you that for the first time in a very long time I have seen significant hatches of Stoneflies, Green Drakes, March Browns and even some decent Caddis. The river is in pretty good shape and is ready to support a lot more life. I have also found a lot more "hardware", styrofoam worm cups, tangled line, broken coolers, clothing and piles of tissue paper covering human waste along the bank on my property.

The river is ready to return to a more native balanced state, but I don't think most people are.

That's my 2 cents worth.

Tight Lines.

Perfect.

 

[I <3 <><]

I am not trying to pick a fight here but you would be calling myself and my son bucket-heads. I can't take a 6 year old trout fishing on a river. If you have ever been to the Salmon river by the 101 bridge then you would witness your slug people trying for those precious salmon. Not to mention you have also called yourself a bucket-head since you fish for them as well, bait or not you called yourself a bucket-head.

Leave the names to your grade school cafeteria or your political podiums. If you want a clean respectful forum then act that way. Opinions can be respected but name calling should be beyond all of you.

One more point to make, if you are upset that ODFW is stocking trout in your local river then voice your concerns to them. Otherwise you are just preaching to the choir. At least ODFW is making some sort of effort to get fish out there. I would rather see them use native brooders than your prepackaged trout but we don't have that kind of money or power. There are illegal alternatives you could try in your backyard by breeding natives and releasing them into the river. I will say that I have heard of and seen worse.

I agree with Chris. With both of his points, atleast ODFW is making an effort. I get out maybe 2-3 times a month, I dont care what kind of fish I am fishing for, I just love to fish. I would love to go out and catch some crazy natives but thats not always the case. Between school, no car, and parent schedule normally when I do get out its to fish for stockers. I also have a 3 year old sister who loves to fish, shes only ever caught stockers, you know those few mile hikes are not her thing. But I suppose shes a bucket head too.
Last weekend I went to a pond that had been stocked with some nicer fish. Not the best day for fishing but there were some people out braving the weather. I seen two under 10 year old kids catch nice 2+ lb fish and the smile they had and light in their eyes was awesome to see. They were so excited to catch those fish, and the fish actually fought pretty well too. They are not "clueless slug people". They are people who want catch fish. It was pretty obvious they were not great fisherman either. One of them, was fishing with family from out of state. They both caught their first trout. The fact that someone would even brand people like that seems arrogant and immature.

I have never fished the Mckenzie. Thats actually on my summer to-do list. I was hoping to go fishing for some of the stockers actually. I did not know that they had native fish in there. But if you guys end up actually doing something (Which if its a good cause im for ya.) perhaps you just choose a different spot for ODFW to stock them. If you guys found an easy access, good pond (or frogwater I think is what you guys call it?) you could suggest they just change the location.

 

[fishinshawn]

I started fishing the McKenzie as a kind in the early 80's. Since my time there has ALWAYS been a lot of large native redsides. I have never floated it and not caught a bunch of wild fish. It appears there are some very arrogant people that think their way is the only right way. I believe catch and release fishing is wrong, you are intentionally inflicting pain on an animal to satisfy your pleasure. At least the "bucket heads" are doing it for a meal. The science that many native fish society people believe in is flawed, and it being used to push an agenda that if allowed will end sport fishing and hunting in the US.

I hope that hatchery fish are always around the mckenzie, I learned to steelhead fish by drifting a corky and a worm for trout. Learning to fish in that way teaches an angler so much more then simply plunking some power bait in a pond.

 

[brandon4455]

catch and release is wrong? if your fishing bait or a lure with a treble hook then its wrong because your shredding the fishes jaw, witch is why treble hooks and bait are more suited to fishing for stocker trout nowhere near wild fish. a single hook on a lure or fly does very litttle damage to the fish (a tiny ass pinpoint hole) so your wrong on that one. i would also like to hear why what native fish people believe is flawed but im not about to starta rguing ona thread i worked hard to keep clean and plus it would probably lead to more ignorant posts on your part. by the way,this thread is about hatchery fish in the McKenzie, not about catch and release vs catch and eat fishing and witch you think is better. you could have stuck with this :


"I hope that hatchery fish are always around the mckenzie, I learned to steelhead fish by drifting a corky and a worm for trout. Learning to fish in that way teaches an angler so much more then simply plunking some power bait in a pond. try to stay on topic next time. thanks

 

[brandon4455]

I agree with Chris. With both of his points, atleast ODFW is making an effort. I get out maybe 2-3 times a month, I dont care what kind of fish I am fishing for, I just love to fish. I would love to go out and catch some crazy natives but thats not always the case. Between school, no car, and parent schedule normally when I do get out its to fish for stockers. I also have a 3 year old sister who loves to fish, shes only ever caught stockers, you know those few mile hikes are not her thing. But I suppose shes a bucket head too.
Last weekend I went to a pond that had been stocked with some nicer fish. Not the best day for fishing but there were some people out braving the weather. I seen two under 10 year old kids catch nice 2+ lb fish and the smile they had and light in their eyes was awesome to see. They were so excited to catch those fish, and the fish actually fought pretty well too. They are not "clueless slug people". They are people who want catch fish. It was pretty obvious they were not great fisherman either. One of them, was fishing with family from out of state. They both caught their first trout. The fact that someone would even brand people like that seems arrogant and immature.

I have never fished the Mckenzie. Thats actually on my summer to-do list. I was hoping to go fishing for some of the stockers actually. I did not know that they had native fish in there. But if you guys end up actually doing something (Which if its a good cause im for ya.) perhaps you just choose a different spot for ODFW to stock them. If you guys found an easy access, good pond (or frogwater I think is what you guys call it?) you could suggest they just change the location.

changing the location is on the list, some people think "the rich elitist fly flingers" want the stockers removed for good, thats not the case, just relocated it would also increase the amount of fish caught by anglers if they were to be relocated, a lot of them die after stocking because they simply can't adapt and find food or the water is too chilly for em. so if anything it would increase angling opportunity and help the wild fish too i dont see what is wrong with that some people think it's a bad idea?

 

[fishinshawn]

The fact is hatchery trout have a very large harvest rate, few of them remain in the river long enough to spawn. You say many of them die because "the water is to cold and can't find food" so if it isn't a genetic problem, and many of them die and are harvested, what exactly is there to gain be removing them?

The only treble hooks I have ever seen anyone fish with are on spinners or spoons, and they rarely get lodged very deep. Where as small single egg hooks often go much deeper in the fish.

 

[I <3 <><]

changing the location is on the list, some people think "the rich elitist fly flingers" want the stockers removed for good, thats not the case, just relocated it would also increase the amount of fish caught by anglers if they were to be relocated, a lot of them die after stocking because they simply can't adapt and find food or the water is too chilly for em. so if anything it would increase angling opportunity and help the wild fish too i dont see what is wrong with that some people think it's a bad idea?

I think its a great one. I have seen a stocking truck drive onto a bridge, dump all the fish, then go. Not only did a lot of them float belly up from the impact of hitting the water but I agree with they cannot adapt. Im sure the stillwater tanks they are raised in are plently warm compared to the rivers they get tossed in.

 

[I <3 <><]

The fact is hatchery trout have a very large harvest rate, few of them remain in the river long enough to spawn. You say many of them die because "the water is to cold and can't find food" so if it isn't a genetic problem, and many of them die and are harvested, what exactly is there to gain be removing them?

The only treble hooks I have ever seen anyone fish with are on spinners or spoons, and they rarely get lodged very deep. Where as small single egg hooks often go much deeper in the fish.

You do have a good point. I think if they stop stocking it though that maybe they could get some pressure off of the fish too. Im sure there has been a lot of people who are not like us so to speak, who have been plunking power bait and caught a nice native fish, threw it on the stringer and took it home. Rather where if someone like Brandon caught a fish like that he would do his best to keep it alive. There is definitely a seperation between the two types of fishing people. That might not make sense at all but hopefully someone knows what the heck im talking about.