Divemaster
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Brown Trout Abundance
Just curious, thought this would make a nice discussion. You guys have any ideas as to why Browns just haven't taken off in Erie? It constantly amazes me that they thrive in deep, cold Lake Ontario but are next to nonexistent in Erie. Especially considering the facts that they rarely inhabit water deeper than 100', are more tolerant of/prefer warmer water than Steelhead, and will gorge themselves on a diet of primarily Round Gobies. The central and eastern basins of Lake Erie just sound like a perfect habitat for them, so why haven't they done anywhere near as well as our Steelhead, or the Browns of Lake O? Thoughts, ideas, comments, links to studies on the topic?
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Erie_flyfishing
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 00:13:57
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Fisherlady2
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 07:23:56
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I don't know where to access stocking #s but I would start there.... BT are big money to New York so I would be willing to bet they have been intensely stocked with tight regulation for many years. You could ask on the NY board for some insight on their programs. There are a few long time fishermen over there who can probably point you to the right historical data.
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psu_fish
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 08:13:16
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Here are the PFBC numbers for the past two years for Lake Erie. With all the walleyes, the stockings have little chance of survival. 2017 Brown Trout - ERIE Yearling 10,000 2018 Brown Trout - ERIEYearling 13,255 Total = 23,255 Now if you at NY DEC stocking numbers. May 2017, in the county of Wayne, and in the town of Sodus, DEC stocked 18,000 BT smolts that were on average of 8 inches. You can look at all the other counties, and see how heavy DEC stocks Lake O.
post edited by psu_fish - 2018/07/18 08:18:47
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Kokanee Killer
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 08:33:59
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yep agree too many eyes for the browns to flourish lake o and michigan dont have as near many eyes as we do plus alot more browns get put into both lakes
I have become comfortably numb
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workcanwait....
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 09:05:20
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Yup was thinking about this the other day while harvesting some eyes.
I got to agree too many walleye eating the young.I would love to see them get established better but not sure it will happen in next few years.
Also to add to the post I have noticed in our fishing and reading post/reports on Facebook that perch catches are down too and ones being caught are BIG I think walleye are eating a lot of the smaller ones and keeping the bigger ones scattered and on the run/swim.
Jus my 2 cents...WCW
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Divemaster
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 10:37:26
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Thanks for the input, all. I guess the high density of Walleye plus low stocking numbers is enough to do it. The most logical thing to do may be to wait for a time when the Eye population is lower and then stock twice as many Browns, but who knows if that’ll ever happen. I’m concerned enough about our Steelhead at the moment with all of those Waldos running around terrorizing them right now. Not to mention, every Walleye I’ve harvested this year has had an empty stomach, so I’m sure they’re plenty hungry for whatever morsel happens to swim into their line of sight.
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workcanwait....
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 13:13:54
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I have cut up a lot of eyes last month or so and they all had empty bellies too...WCW
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psu_fish
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 13:30:31
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It cost the PFBC $0 to stock walleye in Lake Erie. It cost a lot of $$ to stock BT's into Erie. So you will never see the BT stocking rates double or triple. PFBC is broke as it is now.
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CKM
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/18 17:05:12
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original post deleted because table configuration was illegible. An average of 75,000 "put-grow-take" brown trout have been stocked annually from 2009 through 2018 through a cooperative agreement between the PA Fish and Boat Commission, 3-C-U and the Wesleyville Conservation Club. This is in addition to 20,000+ adult brown trout that are stocked annually by the PFBC into the Erie tributaries for the opening day of trout season.
post edited by CKM - 2018/07/18 17:19:35
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psu_fish
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/19 09:12:52
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So we are going to count pellet heads? Do said pellet heads even live long enough to run into the main lake, and then come back to the tribs and nearshore in the fall?
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CAPTAIN HOOK
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Re: Brown Trout Abundance
2018/07/22 09:33:56
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The Brown Trout numbers that Pa. stock in lake Erie are minute compared to the New York program. Erie will never have a heavy population of Browns and it's all in the stocking numbers, not the Walleye feeding patterns.
It's all in the money or revenue that the states bring in. When looking at a map of the Great Lakes all one has to do is look at how little PA. has shoreline access to Lake Erie as compared to Ohio or New York's Lake Ontario shorelines. The tax revenue on fishing , boating, tourism in NY or Ohio would be 10 times that or more as compared to PA. Their programs are well funded and the stocking numbers prove that over the years. I witnessed a Brown Trout stocking years ago on NY's Wilson pier area that put 10 K Browns in one stocking! Most were around 8-10" and that was only the one stop !
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