Trout Week; Day 6

Trout Week 2012

It's  Trout Week Day 6 and you know what that means!  It's time to be honest.  Honest day, Day 6.  So I'm gonna keep it reel.  On the for reel tip, I don't care too much about Rainbow Trout.  I've put off writing about rainbows all week, but now I guess I have to.  I do not find them special.  They are an ugly trout in my opinion, and their only use is for put and take fishing.  Gank 'em and fry 'em.


So in ode to the monotonous Rainbow Trout, and without taking up too much of your Friday afternoon...

Stream Name: Any that is on the stocking schedule.  Fall stockings are going on now.

Stream Location: PENNSYLVANIA

Features:Streams that are stocked have too many fish in them to be a healthy ecosystem.  That's why they are put there, so you can gank 'em and fry 'em

Target Trout: Rainbow Trout

Weapon of choice: Zebco rod and reel combo with whatever line that is already on it.

Bait/Lure/Fly:Live minnows, powerBait, or red worms.

Section of Choice: Follow the stocking truck.  They know best!

X-tra Info: Remember to keep your fishing license displayed.  Also, this is actually important, the daily creel limit drops during the "Extended Season".  

Extended Season (approved trout waters and all waters downstream of approved trout waters)
Jan. 1 through Feb. 29 and Sept. 4 through Dec. 31.

I'll leave you with this recipe for you to try:

Keepin It Reel Trout

Stuff your trout with a combination of diced peppers and onions.

Throw in some cajun spice to get that stuff spicy!

Line the bottom of your pan with cut potatoes.

Fill up the bottom of your pan with beer until the potatoes are slightly covered.  

Put your stuffed trout on top of the potatoes.  

Cover your pain with foil and cut a few slits in the top.

Allow it to simmer for 12 minutes or so.

For added flavor, throw some butter in the beer or inside your trout.

Enjoy your Friday night.  And if you're a fan like I am, LETS GO PENN STATE!

Write this down!  Trout Week day 3 prize pack code: HEEEEEYYYYYY Rainbow!

Trout Week; Day 5

Trout Week 2012

Day 5 of Trout Week takes us up to the great north west of Pennsylvania.  A destination for trout anglers of all ages, Erie PA offers something that you cannot find anywhere else in the state.  Of course you should know by now that I am referencing the all powerful Steelhead Trout.  A relative of the Rainbow Trout, Steelhead grow much larger due to living the majority of their life within Lake Erie.  The combination of more forage available and a huge lake to grow, it is easy to see why the average steelhead caught in the Erie tributaries hovers around 8 lbs.  Although 8 is the general average, it is nothing for an angler to hook into a 12 lbs lunker or bigger!

Stream Name:Walnut Creek.  (Featured in "Gone Fishin... The 50 Best Waters in Pennsylvania" by Manny Luftglass)

Stream Location:Erie, Pennsylvania

Features:Many deep "natural" holes that were created within Walnut Creek through an effort of the PA Fish and Boat Commission, along with the PA Steelhead Association and several other groups.  These holes that were established allow for perfect steelhead structure during the spawning runs.

Target Trout:Steelhead

Weapon of choice:Either a heavy fly rod or spinning rod will do great.  6 pound test and higher is also important to have with you.

Bait/Lure/Fly: Sucker Spawn flies have seem to be the hot ticket lately for fly fishermen, especially when tied in tandem as an emerger and dropper.  Larger Rapala's (Either X-Raps or the Original Floating Minnow) will do great.  You can also not go wrong with fresh tied egg sacks!

Section of Choice:*There is not a section that is better than others.

X-tra Info: *The benifit of fishing for steelhead is that they have two spawn runs throughout the year.  One is in the fall and the other is in the spring.  The downfall of fishing steelhead in Erie is that you will find yourself fighting with people for a fishing spot if you go at the wrong time.  Erie gets absolutely hammered with anglers during the steelhead runs.  And from my experience, not everyone of those anglers is a "nice person".  You can experience any number of ignorant actions by people when in Erie when the run is in full swing.  So below I have listed a few tips and tricks to try and avoid people as much as possible.

-Expect to do a large amount of driving.   It will usually take you multiple trips down many back roads to find a stream access that does not already have a couple bodies in it.

-The spring run usually generates less traffic from anglers.  Mostly because the fall run is the heavier of the two runs with a higher concentration of steelhead spawning in the fall.

-Plan your trip during the work week.  There will be less people out on a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Once the later part of the week and the weekend arrives, the banks will be packed.

-Keep an eye on the weather.  Strong or persistent rainstorms will slow the fishing down.  Although this time is not the best in attempting to land a big steelhead, it will keep fishermen away from the muddy, higher, and faster flowing water.

-Lastly, go into things with an open mind.   Try not to have an itinerary or plan that needs to be followed.  You will have to make many adjustments throughout your time in Erie.

With all the stress that can come from a steelhead trip to Erie, once you hook into one it will be worth the effort.  Having to fight a fish for 10, 15, or 20 minutes is not uncommon.  Although I personally have yet to slam a nice steelhead, I have been with buddies who have been fortunate enough too.  (I'd like to blame my lack of catches due to the poor planning and weather we faced, but I hate making excuses.)  Here is my buddy Corbin with a nice steelhead he caught right next to me on our first trip to Erie.  I got to watch the 15 minute fight take place and even snapped this picture!  Below is another awesome steelhead caught a year later. 

One "must do" while in Erie is to check out Poor Richard's Bait and Tackle shop.  Poor Richard's offers a plethora of bait and tackle options that will be sure to leave your wallet a little lighter.  The staff at Poor Richard's is also very knowledgeable on all the tributaries in Eire, as well as the stream conditions and what is working best for anglers.  Poor Richard's also offers an excellent fish cleaning and smoking service that it second to none.  There is nothing better than enjoying some smoked steelhead as you drive home from an exciting trip to Erie PA!

Write this down!  Trout Week day 3 prize pack code: Slammin Steel

Trout Week; Day 4

Trout Week 2012

We're rollin out with day 4 of Trout Week with one amazing fish!  A fish so uncommon that catching this trout would be a true catch of a lifetime.  I have yet to land one of these treasures, but Dave Piavis Jr. from PA's Wild Trout has been making a habit of it for years.  Take a glimpse inside the secretive culture of the Tiger Trout.  The most treasured trout of Pennsylvania.

Stream Name:------------

Stream Location:Luzurne County

Features: Pretty secluded, Ive never seen anyone else fishing my section.  The biggest brook trout from here is 16, brown trout, 24, rainbow 19, tiger 18.  I've also pulled channel cats, smallmouth, walleye, and rock bass from this section

Target Trout:Wild Tiger Trout

Weapon of choice:Ultra light trout rod with regular mono.

Bait/Lure/Fly:I'll tell you that when you're trying to target a Tiger Trout, it's best to use minnows, Tigers have a much larger strike zone than the other trout, and also attack with a lot more force!

Section of Choice:I'm very secretive about this place, I try to do my best to make nobody sees me making my way to my spot. I don't park anywhere near it.

X-tra Info: This spot was passed down to me from my dad, I've caught most of my memorable trout from here, and have only kept one trout in the 3 years that I've been fishing it. I feel that if more people practiced catch and release we could have more places like this in PA, we could have more spots like this! I also feel like if I shared this place with people it would lose its magic for sure, sorry you guys, but look at these pictures. If you had a spot where you could catch these, would you tell anyone?

For those who do not know, or maybe unaware of this species, the Tiger Trout is a hybrid fish, different from the Golden Rainbow trout that we looked at yesterday.  Whereas the mutation of a gene in the rainbow led to the golden rainbow, the tiger trout is a combination of two different trout.  Can you guess which two?  

 

+

 






=

That's right.  When a brook trout and a brown trouts reproductive material mix you will end up with a tiger trout.  This is generally a happy natural accident within streams.  The PA Fish and Boat Commission considers a natural tiger trout possibility "biologically possible, but extremely rare."  The PAFBC also tested the waters with raising and stocking tiger trout within the commonwealth waterways.  But this program was discontinued in 2005 due to "no biological advantage" of stocking tiger trout compared to the other trout.  As a hybrid fish, tiger trout are sterile.  They can not reproduce.  Instead, all of their energy that would otherwise be used in their reproduce development is used in place to grow.  In other words, tigers can grow big fast.  Although the PAFBC does not continue to raise and stock tigers, many cooperatives and private hatcheries do.

So what does this all mean?  It means if you catch a tiger trout you are a lucky fellow.  I attempted to find a stocking scheduled list from 2005 but was unable to track down a legit document.  So unless you know of a specific stream and have caught tigers there before, it is hard to plan a trip in solely in search of catching tiger trout.  But here are some hints that you could look for that will lead you to a potential tiger area.

- Fish a stream with a high brook trout population.  Brown trout are pretty resilient and are in most streams.  If you can find a stream with a high brookie population upstream from brown trout, you may have the perfect storm.

OR

- Fish downstream from hatcheries.  Fish escape hatcheries all the time and there is a chance that a tiger may have escaped.  Remember above when I mentioned that the PAFBC discontinued tiger trout stocking in 2005?  The year prior, in 2004, Hurricane Ivan swept through Pennsylvania flooding numerous locations, including state fish hatcheries.  A large number of tiger trout escaped from this event and can be found in many streams across PA.

An in-depth Google search may lead you to discover tiger trout locations that are otherwise locked down and under a Masonic Temple by anglers.  Otherwise you're search for tiger trout may become a life long endeavor. 


Good luck and fish on!

Write this down!  Trout Week day 3 prize pack code: Hybrid Treasures