Don't really wont to resurrect the threads about 68 or even 69 trout being
caught in one session by one guy, but--- our little 5acre pond up here in
Scotland is stocked with 100-150 rainbows at a time.
Our policy is not to fish for a week after stocking.
Then after that -away we go.
Looking at our catch records, the most fish caught by one person in one
session stands at 25
Are we all **** anglers?

Yes.......

I disagree, for one hours fishing its verging on acceptable.

Must remember, next time I come out of the pub on a Friday night,is not
to start threads that have already been exhausted.(sorry about that)
The questions I should have asked the members of this forum is.
We stock the pond about 3 times per year-each time with 200 fish.
Mainly rainbows-blues and a small number of browns all about 2lb and we
have been doing that for some years.
Our records show what has been caught-how many- and fish killed.
The fish killed by our members is about 50 per year.
So we should have plenty of fish to catch.
As I have already mentioned,no one has caught a big number of fish in
one session and maybe it is to do with our angling skills.
But I was wondering – our pond is old and has masses of aquatic insect
life. Is it possible that because we let the stocked fish settle they get
use to the natural food before we have a chance to
catch them.
Also: Is there a any way to establish fish numbers?
Do fish come to the surface when dead?
We have no obvious signs of poaching or predation
( do not want to mention cormorants again)
Finally- the brown trout are caught in small numbers just after stocking
and then they go missing for long periods,then all of a sudden early this
month 6 turn up(all caught on white lures.) all 3lb + and my personnel
best fish on a fly, one in excess of 5lbs.
Where did they come from? What have they been doing?
Any ideas?

if they are reaching that size then er....its cos you just aint catching them

Hi morrisdancer.

Our fishery, near Sheffield, is run on pretty much the same lines as yours.

The larger fish here too tend to "disappear" shortly after stocking but then there are depths of up to 30ft for them to go into and no-one sets out to fish for them.

Larger fish, particularly browns, do seem to make an appearance around October time. Something seems to trigger them into gorging on fry before the onset of winter. I should think that's why they fell to white lures.

I suspect that, during the warmer months, they may feed exclusively at night - but it's only a theory.

I should like to see some of the numbers men demonstrate their skills on our tree-lined, 7½ acre reservoir when the fish have been feeding exclusively on greenfly for a month - that would be educational

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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Hi', Tommy. It is possible that the early autumn feeding is due to the spawning urge, especially among the hen fish, as they need extra protein to produce roe.
I presume your stocked fish are hens -- are they sterile? TerryC

Catching freshly stocked rainbows is not rocket science and requires little skill at all , However once they have been in the water for a while they become a bit more difficult - Thats why most fishery owners are asked on a daily basis - When was it last stocked.

I myself have hit stocked waters and had fish after fish after fish of new stockies - Whilst it is fun very little skill is required as the trout will take almost anything I put on the end of the line.

Wild fishing requires far more skill , The Clyde and the Tweed to me provide a real test for the Angler with many so called great rainbow men falling flat on their face , One angler said to me the Clyde and Tweed were played out in terms of trout

Nothing to do with the lack of angling skill required to fish these waters.

Rainbows provide great fun but require little skill to catch unless they have been in the water for a while.

Col

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"It is not easy to tell one how to cast. The art must be acquired by practice.

You could leave it for a month after stocking and it wouldn't make a scrap of difference. Stock fish are still naive and easy to catch. Why not consider marking your fish and requiring all members to record marked fish on their returns. It's easy enough to do on the farm before the fish are delivered.

That depends on how many times they have been caught.

This would explain why the fishing gradually gets worse on catch and release only waters.

I know I fish two of them.

But its open for debate - Still the rainbows provide good fun.

Col

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"It is not easy to tell one how to cast. The art must be acquired by practice.