# Cold weather trout!



## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

Had to cancel my steelhead plans today so I headed to the Mad. There were actually some other guys out in the area I planned on fishing so I went scouting and found a nice stretch. Fish were stacked in deeper pools typically near a bend. Dead drifted nymphs all day, but only one particular color could get anything. All in all a decent day and my first trout of 2016!


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## Flatty01 (Aug 9, 2008)

Great way to beat cabin fever. Were they recently stocked?


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## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

I don't think so. Maybe the rainbow was


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Nice!! I'm jealous......everything's frozen out my way


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## lunker23 (Jun 28, 2013)

Nice fishies 

P.S. Please remember to wet your hands prior to touching these guys


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## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

I do typically Lunker. Only didn't on one because I didn't realize I was standing on ice and almost went swimming! I keep them in the net as much as I can too because I read about cold air affecting their eyes


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

no rainbows stocked in Mad, you must have been blessed by the river gods to get a fairly rare escapee from the local trout clubs up there, Nice job! Browns were stocked as 8-9" fish back in Late October, please handle with care as those are the same fish everyone will be catching until next Fall.

Salmonid


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## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

Do you not think there are plenty of holdovers? Also, tell me if I'm doing something wrong because I do wet my hands and try to minimize contact to a very brief quick snap of a pic, but that's the second comment about handling. Should I be doing something different?


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

no,not chastising you at all, Im just saying that yes, there are a few holdovers but we always preach to everyone to be very careful with trout since there is only 1 real stocking a year, that's all, I see many folks dry gripping, treble hooks, using live bait, corn etc and let fish flop on the ground, rocks, in the dirt and mud or gill them or hold by the eyes for trophy pics, tearing mandibles on release, all those things I see folks do constantly, I was just reminding all the readers of this forum that the fish you carefully release today might be the only fish you catch in late September when the fish counts are the lowest of the year. I saw nothing wrong with your pics, just reminding all how fragile every fish is on the Mad. Nice job btw...

Salmonid
PS PM me if you ever need any info on the Mad, have over 1000 days of fishing it over the last 25 years


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## bobcatbasser (Sep 20, 2014)

Very nice fish. Those Browns look pretty long. If you started off at the rt 296 lot I was just upstream of you. Ended up hooking 3 Browns in the 10" size range on Panther martins. Beautiful day to be out on the mad


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## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks Salmonid. I try to be really careful with them so I do appreciate the advice. 

Bobcat no I wasn't around you I don't think, that's a little south for me. I'll tell you, they were weird today on being the right color. I caught a few, tried a few new things and got none, then went back to the original color and caught more. Very picky and spooky. Salmonid I'll take you up on that, better yet we just meet up and fish!?


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## WISH IT WAS YOU (Jul 25, 2006)

That's some nice fish and that one brown is a hog what kind of water are u fishing run/pools ?


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

In no way am I saying fish handling is not important, I understand it is. But you have to admit, the same fish can be dropped out of a plane 100' over the water into a lake and survive. It's funny to think we worry about wet hands when you can do that to them and the live. 

Nice fish! I'd love to find some open water near me, but right now the only stuff that is open is the soon to be flooding Hocking River.


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## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

WISH IT WAS YOU said:


> That's some nice fish and that one brown is a hog what kind of water are u fishing run/pools ?


I was fishing pools, saw no fish in any runs or riffles. They were all stacked up with chubs. Took a couple pics, not sure if the quality will be great but here they are.


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## lunker23 (Jun 28, 2013)

" But you have to admit, the same fish can be dropped out of a plane 100' over the water into a lake and survive. It's funny to think we worry about wet hands when you can do that to them and the live"

Huh, I've never witnessed that kind of study with Trout. Sounds interesting to say the least. When was this conducted?
I for one cannot stand the ignorance of people who take for granted what we have in our backyards. So it's okay to improperly handle a Trout? Do you have any idea what kind of damage can be done? Do you ever wonder why Trout have that slippery film? 
Honestly, why do we need to even touch them? Yes, I'm guilty of getting a picture of me holding one on occasion, but I ask that you look at my hands and the fish. Dripping wet!
Also, dragging these fish onto the shore kind of sucks as well. Sure they are abused while in the water with fighting other fish, scraping on the gravel and rocks, etc., but why would you want to risk injuring them by dragging them over dry gravel and sand?
Ugh! I can go on and on, but what good will it do. As a person who is involved with the conservation of these rivers, lakes, etc., you better believe if I see something, I'm going to say something. I really don't care if feelings are hurt, you call me names, threaten physical harm to me, etc. 
Sorry for the rant and taking over the OP's thread. Not too many things get me worked up, but ignorance is one of them....


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## fly_ohio (Oct 31, 2014)

Here's a video of the aerial stocking. It's a sight to see first hand. I was backpacking out in Utah and watched a plane dive thinking it was going to crash. Nope, just dumping a few hundred trout out the bottom ha. Surprisingly there weren't many floaters from what I could see.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

lunker23 said:


> " But you have to admit, the same fish can be dropped out of a plane 100' over the water into a lake and survive. It's funny to think we worry about wet hands when you can do that to them and the live"
> 
> Huh, I've never witnessed that kind of study with Trout. Sounds interesting to say the least. When was this conducted?
> I for one cannot stand the ignorance of people who take for granted what we have in our backyards. So it's okay to improperly handle a Trout? Do you have any idea what kind of damage can be done? Do you ever wonder why Trout have that slippery film?
> ...


It's not a study, it's how it's DONE west of the Rockies. How do you think trout get stocked in those remote high mountain lakes?






Regarding ignorance, maybe you should re-read what I posted. Like the part where I said "In no way am I saying fish handling is not important, I understand it is." I'm not rough on trout, all I am saying is you have to admit, it's funny that we worry about touching them when we can drop them from a plane and they are fine. Sheesh.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Actually, Lefty, you're inability to read a full post lead to you closing down your offers to take folks to a hatchery creek. The time stamps don't lie.


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## lunker23 (Jun 28, 2013)

Again, and for the last time, what is your first name so I can send your fly line back to you?
As for shutting down my offer once and for all, there were other factors involved so it's not just you.
Never did I ever think I'd be involved in such a petty little cat fight with a grown man over fishing stuff.
Oh well, I'll keep on truckin'.....


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## lunker23 (Jun 28, 2013)

Well, it seems as though Cream Jeans came here to flap his lips and nothing more. Listen, I don't want to owe anybody something they can hold over my head when convenient and I have asked for his/ her first name so I can send a package back. I have 2 envelopes sitting on my desk and want to send the right one back. 
Also, as for not thanking this person for his/ her kind offer, please know that this was done via a PM. Of course this was not mentioned in attempts to drag me down. Sorry son, not going to happen........
Ball is in your court. We can end this now or you can keep flapping your lips......


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

lunker23 said:


> Well, it seems as though Cream Jeans came here to flap his lips and nothing more. Listen, I don't want to owe anybody something they can hold over my head when convenient and I have asked for his/ her first name so I can send a package back. I have 2 envelopes sitting on my desk and want to send the right one back.
> Also, as for not thanking this person for his/ her kind offer, please know that this was done via a PM. Of course this was not mentioned in attempts to drag me down. Sorry son, not going to happen........
> Ball is in your court. We can end this now or you can keep flapping your lips......


I'm not the one still talking. And name calling is a little juvenile for a "grown man," don't you think?


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

I've been catching a few cold weather rainbows in KY. Best flies have been prince nymphs, copper Johns and on sunny days smaller # 16 black -gold ribbed hares ear. The San Juan squirm has been a killer in deep slower water.
Good luck and Good Fishing!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

A friend of mine was in TN a few weekends back and killed them on the San Juan worm.


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## slapjaw (May 7, 2011)

Found this guy in northern Ohio although it's stocked I'm not sure if this was native or hatchery product. How can u tell?


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

If it was in northern Ohio, pretty sure it was a stocker.


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## FL-boy (Feb 12, 2013)

Good color on that fish. Glad this thread is back to fishing!


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

creekcrawler said:


> If it was in northern Ohio, pretty sure it was a stocker.


I have to agree, probably a stocker. But, it looks like it has survived a few years in the wild and reverted to a more truly wild state. Just look at how that fish is colored. It's gorgeous! As is the OP's Brown in his #2 pic!

I belong to a fish & game club who's main fishing lake is an old limestone quarry. It's quite deep, and the limestone ensures that the water chemistry is like champagne! It is, of course, spring fed from multiple sources. The only source of rainbow trout is through stocking, which happens 2 times in the Spring, before trout season.

Yes, it's a "put and take" fishery. But a lot of guys, including guys who should know better, think that all the trout stocked in the Spring are either caught or die somehow once Summer rolls around. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Once the surface and shallow water warm too much for the trout's comfort, they can find places to go. The same is true in flowing water. I once read a tip about trying to find trout in freestone streams in high Summer. That's the time to wade wet! If you happen to wade into a band of cold water, that means you're downstream of a spring that bubbles up into the riverbed. That's where the trout will hang out.


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