trout from Santa

[phishinincident]

Once again not much here... so ill tell a story.

Last year at this time i got a frantic call from a buddy that worked at bass pro at the time and they had a trout pond where kids could go "fishing with santa" and it was all over, and there were hundreds of trout left but they were dying by the minute (lack of DO and lots of bacteria) unf. the monsters had already died by the time i got there with my truck (4lbs. +) but there were several bigger fish left... So we caught them out of the pond with nets and put em into a really nice oxygenated fish carrier that they loaded into the back of my truck with a forklift....it was awesome. So i got home busted a monster hole in the ice, of our pond (2+ or so acres) and loaded those guys into the frigid water.... It wasnt but a couple days later that my dad was after them through the ice and was nailing them, and being a cold water fish they would really fight in the frozen pond.... I knew it would be awesome at ice off fly roddin' for these guys in still water, and it was as soon as the ice was off i got out with a fly rod and some streamers and really beat up on em', it was nice because they were about the only thing moving in that really cold water... We had several really good hatches and i was able to take them on dries, but the streamer fishing was awesome! Sadly the first week i was in AK last summer it was reported that they nearly all died... the fish were about 60-40% brookies and rainbows.... the bows were small -14" and the brookies were approaching 20" It was a good time and i will forever try to be so "there at the right time" for some awesome free fish.....

My dad with the first through the ice….



One of the bigger ones we were able to get a picture of…caught by my buddy Ryan

[radioflyer]

What a great time!! I love a put & take Christmas!

rf

[flyfishingpastor]

Jordan;

Great story! ;D

Pat

[trent]

Interesting that they had a bunch of brookies. I didn't realize they raised those in hatcheries. Besides research, what happens with hatchery brookies? My understanding is that brookies are pretty particular about the water they will live in, so I wouldn't think they would be a great stocker fish. What's the scoop?

[phishinincident]

WELL....

These are raised by a private company i believe it was out east... Since it was a private company i doubt they had anything to do with research.... Your right brookies are sensitive to temps (DO) But im sure they mostly sell them to private individuals that want to stock a tolerable creeks or make a trout pond, or just to foolish companies like bass pro that want to use them for 2 days of entertainment... I think anyone will do/make/farm anything for money is what it comes down to... although these fish were pretty hardy i think we had minimal deaths once they made it to my frozen pond...the first couple weeks of June were another story...

[trent]

Very interesting.

Does your pond have any kind of mechanism for oxygenating the water? I would think still water, even though it is cold, might not be suitable habitat. I really should have taken more science classes in college!

[phishphinder]

HO HO HO!

[reelteacher]

Great Story Jordan!
Brook trout can and do survive in ponds as long as they are clean and cool enough. My father and I fish several ponds in Northern Minnesota, near Ely that have healthy populations of large brook trout. Yes, most of them were, are stocked, but they survive year round. The ones we catch are 15 - 18 inches. Very nice brookies, indeed.
Very fun, but nothing beats catching wild brook trout from a tiny stream, where you have to sneak up behind bushes and branches and just dangle your fly on the water behind a rock in an eddy or seam and PPPOOOOWWW! those little fish hit that fly, often jumping all the way out of the water, as if their very life depended upon eating that fly or not. Memories of their ferocious strikes will forever be with me.