Interesting petition here from a long time reader of the blog. Check it out…
It’s true, stopping stocking over native fish would likely turn this river into a top brookie destination in the northeast. One of the best for sure. Problem is, that means a time period of sacrificing stocked rainbow fishing, and rainbows do provide most of the entertainment for anglers there at the moment.
Just a little food for thought… though maybe we could get a little discussion going on here in the dead of winter. Hypothetically, would you sacrifice a few years of stockie ‘bow fishing on a river near you if it meant eventually you would have prime brook trout fishing (to eventually replace the stockies when they are big enough to be worth opponents)? Should it be done? Do you think it could work on the Swift?
Warmer weather next week again in MA, try to get out if you can. If you are looking for non-swift spots that hold fish in the winter, you know where to reach me. I’m happy to help.
~Troy
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Dropping our dependence on stocked fish would be great. We just need to accept that keeping as many fish as is done now is not an option in order for it to work.
I agree, the seasonal C&R would have to be changed to full year.
Big enough to worth(opponents)
Worth what?
Brk Trt,
Phrased that poorly. I meant that not every angler who fishes the Swift sees the merit in catching tiny brookies when they could catch much larger stocked bows. But a few years down the road and you'd also have some brookies equal in size to the stockies, to give those "bigger-fish" hunters their bigger fish, while remaining completely sustainable. I'm all for it, sorry for the poor phrasing.
Troy
And was supposed to be worthy, not worth
I think until it is catch and release only it would never work. you would have to make it catch and release from the Quabbin to the Ware.
Yes, catch and release below the pipe would need to be established. Even with stocked fish it should be C&R there… time that DFG gets moving on that
I think everyone who is in favor of a more sustainable fishery with better quality trout that are wild and native should sign this petition. It is important that we provide brook trout with a stronghold to combat the population decline that is currently occuring across the state and the Eastern U.S., and the swift would be a perfect place for such a stronghold. And as you have seen from pictures on the blog, the brook trout are much more beautiful fish than the stocked rainbows. They also would grow to be larger without competition from all the stockers.
Thanks for sendinge this Jon… and glad to see a lot of feedback already. I am all for the idea, and rarely do you have a situation like with the Swift where it could be some of the best brookie fishing around. Now granted, I doubt the chances of stopping stocking on the Swift are very high, but it is good to see that people are expressing interest in this idea on various sites.
Troy
I signed it. I would love to see this work.
Mike
dream on it ain't never happening
FYI, some of the Swift regulars recently met with DFW. The topic of the C&R regulations at the Swift came up.
Supposedly, the word from DFW was this: the hatchery jobs exist because of the stocking program. So, there's no incentive to expand C&R.
This thinking is flawed because those personnel could be used instead for enforcement of the regulations. Also, the hatchery would still be needed to produce trout that are stocked in other nearby locations.
Also, if we keep making noise for the expansion of C&R eventually the state will have to cave to angler demand because they work for us.
I am all for protecting Native Brook Trout habit but the area of the Swift you are talking about is a tailwater. By definition it is not natural. I have only been going to this river for the last 6 years and I am always surprised by the trout density. Just this winter I saw a huge pods of brook tryout in the river. So despite catch and kill sections and rainbow stalking the river appears very healthy. If we want to preserve native brook trout habitat we should focus on native brook trout streams which they're are many if you know where to look.
that part of the river is always going to be seasonal catch and release you've been trying for years and hasn't happened to many people spend too much money into the state when they buy Bait you fly guy spend your stuff online
you must love censoring the bad guys that's why there's no more fish in the Swift forever because of fly guys cross me I'm going to keep torturing you guys and kill every fish in the river
@Bait, I actually don't mind seasonal catch and release, but I do think the limit should be one trout per day. The idea of killing fish to spite people who actually enjoy the sport of fishing is ridiculous.
We don't censor. We don't even "approve" comments before they're posted, like many blogs do. I'm sure we'll run into a situation one day when we might delete a comment, but it would have to be pretty egregious.