Our small-window trout isn’t discriminating about the quality of drift, but it is picky about the location. And our larger window trout might be extra-selective about the quality of the dead drift, but it’s probably less picky about the exact location.

. . . Why did the trout eat the fly? Was it drifting naturally for a long distance, or did it enter the tight window of a waiting wild trout?

Continue reading Are Trout Selective About the Drift or the Position? at Troutbitten.

We want more anglers who appreciate the best things about fishing. We want anglers who fish hard for the experience, who reject fake fishing, who boast not about the numbers of trout caught but are proud of the miles of water they’ve explored and appreciate what they’ve been through to get there. We want wild trout advocates and woodsmen. We need knowledgeable teachers to inspire young people by revealing the complex mysteries of chasing river trout.

Continue reading Do We Really Want Fly Fishing to Grow? at Troutbitten.

The Pennsylvania Fish Commission needs to hear your comments. And a simple, short email makes a BIG difference. Stop stocking over wild trout. Let's support all policies that eliminate the stocking of hatchery fish over wild trout. Pass it on . . .

Continue reading Be a Voice for Wild Trout — Your Most Effective Conservation Measure is Also the Easiest at Troutbitten.

My friends join me for an honest discussion about the trout we pursue. All of us fish for every kind of trout on the list: wild trout, stocked trout, holdovers, fingerlings and club trout. And all of these trout hold value -- but not equally. There are major differences in the types of trout we catch, and stocked fish are often nothing like their wild counterparts . . .

Continue reading Podcast — Ep. 4: Wild Trout vs Stocked — The Hierarchy of River Trout at Troutbitten.

Reviving a trout was once taught as part of the routine. But we don’t hear that so much anymore. Because the idea of playing a trout to the point of exhaustion, so much that you have to help it regain balance and breath, is mostly a thing of the past. And that’s a good thing . . .

Continue reading If You Have to Revive a Trout, It’s Probably Too Late at Troutbitten.

At some point, our worry about the perfect protection of the animal we pursue becomes so involved, so extreme, so overbearing, that the only logical step is to stop fishing altogether. I don’t want that. And I don’t think you do either.

If we’re not careful, one thing will lead to the next. I think we’ve taken the safety of trout far enough. Let’s educate every angler to these standards and stop moving the goalposts.

Fish cold water. Fight 'em fast. Handle gently. Release quickly . . .

Continue reading Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far? at Troutbitten.

Fishing Creek is currently at risk for drastic increases in groundwater withdrawal by Nicholas Meats, LLC of Loganton, PA.

Troutbitten stands against this proposal and believes this operation will be detrimental to the sustained life of Fishing Creek, as well as the health and welfare of all living things that rely on it.

Please read and understand this dangerous issue, then do something to protect Fishing Creek . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Opinion: Nicholas Meats, LLC vs Fishing Creek at Troutbitten.

It’s time for the fish commission to truly protect, preserve and enhance our wild trout streams, whether that is easy, or whether it’s hard. Stop stocking over all Class A wild trout stream sections.

It’s the right thing to do. And sometimes, that’s where government policy should start . . .

Continue reading The Mismanagement of “Class A” Wild Trout at Troutbitten.

The best wild trout populations are specific to their own river systems, and they’ve adapted to the seasonal highs and lows, to whatever the decades of chance have brought to the collective population. The strength to thrive and persist is in those wild genes . . .

. . . Stocked trout are genetically different and conditioned to be different than wild trout. They feed aggressively and grow fast. That never changes. And this is nothing like our wary wild trout . . .

Continue reading Does a Stocked Trout Ever Become Wild? at Troutbitten.

Rivers are built from just a few parts. While the sand and soil of a streambed is fluid, the framework — the shape of a river — is directed by roots and rocks. Time and the tenacity of flowing water changes the shape of the hardest rocks, eventually carving granite into a new form, eroding and molding a riverbank toward a new course. And while nothing is eternal in a river or its floodplain, there’s enough permanent structure in a stream — the immovable objects — that good trout take notice. So does the big fish hunter . . .

Continue reading Where to find Big Trout | Part Four: The Permanent Structure at Troutbitten.