bows

[coaltrout]

Some stuff from this outting. All rainbows. All hit jigs with black marabou, but some on olive.

[Fishybig]

Noice lookin feeesh!!!!

[BiggerThomas]

That second bow is a decent size. Nice job.

[martalus]

Nice looking bows and decent size for presumably wild rainbows.

[coaltrout]

That second bow is a decent size. Nice job.

Thanks, I was wondering if all of these were in fact wild. When I caught the 2nd-one-pictured I was doubting it.
Despite how serious some of the barriers looked in the gorge, it only makes sense that the rainbows got here from hardcore stockies that swam up from the stocking points downstream in the river this tributary flows into.
odd thing is, I have never caught a rainbow in that river, only browns, and out all the fish I saw and caught today, all of them were rainbows.

[NJAngler]

There are browns in there too. Not a lot but a few. The closer to the stream it flows into, the more you see.

Just be careful with your stream pics. Many streams have a distinct pool or rock or waterfall. I won't name yours but someone might just to be a d*ck. Its one of the reasons I stopped posting years ago. A few places I went were outed not because of my pics but because of others. Also If anyone asks in a private message where, just politely tell them its not fair to others who may fish there. Explore on your own. These places are not hard to find if you do the leg work yourself. Please be courteous and not name names. Thanks.

[lightenup]

There are browns in there too. Not a lot but a few. The closer to the stream it flows into, the more you see.

Just be careful with your stream pics. Many streams have a distinct pool or rock or waterfall. I won't name yours but someone might just to be a d*ck. Its one of the reasons I stopped posting years ago. A few places I went were outed not because of my pics but because of others. Also If anyone asks in a private message where, just politely tell them its not fair to others who may fish there. Explore on your own. These places are not hard to find if you do the leg work yourself. Please be courteous and not name names. Thanks.

So, what creek is this?

[martalus]

I know the stream in question and mum's the word on the name! The second bow (the largest one) does look more like a stocked one. If so, its amazing that it found its wild brethren way up there. I also caught a 12-14 inch brown right where one of those pics was taken about 14 years ago. Good to see there some decent trout still there!

[Vance]

Very nice looking bows. Can not wait for April. Bill the mailman

[coaltrout]

There are browns in there too. Not a lot but a few. The closer to the stream it flows into, the more you see.

Just be careful with your stream pics. Many streams have a distinct pool or rock or waterfall. I won't name yours but someone might just to be a d*ck. Its one of the reasons I stopped posting years ago. A few places I went were outed not because of my pics but because of others. Also If anyone asks in a private message where, just politely tell them its not fair to others who may fish there. Explore on your own. These places are not hard to find if you do the leg work yourself. Please be courteous and not name names. Thanks.

Yep, I dont name names of WTS in posts, I only share it with close friends who also know better.
As for pictures of the stream, im not too sure what damage can be done;
If anyone recognizes a stream's feature, like a rock pile or a dam off trail, what damage comes out of a post showing the fish?
In a way I include the pics of the stream to show the fellow anglers (like yourself) how the fishing is in that stream, without even naming it. I find it's a clever way to report a stream to those who already fished it without broadcasting it to those who havent explored it.

For some features like bridges and landmarks that can be seen from google-maps or from the street, I avoid taking those because that can be found without even going to the stream.

I understand the people viewing these posts are not just the people that post on these forums, some can be people outside googling and stumble upon a forum post which leads to them not knowing any better and ruining a stream.

So with that explained, is there really anything I should be cautious about?

[garden hackle]

If someone recognizes the stream from a photograph of a rock or pool, then it's identity is already known.

Remember DenisF use to post zoomed in google map of beaver ponds, now that was risking its location. It didn’t take long for me to PM DenisF a zoomed out screen shot of the location. He then started rotating the North direction, but that only added a minute to my search. It was a fun game. As it turned out, someone had to trek through the woods for several miles if they wanted to reach those spots. That would deter all but the most serious angler and serious anglers usually respect the sport.

[Troutman]

wow all these picture games on a site that suppose to support the fundamentals of PURE trout fishing enthusiasts . Ive got a ton of pictures & places I used to post under the old GST site. But I how some of you guys are. So You gets none from me. & Im a C&R spin angler

[NJAngler]

I personally don't need "updates" on how streams are doing. We all fish differently(tackle type/weather/time period) so someone elses successes or failures are not an indication of how I might do or how a steams trout pops are doing. It will neither inspire or deter me from going. If you want to update someone, send your info to the drainage fish biologist. It does help them get an idea of whats going on in terms of numbers, sizes and species.

Spot burning/over exposure has been a touchy subject since the internet was invented. Many heated arguments on NJ Fishing about burning access spots on the Passaic River for pike or "X " pond for bass on NJ Bass Anglers before that. Guys would go so far as to post lousy fishing trip on certain streams or lakes just to deter others from going. Since most anglers just fish, catch and take pics, I never thought protecting spots was about saving fish lives. Most C&R so no worries there. It was about too much pressure resulting in either spooked fish or smart fish both of which decrease fishing success. Your catch rates will drop fairly dramatically if 10 guys fish a WTS or some local bass pond over the weekend as opposed to just 1 or 2. You can share names and pics if you like but your just hurting yourself.

[NJAngler]

wow all these picture games on a site that suppose to support the fundamentals of PURE trout fishing enthusiasts . Ive got a ton of pictures & places I used to post under the old GST site. But I how some of you guys are. So You gets none from me. & Im a C&R spin angler

I always enjoyed the spinner vs fly debates. Barbed vs barbless. Single vs treble. Lot of studies cited and none of it meant squat. Fishing mortality is nothing compared to natural mortality. As good as you think you are, at best your only catching and hooking about 5% of whats in a stream so tackle restrictions are fairly useless.

[BiggerThomas]

If someone recognizes the stream from a photograph of a rock or pool, then it's identity is already known.

I agree: visually, if you recognize it, it's already known to you.

Explore on your own. These places are not hard to find if you do the leg work yourself. Please be courteous and not name names. Thanks.

I also agree with Mark that if you name names, no exploring needs to be done, now or in the past; just go to Google maps and type it in. Then you're on par with people who've cut their teeth (or their waders) finding the stream. Our sport is every much about the process of discovery of streams as it is catching fish--to some, maybe more.

[NJAngler]

If someone recognizes the stream from a photograph of a rock or pool, then it's identity is already known.

{/quote]

They are all known and no stream ever goes unfished. Its about drawing attention to a place that would not see a lot of attention if not for being labeled as "special" and anglers talking about it. I had this fight with our former Bureau Chief Bob Soldwedel about bringing attention to fragile streams with his WTS program. I argued then as I still do that angling/stocking/pressure has very little impact on the numbers and sizes of wild trout found in a stream. You could make everything no-kill and it would have little to no impact. One flood with acidic snow melt can wipe out an entire generation of trout. The state finally got it right making no-kill for all brook trout(in the conservation zone) caught in any stream and should have left it at that. They still single out a handful of streams as special and this is not a good mgt policy as proven by their own electroshocking surveys.

[coaltrout]

Most C&R so no worries there. It was about too much pressure resulting in either spooked fish or smart fish both of which decrease fishing success. Your catch rates will drop fairly dramatically if 10 guys fish a WTS or some local bass pond over the weekend as opposed to just 1 or 2. You can share names and pics if you like but your just hurting yourself.

I agree, if 10 guys fish WTS rather than a few then there's going to be a decrease in catch rate if I fish it after them.

I disagree that the 10 guys that recognize the stream pics are going to go out and fish it this weekend. They already know the stream and this post wont influence them to go out and fish it. In fact, it has the reverse and now that we all think it's going to be fished more frequently now that I made a post, no one's going to fish it lol

Additionally it doesnt affect me as Ive been trying to fish a new WTS every time I go out for wild trout. Especially when I only do my WTS in the winter where I have ran into one person this entire winter.

I agree with honey hole spots on the passaic or a those bass ponds, these are much more accessible and fragile than one of many WTS. Those I try not to share pics of.

[garden hackle]

Fishing WTS is like cheating

[coaltrout]

Fishing WTS is like cheating

by WTS I mean any stream with wild trout not just the ones the state lists in the digest under "WTS". not sure what's cheating about it tho.

[NJAngler]

I remember on the old forum how guys would get so defensive about fly vs spinner. It was like a guy using a spinner left a trail of dead fish floating down river. It was so over the top. They would sound like how the liberals talk about our President now. They take his words and spin them into something completely ridiculous. "President wants to build walls. So what happens when one of those wall falls down and injures or kills innocent Americans? Is this the sort of America we want where we have walls killing our citizens? This President is dangerous and must be stopped(fist pounding the podium). lmao.

You can post what you want but remember your audience. Some will like it. Some will not. Most won't care either way. In the end remember its just fishing which is way down on the list of things that anyone here should care about.

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