DEC to Discontinue Stocking Brown Trout in Irondequoit Creek

[Sweet Caroline]

Posting this for a friend. The DEC wants to stop stocking brown trout in Irondequoit Creek in favor of a natural population. If you are against this please go to change.org  and sign the petition titled “To continue the stocking hatchery raised brown trout in Irondequoit Creek” started by Ron Mitchel.

 

My thoughts:

1. The best water in Irondequoit Creek for brown trout naturalization is above Powdermill Park. The DEC does their stocking below Powdermill Park.  Why not leave the upper portions alone for those wanting to catch naturals and continue stocking the lower portion for the recreational fishermen?
2. This decreases nearby opportunity for the more urban/suburban recreational or new/youth fishermen to enjoy stream brown trout fishing in favor of the more experienced avid angler. 
3. I fished Irondequoit Creek for a long time and have never seen a natural brown trout more than 9 or 10 inches. The average fisherman is going to quickly lose interest in catching fish of this caliber. 
4. Although Irondequoit Creek does support a sizable natural trout population, there are much better streams throughout the state for natural trout fishing opportunity. 
5. Irondequoit creek has a well established natural chinook salmon population, which likely will disrupt any substantial natural production of brown trout or any other salmonid species for that matter…….

 

Meetings and decisions on this matter are starting soon. If you support stocking brown trout in Irondequoit Creek please sign the petition asap. 

As a side note, The Monroe County Conservation Council is hosting a Kids Fishing Derby this coming Saturday, June 7th, for youth under 15. Time is 8-10am. You can further show your support by taking a kid trout fishing. Those kids trout tourneys are where I cut my teeth in developing my passion for salmon/trout fishing.
 

 

Thank you, 

 

Darren

 

[Yankee Troller]

Unbelievable

 

[SusanJames]

Here's the link to the petition

 

https://chng.it/d249dYt79T

[SusanJames]

I can't tell you how many kids I've witnessed catch their first trout at Irondequoit. Linear Park offers easy access and productive fishing. The perfect opportunity to introduce kids and adults to our sport. The Brown Trout program has been a "put and take" fishery and I doubt there is much if any reproduction occurring...certainly not at a level to impact the reproduction of naturals. 

[Yankee Troller]

21 minutes ago, SusanJames said:

I can't tell you how many kids I've witnessed catch their first trout at Irondequoit. Linear Park offers easy access and productive fishing. The perfect opportunity to introduce kids and adults to our sport. The Brown Trout program has been a "put and take" fishery and I doubt there is much if any reproduction occurring...certainly not at a level to impact the reproduction of naturals. 

 

I was probably one of them. My father took my brother and I there all the time when we were kids.

[King Davy]

Last year DEC region 8 put in a great effort to study Irondequoit creek after years of reports of many wild fish present from Ellison park all the way to Fishers. So last summer they electro fished several locations up stream through Penfield. East Rochester, Pittsford and finally through Fishers and found many reaches with solid healthy populations of wild brown trout. In the higher reaches like fishers there were also rainbow steelhead trout.

 

This decision isn’t entirely due to finding wild trout. DEC doesn’t stock brown trout in any Lake Ontario tributary below an impassable barrier. Why? Because they’d have to count those fish against the allotment to Lake Ontario. 

They pulled the brown stocking for a summer fishery on the Salmon River four years for this reason and this decision is now completing the Lake Ontario stocking policy. 
 

However the private hatchery at Powder Mill park will continue stocking for the exact reason to allow families easy access to trout.

[Yankee Troller]

8 minutes ago, King Davy said:

Last year DEC region 8 put in a great effort to study Irondequoit creek after years of reports of many wild fish present from Ellison park all the way to Fishers. So last summer they electro fished several locations up stream through Penfield. East Rochester, Pittsford and finally through Fishers and found many reaches with solid healthy populations of wild brown trout. In the higher reaches like fishers there were also rainbow steelhead trout.

 

This decision isn’t entirely due to finding wild trout. DEC doesn’t stock brown trout in any Lake Ontario tributary below an impassable barrier. Why? Because they’d have to count those fish against the allotment to Lake Ontario. 

They pulled the brown stocking for a summer fishery on the Salmon River four years for this reason and this decision is now completing the Lake Ontario stocking policy. 
 

However the private hatchery at Powder Mill park will continue stocking for the exact reason to allow families easy access to trout.

 

Please explain why the need to change? There's a healthy trib fishery and it compliments the lake. Sounds elitist to me to protect a wild trout that was initially stocked there.

[SusanJames]

You nailed it Rich........taking an opportunity away from the many (kids especially) to pander to the few. My license $$'s are just as important as the T.U. guys.

[King Davy]

Like I said Rick this is truly more a management policy than having changes made because of wild fish. I helped develop the Salmon River summer fishery plan back about 2018 that included a summer stocking of 3 to 5k yearlings and two year old brown trout. All the way up to the Upper fly zone which is 11 to 12 miles from the lake.  The fishery was intended to fish for browns and Atlantic Salmon. 
 

a few years later DEC stopped the brown trout stocking for the reason I mentioned in my last post. It appears that this new decision is to align with the over all Lake Ontario open water and trib management plan. 

 

How can you who absolutely depends on wild chinook salmon and this year the impact of wild cohos in the system call this elitist? It’s common science everywhere in the world of fisheries to not stock on top of wild fish. The folks I know who are fishing to these fish are having high success. There is no reason that anyone can’t go out and catch these fish. And believe me they aren’t all six inches. Finally  Powder Mill is still is slated to stock 1000’s of fish.

[Legacy]

Just so there is no confusion...

 

 

[King Davy]

I just can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t be excited to know we have one of the few streams here that can promote wild reproduction of trout and yes salmon. Any fish that spawns in this stream it’s off spring has a chance to become a player in this fishery. I’ve seen plenty of chinook fry in Irondequoit and in the heat of summer I’ve caught wild steelhead smolts in and around Linear Park and many up in fishers. It’s highly probable that a fish who spends 18 months growing in this stream can swim north and become a part of the lake fishery or because the stream is exceptionally fertile in the case of brown trout decide to hang around.

 

Today DEC raises their hatchery brown trout with wild milt from Oriskany creek males. The state is doing a great deal of work on habitat to promote wild fish in the ADK, Catskills, upper Genny, finger lakes streams and dozens of other in land waters. Are they elitists, or scientists?

[HB2]

Yeah , this seems like a dumb idea. 

Anything that gets kids fishing , and being successful is good for the fishery . It's close to a population center so the masses can enjoy it .And maybe some kids get the bug , and turn into us 

[Legacy]

Wow! I can't believe it... after three long winded rants I think my opinion has changed. It's not elitist at all. Once you peal back the layers, It's just good old fashioned narcissism. 

 

[Legacy]

Thank you Google!!!

 

 

[Sweet Caroline]

I’ll add that the Powdermill Hatchery used to get around 7500 Steelhead that they released directly from the hatchery into a feeder stream. I’ve seen great success of those fish returning to the hatchery. Those are being replaced with 4K Atlantic Salmon this year. 

Edited June 3, 2025 by Sweet Caroline

[GAMBLER]

If these browns would have to be counted toward the Lake Ontario stockings, shouldn't they prove that these fish are leaving the tributary for the lake?  Has a tagging study been done to see if they even leave?  Weird timing that the browns are being cut, steelhead are being cut and 4K Atlantics being added to the creek.  To me it sounds like it's being done for the Atlantic salmon project instead of wild brown trout populations and the steelhead fishery.......    Low numbers of Browns and Steelhead in I Creek, Atlantics will have less competition for spawning habitat, better chances of spawning, reproducing and fry survival.  Think of all the Atlantic fry and smolts that would be gobbled up with browns and steelhead on the feed in the creek. 

[Yankee Troller]

For the record, I'm not opposed to you guys getting a woody over a wild population of fish. I'm concerned about stopping the stocking part. You guys can chest bump each other and argue over wild, native, and stocked all you want. I want opportunities for all stakeholders ie. kids, non-elitist trib fisherman, bay fisherman, and lake fisherman.

 

This decision should have been made through the collective group of anglers on both sides of the fence of the committee Steve Hurst runs.

[Tall Tails]

I have been saying it for years.  Trout Unlimited is a terrorist organization to the outdoors.  Unlimited Financial backing with politicians in their back pockets.  They buy any move they want.  Another classic example here.  

[SusanJames]

I'm not a fish biologist or even remotely educated on fish reproduction, etc. but please help me to understand how stocked fish that are mostly removed from the stream by mid summer due to fishing can in any way affect the spawning activities of "native" brown trout that spawn in the fall.  

 

I guess my question is: What is the downside to having both "native" and stocked trout?

Edited June 3, 2025 by SusanJames

[GAMBLER]

1 hour ago, SusanJames said:

I'm not a fish biologist or even remotely educated on fish reproduction, etc. but please help me to understand how stocked fish that are mostly removed from the stream by mid summer due to fishing can in any way affect the spawning activities of "native" brown trout that spawn in the fall.  

 

I guess my question is: What is the downside to having both "native" and stocked trout?

Is it really about stocked browns vs. natural reproduction browns?  Thats the question I would like to hear the answer too.  Is it a smoke and mirrors campaign to make Irondequoit Creek another Atlantic Salmon spawning habitat?  

Edited June 3, 2025 by GAMBLER

[SusanJames]

So the casual recreational fisherman will be relegated to the largely slow moving, mud bottom of the Powder Mill area while the T.U. guys have locked up the beautiful stretches of rock and gravel bottom, fast moving, well aerated water in the lower reaches.  I for one don't enjoy drifting worms under slow moving bobbers through "holes" that are 4' wide. 

Edited June 3, 2025 by SusanJames

[King Davy]

Well Rick, Steve did make that decision. It had nothing to do with TU or wild fish. It’s all about aligning the management parameters they have in place for each region of the state. If you pay attention to DEC’s operating model they are striving to make regulations and management of a watershed as vanilla as possible. 
 

If the reason to not stock nearly 15k browns when the Private hatchery puts north of 10k fish in the same stream to align with their stocking program for every other LO stream for brown trout then they are aligning their management plan. 
 

I still don’t understand why an angler no matter how they fish cares if they fish for only stocked fish. The wild fish bite also and if you follow the groups like Friends of Irondequoit (which is not TU by the way) you’ll see plenty of pictures of full bodied nice fish. Instead of crying about anything and everything how about you all just go fish.

 

And stop the childish name calling. Whats that all about. As far as Atlantic Salmon every Great Lakes state is working on revitalization of Atlantic Salmon including NY. The DEC aren’t just fish farmers. They actually do a ton of science.

Edited June 3, 2025 by King Davy

[Yankee Troller]

12 minutes ago, King Davy said:

Well Rick, Steve did make that decision. It had nothing to do with TU or wild fish. It’s all about aligning the management parameters they have in place for each region of the state. If you pay attention to DEC’s operating model they are striving to make regulations and management of a watershed as vanilla as possible. 
 

If the reason to not stock nearly 15k browns when the Private hatchery puts north of 10k fish in the same stream to align with their stocking program for every other LO stream for brown trout then they are aligning their management plan. 
 

I still don’t understand why an angler no matter how they fish cares if they fish for only stocked fish. The wild fish bite also and if you follow the groups like Friends of Irondequoit (which is not TU by the way) you’ll see plenty of pictures of full bodied nice fish. Instead of crying about anything and everything how about you all just go fish.

 

And stop the childish name calling. Whats that all about. As far as Atlantic Salmon every Great Lakes state is working on revitalization of Atlantic Salmon including NY. The DEC aren’t just fish farmers. They actually do a ton of science.

 

What has the current process/program hurt? It gave you a wild population and a stocked population for everyone to enjoy. The old saying, "if it ain't broke don't fix it." No one here cares, or disagrees, that wild fish bite. I know your group is hung up on this biting theory, but no one cares. Great, they bite.

 

So where are they going to plant these fish moving forward. I think it's nice these fish started their life in a stream rather than getting dumped in the lake like the rest of them. It gave trib, bay, and lake anglers something different. Who knows, maybe it helped survival. Will i-Bay suffer now? There was a decent population in there. 

[GAMBLER]

30 minutes ago, King Davy said:

Well Rick, Steve did make that decision. It had nothing to do with TU or wild fish. It’s all about aligning the management parameters they have in place for each region of the state. If you pay attention to DEC’s operating model they are striving to make regulations and management of a watershed as vanilla as possible. 
 

If the reason to not stock nearly 15k browns when the Private hatchery puts north of 10k fish in the same stream to align with their stocking program for every other LO stream for brown trout then they are aligning their management plan. 
 

I still don’t understand why an angler no matter how they fish cares if they fish for only stocked fish. The wild fish bite also and if you follow the groups like Friends of Irondequoit (which is not TU by the way) you’ll see plenty of pictures of full bodied nice fish. Instead of crying about anything and everything how about you all just go fish.

 

And stop the childish name calling. Whats that all about. As far as Atlantic Salmon every Great Lakes state is working on revitalization of Atlantic Salmon including NY. The DEC aren’t just fish farmers. They actually do a ton of science.

Dave,

 

Less spawning browns, less natural reproduction.  There will be fewer browns in the creek to catch and fewer to spawn.  It's simple mathematics.  No one cares if they are wild or stocked.  People just want to catch fish.  Taking fish out of the system is what people care about. 

[King Davy]

Rick,  Brian I’m sorry I don’t have the answers you seek. You have to call Albany and local DEC office. I’ll say it one more time TU had nothing to do with changing anything nor did we ask to change anything. I think I know why it changed and it’s what I said in what now half a dozen posts to this thread. Go ask the folks who are intending to change the plan.

 

DEC has an algorithm in all tributaries in NYS that if they find a certain number of wild fish in a reach they stop stocking over them. They do that everywhere, but to my knowledge this didn’t apply to Irondequoit. It is strictly their LO trib management plan.

 

i think there is a meeting at the Irondequoit fish and game club tonight. Show up and ask.