I caught these earlier this week on a river that’s stocked and I have a few questions.
Is there a good way to tell weather these are wild or stockers?
Someone recently told me that stockers pit up a different kind of fight. More like go on it’s side and flop around as opposed to taking off in a particular direction. Any truth to this?
Thanks!
Posted by stellerzjay
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One way to tell is the pectoral fins. Since they’re raised in hatcheries, they often have messed up fins and tails from rubbing against the concrete tanks and getting picked on by other fish. They also tend to be a bit chunky and less colorful than native fish. Native or wild fish, on the other hand, are usually super vibrant and have perfect, clean fins because they’ve been living their best life in a natural habitat.
It’s still hard to tell though because it depends on the fishery. My guess is the first one is wild and the second one is stocked. But they very well both could be