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Author Topic: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle  (Read 6458 times)

taxid

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Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« on: Nov 04, 2019, 06:16 PM »
I apologize if this is not actually fishing but some of you have said you found my small hatchery growing out various species of fish to trophy size interesting.

The following is my biggest brown of my last three year cycle, which is surprisingly a female. With the other strains I have raised in the past, the males have always been the biggest. Most of the biggest browns with this strain, which is cross between browns from a pubic hatchery in Wyoming and Seeforellens -- are females.

Anybody have an ideas why?

One month shy of 3 years old (I know because I hatched it in my basement). 24 inches on the nose and 7.23 pounds.

“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #1 on: Nov 04, 2019, 08:30 PM »
Thanks Tim for the kind words.

If I ever saturate my market or get tired of selling the fish, I will hatch and grow out fewer fish and see just how big I can get them. I'm pretty confident if I back off on the feed and be patient I can grow a brown and rainbow in the upper teens maybe even 20 pounds or so. Brooks would probably top out at around 8 pounds but not consistently since they don't live as long. I have had six brook trout over 6 pounds at age 3. Biggest rainbow so far was a hair under 10 pounds, biggest brown around 12 pounds.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

seamonkey84

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #2 on: Nov 05, 2019, 05:22 AM »
Beautiful butter ball!
As for how big well fed fish can get if not harvested...
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #3 on: Nov 05, 2019, 08:27 AM »
Seamonkey thanks for sharing.

You know what I'd be fishing with there if it was legal?  A bait that can be put on a hook and looks like a trout pellet. Maybe not legal?

I've heard about that canal.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

Fish Farmer

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #4 on: Nov 05, 2019, 04:15 PM »
I apologize if this is not actually fishing but some of you have said you found my small hatchery growing out various species of fish to trophy size interesting.

The following is my biggest brown of my last three year cycle, which is surprisingly a female. With the other strains I have raised in the past, the males have always been the biggest. Most of the biggest browns with this strain, which is cross between browns from a pubic hatchery in Wyoming and Seeforellens -- are females.

Anybody have an ideas why?

One month shy of 3 years old (I know because I hatched it in my basement). 24 inches on the nose and 7.23 pounds.



Are they viable females....do they produce eggs? Do they produce eggs later than other strains therefore grow additional years before sexual maturity? It seems when we have "mules" in our Rome strain browns they do grow bigger. The males definately are bigger than the females, even when they can mature at age 2 when the females mature at age 3. I've always heard it is more costly to be female..eggs require more energy than gonads. For us the Romes struggle to grow for 3 years, but at age 4 they can get huge. Perhaps these can put the pounds on early and spawn at 4 years.

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #5 on: Nov 05, 2019, 07:43 PM »
Are they viable females....do they produce eggs? Do they produce eggs later than other strains therefore grow additional years before sexual maturity? It seems when we have "mules" in our Rome strain browns they do grow bigger. The males definately are bigger than the females, even when they can mature at age 2 when the females mature at age 3. I've always heard it is more costly to be female..eggs require more energy than gonads. For us the Romes struggle to grow for 3 years, but at age 4 they can get huge. Perhaps these can put the pounds on early and spawn at 4 years.

Viable? Should be as they are diploids. At least I think they should be as I had males in the same hatch as the females. Since they came from a farm that specializes in eggs maybe they breed them to be late maturing so they produce more eggs? If that is the case I'll bet I'd have some double digit browns if I save them 5 or 6 years. 

They are a cross with the Seeforellen strain and a public hatchery strain in Wyoming. A researcher just told me he thinks it has to do with the Seeforellen strain. Late maturing and more steelhead like in body conformation.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #6 on: Nov 06, 2019, 07:38 PM »
A precocious male steelhead I sorted out of one my net pens where I isolate YOY trout from the larger free swimming trout in the pond.This allows me to produce an annual crop without having to have a second pond.


The folllowing steelhead may or may not be a female. Could be an immature male.




Only about 6 out of 150 steelhead were obviously males like this one. Apparently even though these fish are pushing 15 inches, 10 months is not long enough for most of the males to reach sexual maturity.

I'm disappointed in the erosion of the caudal fin, so may try isolating in a different way, which will make end of the year culling of YOY fish easier, and I won't have to keep moving the fish to a larger mesh net pen as they get larger. It's know as a floating raceway and is basically a long rectangular box mounted to the center of two piers. Air via airlines is forced into one end which moves the water from the pond through and out.

“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

lowaccord66

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #7 on: Nov 07, 2019, 02:52 PM »
Good stuff Cecil.

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #8 on: Nov 07, 2019, 07:36 PM »
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

seamonkey84

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #9 on: Nov 07, 2019, 08:16 PM »
Do you do any breeding of your own trout? Or are you pulling the females as they look like they’re ripe since they will get egg bound by the next season? 
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #10 on: Nov 07, 2019, 08:25 PM »
Do you do any breeding of your own trout? Or are you pulling the females as they look like they’re ripe since they will get egg bound by the next season?

I have not stripped my own eggs and milt from my trout . Easy enough to do but prefer to just have then shipped from an egg producer overnight. A downside to it is if you stop buying the eggs and start stripping the fish, you may lose your egg supplier. One really huge egg supplier of rainbow trout in Washington State, Trout Lodge, makes you sign a contract agreeing to not spawn the diploids you got originally from their eggs.

I have however thought of stripping my own eggs for the purpose of crossing more than one strain to get some more genetic viability into the mix. My last brook trout hatch was really poor and I've had brook trout with short gill covers and other minor genetic defects. Doesn't seem as common with the browns and rainbows. Most likely due to inbreeding.

The big trout farm I mentioned in Washington State has enough broodstock and keeps very careful track of parent species they don't have issues with inbreeding. Unfortunately they only produce and sell rainbow eggs.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

seamonkey84

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #11 on: Nov 10, 2019, 06:35 AM »
Well talking about crossing... Brown trout and Atlantic salmon can make hybrids hehe.
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #12 on: Nov 10, 2019, 09:26 AM »
so why couldn't you catch our planters and strip/milk them?  using eggs isn't the same as selling caught fish is it?  im sure it would be a timing nightmare too though.  or maybe they don't mature enough?

Oh sure you could. It might be frowned upon but probably legal. I would be worried about introducing potential disease though. Although the dreaded VHS has not been found in Indiana waters that I know of, it could show up somewhere especially if some idiot dumps in smelt or some other fish captured in the Great Lakes into say the Oliver Lake chain. Then one could potentially bring back a carrier showing no clinical signs to his hatchery.

I've afraid we could end up with VHS some day if an angler takes it upon himself to transfer smelt into the Oliver Lake chain again. That's why I've advocated a reintroduction from a disease free source in Maine. Twice smelt were illegally introduced in the past.

Timing on spawning wouldn't be an issue. You hold the in a tank or net pen until they are ripe. At some point in the spawning phase the males are ready to go any time and can recharge too. You can also inject them with a hormone to syncronize the eggs and milt taking.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #13 on: Nov 10, 2019, 09:28 AM »
Well talking about crossing... Brown trout and Atlantic salmon can make hybrids hehe.

It could work but what would be the point if they already look a lot alike? I've seen some sea run browns that look almost identical to Atlantics.

Additionally their already is a dilution of salmon stocks in parts of New Foundland due to the introduction of brown trout.  Not a good idea to screw up native stocks that have adapted to the local conditions over thousands of years.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Atlantic-salmon-Atlantic-salmon-x-brown-trout-hybrids-and-brown-trout-photographs-Note_fig2_234839037
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

seamonkey84

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Re: Biggest Brown Trout of this cycle
« Reply #14 on: Nov 10, 2019, 01:46 PM »
It could work but what would be the point if they already look a lot alike? I've seen some sea run browns that look almost identical to Atlantics.

Additionally their already is a dilution of salmon stocks in parts of New Foundland due to the introduction of brown trout.  Not a good idea to screw up native stocks that have adapted to the local conditions over thousands of years.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Atlantic-salmon-Atlantic-salmon-x-brown-trout-hybrids-and-brown-trout-photographs-Note_fig2_234839037
The only reason I thought it would be neat is the hybrid vigor it could result in.
Yea, they can and do hybridize in the wild, and hybrids have been found when doing tissue samples of salmon in Europe. and they keep trying to get a sea run brown fishery going in Maine.
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

 



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