Bass and brook trout

[SirCranksalot]

A local water body the has bass has been stocked with brookies. MNR says they can co-exist but were a bit vague on how. Do any of you have first hand knowledge of these 2 species in the same lake, or have you read any detailed descriptions of the conditions under which this is possible.

 

Naming the water body on here would, of course, subject me to a severe verbal flogging!!

 

 

thx

 

 

[misfish]

Flogging is part of the fun here.LOL

 

I would like to hear what others think of this.

 

I have seen reports of a pond thats got, trout,bass,crappie and blue gill here.

 

Maybe it works?

Edited April 20, 2015 by Brian B

[Gallie]

I think it can work, i know a place with bows browns and bass living in harmony in a fairly small area, bass rule the shore trout rule the rest

Edited April 20, 2015 by Gallie

[kickingfrog]

Bigger concerns for brookies is water quality and temp.

 

Lots of lakes in the central part of the province have both.

[Sinker]

They get along fine. Why wouldnt they?

 

S.

[chris.brock]

The stocked brookies won't reproduce and are basically put and take

 

I guess the main concern is spending the money and effort of stocking brookies just to have most of them becoming prey for bass and a poor return for anglers.

 

The stocking lists are available to everyone. Just because they are stocking brookies doesn't mean it's a worthwhile lake.

[OhioFisherman]

The bass in California sure seem to like trout!

[dave524]

lots of lakes in Haliburton have bows and smallies coexisting, but then rainbows are not a structure orientated fish like brookies.

[Joeytier]

If they are stocked then sure. Many of the pot lakes around here were stocked with bass by local boneheads back in the 80's and it took a couple years for the lakes brookie populations to completely vanish, mind you this is paired with overharvest from anglers as well, but yes smallies will have notably negative effects on brook trout populations. Obviously they coexist just fine with lakers.

[Garfisher]

Pretty much all the lakes along the highway 60 corridor in Algonquin Park that did have self-sustaining brook trout populations no longer have brook trout due to smallmouth bass introductions, only Opeongo has a very tiny remnant of a population left as well as Costello (although they were restocked to create a new population). Smallies are too efficient of a littoral zone predator for brookies to successfully compete with. That being said, as a put and take fishery, stocking brookies into a waterbody with smallmouth wouldn't be too bad as the brookies would be large enough to eat larger prey items. The ones in Opeongo that do make it are in pretty good shape.

[Algoma Guy]

I think Brook Trout can not even co-exist with Yellow Perch. Around my area they planted Splake in lakes that had yellow perch present and were former Brook Trout lakes. I would expect Bass to be even more predatory than perch.

 

It would be cool though to be casting for Bass and hook a 3lb Brookie!

[SirCranksalot]

So do the bass eat the trout eggs or young trout or both, or do they consume the food that the small brookies need?

[netminder]

Bell's Lake near Markdale stocks Brookies, and a lot of them too according to the MNR fish-on website. Also should be even more this spring if what I read is true (probably close to 10,000). I wouldn't be surprised if the large quantity had something to do with the bass that I've seen in that lake too.

[Garfisher]

It's more food competition, I'm sure bigger smallies would eat smaller brookies and vice versa. Brookies can handle perch although the brook trout start targetting smaller food items due to perch competition. If there's any decent harvest pressure on the brookies the yellow perch take the place of the harvested brook trout

[kickingfrog]

Have be careful of conclusions. Yes the brookies along hwy 60 are few and far between and bass are present but is that due to the bass or fishing presure, man made shoreline changes and water quality? Much of that area was logged and that can lead to heavy silt on spawning areas.

 

For much of the year bass and brookies don't inhabit the same parts of the lake or water column.

Edited April 21, 2015 by kickingfrog

[BowSlayer101]

Tons of lakes in haliburton/Bancroft that have both bass and brookies and the fishing is good for both so I'm guessing yes!

[chris.brock]

Stocked brookies= doesn't matter even if bass ate brookie eggs, put and take brookies, no reproduction anyways

 

I don't know about Bancroft, but in Haliburton, the stocked brookie lakes mostly don't have bass

 

If the lake has bass, the MNR seems to prefer stocking bows, splake or lakers

 

I think it's both competition for food but mostly decent sized bass preying on recently stocked brookie fingerlings that is the issue with the stockers (not natural brookie populations)

 

Smallies and brookies share and overlap habitat all year. The brookies aren't shallow in the summer but plenty of bass are below the thermocline.

Edited April 21, 2015 by chris.brock

[Joeytier]

Hearing rumblings of a year round bass season in zone 11. Hoping we see this come to fruition for 2016.

 

Slightly off topic, sorry

[kickingfrog]

During the summer there would zero bass below the thermocline in this part of the province. The temperatures would be well below their preferred range. That doesn't mean smallmouth aren't deep, or won't go deep, but not below an established thermocline.

 

There are numerous factors at play for what is stocked and where (some of which is political). Brook trout are harder, more expensive and are the most sensitive to environmental factors. Rainbows (of the "trouts") are the easiest/cheapest. Rainbows and smallmouth bass also are closer when is comes to their preferred water temps and both don't "need" quite the same water quality as brookies.

 

And if we're talking about spawning (not a factor for some stocked fish) brookies, which are a char not a trout, spawn in the fall same as the lake trout char. So while they might use similar areas for spawning they do happen at different times of the year. Rainbows are a salmon and spawn in the spring in most cases

[chris.brock]

Zero bass? What part of the province are you talking about?

 

Oligotrophic Haliburton lakes have oxygen and smallies (big smallies too) below the thermocline, mid summer on.

[kickingfrog]

Oxygen yes but the temp below the thermocline is well below their preferred temp.

 

Lots of lakes don't develop a thermocline and lakes with springs are also a factor.

 

Yes, the temps at the bottom are 4ish degree cold but the thermocline it a distinct relatively narrow band where the temps change quickly and prevents mixing of the water.

[SirCranksalot]

. The brookies aren't shallow in the summer

 

 

That's not quite right. They may stay in the cold water most of the day but typically at dusk they will move into shallow water to feed. They do most of their feeding in the summer and most of the feed is in shallow water. They move into shallows to be a predator but I guess if bass are around at the same time they may become prey.

[chris.brock]

I know all the limnology stuff.

 

Come for a visit in the summer Rob, it's crude but a live crayfish and you will catch a SMB below the thermocline, in 15 minutes

[kickingfrog]

Your secchi disk or mine?

[Sinker]

In our haliburton lake, if you want big smallies, target them at the thermocline. That's where they live.

 

S.