Behavior and Survival of Stocked Trout in Southern Appalachian Mountain Streams

Stocking trout to support recreational fisheries is a common practice among agencies to meet the demand for fishing.  Success of stocking efforts relies on fish behavior and survival to maximize fish availability.  We quantitatively described movement and survival of stocked Brook Trout, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout in three southern Appalachian Mountain streams in western North Carolina.  Hatchery trout were tagged with passive integrated transponders and radio transmitters, stocked into the North Toe River, East Prong Roaring River, and Little River, and monitored during the catch-and-release season from October to June.  According to river and species, 19-65% of trout emigrated from the study reach, while 1-29% died within study reaches.  Among radio-tagged fish, 71% stayed within 2 km of the stocking point, but 6% migrated over 10 km.  Few trout stocked during fall were available to anglers for harvest in June, due to a combination of migration and mortality, and emigration was greater than mortality.  Brook trout mortality rates were highest among species, and large fish of most species showed higher emigration and mortality than catchable-sized trout.  Fisheries managers may apply our results to refine stocking regimes to enhance efficiency and improve acclimation of stocked trout to stream environments.