Stocking Success of Brown Trout and 2 Strains of Rainbow Trout in Jocassee Reservoir, South Carolina

The relative success of the Walhalla strain of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and the Wytheville and Winthrop strains of rainbow trout (S. gairdneri) was evaluated for 2 years in a put-grow-and-take stocking program in Jocassee Reservoir. Gill-net catches of brown trout increased during the 2-year study, while catches of rainbow trout of both strains declined rapidly after stocking and no rainbow trout were netted during the second year of the study. A total of 11.4% of the stocked brown trout and 1.6% of the rainbow trout were harvested by fishermen during the study. Poor survival of rainbow trout in Jocassee Reservoir may be related more to the size of fish stocked than to different strain-specific characteristics.