Paint Creek 5/14

[kneedeep]

Took my 5 year old to the creek today and had a blast again! We caught 3 browns and 2 rainbows. One of the browns measured 17.5 inches:yikes::coolgleam. I still cant belive it. What great day, water was a little high and real muddy.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/cam_phone_045.jpg (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/cam_phone_045.jpg)
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/cam_phone_047.jpg (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/cam_phone_047.jpg)
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/cam_phone_049.jpg (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/cam_phone_049.jpg)
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/cam_phone_048.jpg (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/cam_phone_048.jpg)
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/cam_phone_050.jpg (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/cam_phone_050.jpg)

[Michigan Mike]

Very nice KD!
Congrats to you and your son!
His smile says it all!

[P.C. Tweek]

Nice catch! Those will make nice meal for you and your son. I'll bet, your son caught the biggest trout...thats the way it happens. Toke my neighbor out for the opener and I landed a 16 incher. I was pumped up because my neighbor always catches big fish on ALL of our trips and I thought I had really beat him this time. Twenty minutes before we quit fishing Kent hooks up on a really big FISH!!!!! Ten minutes latter, and one missed netting attemt by me, we netted Kent's 21 inch brown. So Kent still beat me...again. I've been fishing the creek for thirty years and Its always the Rookie that catches the biggest fish of the day with me.

Again, Great catch!!!! Congrats to you and your son.

P.C. Tweek,

[kneedeep]

Thanks P.C. Well surprisingly I did get the big one on the second cast but your right my son usually dose get the big one which might have been even better to watch. We had alot of fun.

[Boardman Brookies]

Nice fish! That one brown in very hefty. Great job!

[Hunt_Fish_Eat]

Nice fish. How were they caught? Fly/spinning rod? using what type of flies? or some other method? Looking for a good time this weekend, thought I might try up there this coming week. After seeing your pics, man, I can't wait to go up there. I still have yet to catch a trout!

Have a great day!

[kneedeep]

I dont know why I feel I have to defend myself. I did through 2 back and I have thrown more back than I have kept. Two of the browns that were kept swallowed the hook bad and were bleeding ( the big one) so I didnt want to take the chance of putting them back to dye. Sorry to offend anyone that belives in catch and release but I do like to take a few home to eat.

[Silverexpress]

Nice fishes. Not to worry about keeping the fish. DNR treats this stream as a put-and-take. It's just a bonus that the fish can actually reproduce naturally further upstream. It's probably more important to teach all our young ones water and environmental conservation, and next to this - just abide by the regulations found in the DNR handbook.

Great job nevertheless. I spent 3 days up North last week, and I fished 4 blue ribbon trout streams. Guess what I caught??? Brookies 7 inches long...lol. Had to find a seculded stretch of a not so well known stream (3.5 hrs away) to equal the catch you two caught. ;)

[kolarchi]

Congrats to you and your son. Hopefully in a couple year I will be to same thing with my little guy. Don't let the comments about keeping the fish get to you. I remeber being that yound and keeping my first couple trout I caught with dad and having grandma cook them. This is a put a take fishery and the DNR stocks it full year after year. It's to bad people always have to poo poo on other peoples parades.

[Troutlord1]

Just a side note here, Yes the DNR stocks fish in Paint Creek but 40% to 50% of the Creek in naturally reproducing so it really isnt considered a put and take fishery.The Huron near Wixom where the DNR Stocks huge #s of fish and has no reproduction at all is considered a put and take fishery.
Just wanted to point that out, it has nothing to do with keeping fish or limits. If you buy a fishing license,you can do as you please,as long as its legal!!myself,I throw all the fish back but thats my decision.

[quest32a]

I deleted some posts, and then deleted some again. If you want to talk catch and release vs catch and keep out of a certain watershed that is fine with me. Take it to another thread though.

JQ.

[Pike Eyes]

Nice fish. It looks like it was a great way to spend a day with your son.

[kingwilly]

The creek and river have been high and stained. I was there a couple of days ago and unless you know what spot to hit, it is a little tough. Well.....its always a little tough. There are a few more bits of info on other fish still in the river, but PM me if you want to discuss.

Other than that, I was hoping to get a thread going to exclusively discuss the rock band Buckcherry.....I love those guys. Or maybe a thread on wanting to be a cop, but ended up a useless part time security patrol man.

KW

[johnobub]

Nice catch

[DE82]

Nice fish, that one brown is a nice stream brown no matter where your fishing, even more impressive on the paint.

[fishnpbr]

Kneedeep,

There are very few good reasons not to keep trout from any river or stream. Nature always produces an abundance of fish and in creeks like the Paint that don’t have enough habitat, cool water or food the state plants fish and encourages people to catch and keep them.

Catch and release makes a lot of sense if you don’t plan on utilizing the fish you catch and they go to waste. Most of us practice conservation and only take what we can use or in my case what my friends and family can use always within the law of course.

Most trout live an average of seven years so almost all the trout hatched in 2002 are dead. It doesn’t matter if they are planted or wild. Keeping trout to share with friends and family is a long standing tradition and is an important part of our trout fishing heritage.

If you release every trout you catch you are not protecting the fishery but only upping the odds a little for some other sports who think they won’t be able to catch one if everyone doesn’t release them all. Many of them think you are a jerk for even thinking about eating one. Trout are not icons, or idols to be worshiped but are fish.

To most of us, you did a remarkable thing, you caught some trout out of a creek that can just barely be called a trout stream within easy driving range of millions of people. You took your five year old son along and by the look on his face he enjoyed himself a lot. When you cook the fish and mom says wow these fish are delicious he will feel very proud that he did something to make his mother happy. Those are both important lessons from my perspective and ones that you can only hope will last a lifetime.

When I was a kid growing up in Grand Rapids, no self respecting trout fisherman would ever through back a legal trout. If I would have told my dad that I threw back all the trout I caught that day he would have taken my fishing pole away or something worse. My bonds with my family and in my neighborhood were strong because I shared my bounty and I think it helped build character.

I can’t get inside the head of those who want to criticize you for keeping fish but they are a minority and the only reason they even speak against keeping trout is because somehow it must make them feel righteous or something.

If the trout fishing ever gets to the point that fish stocks of any kind start to diminish, the professional fish biologist in the DNR will reduce the limits. It is their job to make that call based on scientific evidence and not for some misplaced moral reason.

Congratulations on a great day with your son and enjoy a wonderful meal shared with those you care about and thanks to the moderator who deleted the offending posts.

There is evidence that shows the current limits are two low and are supported by the opinion of most of the people I fish with is that fishing for trout has never been better.


:yeahthat:

[kneedeep]

Thanks Splitshot, well said. I have been taking my son out fishing since he was two and he cant get enough. He even sleeps with his fishing pole, it is all he talks about. This is the first year for him fishing for trout and we only keep what we can eat for a meal or two. He dose think everything we catch we should keep and I have been teaching him that we only keep what we are going to eat and the rest is for great time in the outdoors even if we dont catch any. Most of the time I have to ask him if we can leave now:lol:. I guess we are both lucky, I get someone to teach and talk to and he has a dad who loves to fish.

[Ranger Ray]

Looks like a great day. Nothing better than seeing those kids having fun catching fish. Little butter, salt and pepper and yum yum. Doesn't get any better. ;)

[Troutlord1]

There are very few good reasons not to keep trout from any river or stream. Nature always produces an abundance of fish and in creeks like the Paint that don’t have enough habitat, cool water or food the state plants fish and encourages people to catch and keep them.


To most of us, you did a remarkable thing, you caught some trout out of a creek that can just barely be called a trout stream within easy driving range of millions of people.

Just a couple of points here and this has nothing to do with keeping fish or C & R. Yes it is great they had a great day fishing and it is wonderful he is getting his son into fishing and we do need more kids getting into the outdoor sports!! Yes that it truely outstanding.
That being said I want to point out a few things (again nothing about keeping fish etc) but..
1 Paint Creek does have habitat.It has undercut banks deep holes in areas
some log/woody structure and gravel for spawing!
2 It has food there are good hatches on the Paint, March Browns Caddis
B.W.O' s Cahills midges stoneflies alot of chubs terrestrials to name a few
3 Its does stay cool enough to prevent die off due to the dam at LK Orion being a underwater draw.
4 The plants the DNR puts in,6300 fish for a 12 mile system, the average size of trout is 4.53 inches
so if they wanted a put and take fishery they would plant legal size trout. Plus they dont plant Rainbows but many are caught (Clinton plants
of Steelhead that get up in high water and remain resident stream fish) so it suggests the fish he and his son caught have been in the Creek for awhile and are reproducing naturally.
So the point is to call Paint Creek "barely" a Trout Stream is a bit off base!!
Just thought I would post a counterpoint!!Not trying to start an arguement!
Again great job Kneedeep kudos for the catch and keep teaching your son!!!

[U of M Fan]

Nice fish, that one brown is a nice stream brown no matter where your fishing, even more impressive on the paint.
I agree. Well done Kneedeep!!!! It looks like your son had a blast.

[kneedeep]

If you'd ever like to meet up and fish some of my trout spots let me know, I'm always interested in meeting new trout fishermen and learning and teaching, that's part of what makes this site so great...If not for this site I wouldn't know jack about ice fishing still and would not have met the dozens of new people I call friends either -Bryon[/quote]


Thanks. I'am not sure I can be called a trout fisherman yet. I have'nt done alot of trout fishing infact this is my first year fishing the Paint. I used to go to Pennsylvania fly fishing every year of a week when I was yonger but have'nt done any around her. I mostly jig for walleye and did alot of salmon fishing.

[quest32a]

Guys take it to another thread. Im done deleting posts. There used to be a way to split threads, and I wish I could do that here with Ray's post being the starting post for another thread. But what I will do is copy it, and you guys can have at it.

[glnmiller]

Congrats to you and your son on a nice catch. His smile tells the whole story.

[jmessenger]

nice job