Hatchery fish - keep or release?

Not to detail but…

For a cheap thrill: visit an Oregon hatchery with one of those gumball machines filled with pellets. Then toss pellets into the pools filled with Bass Pro-esque steelhead and sturgeon. Good times.
 
How do you all feel about keeping or releasing triploid trout when they've been planted in areas where they compete with wild fish? There's a couple rivers down in Oregon that still get stocked and can have a pretty significant portion that overwinters. Especially on the Mckenzie, I feel like it has so much potential to be a way cooler trout fishery if it had less hatchery fish.

I'd personally rather the food they eat go to a redside or salmon smolt but even if I kept the limit each time I fished it's a pretty marginal impact.
 
justme2024 said:
How do you all feel about keeping or releasing triploid trout when they've been planted in areas where they compete with wild fish? There's a couple rivers down in Oregon that still get stocked and can have a pretty significant portion that overwinters. Especially on the Mckenzie, I feel like it has so much potential to be a way cooler trout fishery if it had less hatchery fish.

I'd personally rather the food they eat go to a redside or salmon smolt but even if I kept the limit each time I fished it's a pretty marginal impact.
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I have zero hangups about keeping ANY planted fish. It's what they're there for.
 
justme2024 said:
Do you feel like if you have the chance to keep them you should keep them though? Or just if you feel like it you'll take a couple home
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I think there's good aguments to be made for saying you SHOULD as they aren't helping the ecosystem in most cases. But to be honest, since I haven't participated in these fisheries for so long, I've kind of gone to not having a strong opinion. But every system is different, so my opinion and actions may change based on each situation.
 
It is situational for me. If it is a river system with wild and hatchery fish I feel obligated to bonk a hatchery fish. If there are not wild fish in the system hatchery fish are usually released
 
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