Stocked vs. Wild Trout

In Ga we only have a few waterways that will support wild trout life. It's a combination of many things that are the culprit for this, but luckily our Department Of Natural Resources has played a huge role in stocking the popular waterways with farmed trout. Since I have just started trout fishing I became curious of how to tell the difference between a wild trout and a stocked one.

Like always in matters of trout education, my first resource was the North Ga Trout Online forum. The forum is a fantastic resource for people new to the sport and the veterans alike. The people there are extremely knowledgeable and willing to share their wisdom with all new comers. I posed the questions and was immediately met with the answers I was looking for. Here is what I learned thanks to Windknot and Fishinbub...

Windknot
This isn't quite as clear-cut as you might expect.

Generally speaking, wild fish are more colorful and fight harder. 

But some stockers each year are amazingly well-colored.

Many stockers exhibit nubby fins. These are spoken of as being rubbed off in the concrete raceways, but they are actually nibbled off by stressed-out fellow occupants of said raceways.

Some rainbows in the Hooch were born in the Hooch. If you catch a 4" rainbow, it's streamborn, for sure. At 12", who knows?

If you catch a brown trout between Buford Dam and Morgan Falls Dam, it's streamborn, no question, since browns aren't stocked there.

Stockers may escape and evade predators and anglers, and that 11" fish may be 18" and stout by next season, given good conditions and habitat.

Bottom line - enjoy what you catch. If you want to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are catching wild fish, you need to become a blueliner.

Blueliner requirements are simple. Maps, topo maps, research, exploration, good hiking boots, subdued clothing, simple fly box (Stimulators, visible dries, basic nymphs, beetles & Inch Worms), and whatever you consider to be a manageable-sized rod. Voila! You're a blueliner!

Fishinbub
1)Where was the fish caught? 
Some streams are too low in elevation to support a significant wild population (Panther for example), some streams don't receive any stockers (ie. Noontootla). Yes there are a lot of streams that have wild and stocked fish (Tallulah, Hooch, Tooga etc.), but the location of the catch is the easiest way to know whether your fish is wild. 

2)How big is the fish?
Some streams (Dukes) receive occasional fingerling stockings. But as a general rule, if a fish is less than about 7" long, it's probably wild. 

3)How does the fish look and act?
Most wild fish have full fins, they are more brightly colored, they prefer faster water (for rainbows), they fight harder, and as they get larger they develop a bit of a kype jaw. 

If it is possible for both stocked and wild fish to be in the stream you're fishing, it's almost impossible to know for sure. But you can make a pretty educated guess. There are some times when you pretty much know with stockers (when you pull a 9" fish with no fins out of a pod of 50 fish right next to the road), but wild fish are a little more tricky. This spring I caught an obviously wild fish in a stocked stream. I caught two little snits and released them into a hole. The third fish I pulled out was about 14" long, really skinny, had full fins, and a kype. In that case I was 99.9% sure I had a wild fish.

If you are looking for a resource to learn about trout fishing in Ga I highly recommend heading straight to NGTO's website and becoming a member. It is free to join and well worth it. You cannot buy better education than the experiences of seasoned veterans to the sport and the willingness to teach others.