Movements of Hatchery-reared Rainbow, Brook, and Brown Trout Stocked in a Virginia Mountain Stream

During May 1979, 1,061 catchable-sized, hatchery-reared rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and brown trout (Salmo trutta) were tagged and stocked in pool and riffle habitats in Big Stony Creek, Giles County, Virginia. Of this total, the movement patterns of 275 recovered trout were determined through voluntary tag return and creek census information. Most (75%) of the trout were recovered within 1 km of their respective release sites; 16% remained within the initial stocking locations. Most of the recaptured brook trout (69%) and rainbow trout (59%) were recovered downstream, whereas brown trout (69%) moved primarily upstream. The median dispersal distances for brook trout (195 m downstream) and rainbow trout (60 m downstream) were not significantly different from one another, but were significantly different (P < 0.001) from that of brown trout (90 m upstream). Although trout stocked in pools generally exhibited less movement than those stocked in riffles, the type of stream habitat into which the trout were introduced had no significant effect on the distance or direction of dispersion of the three species.