Tim, I don't recall giving you permission to use a photograph of me on your blog.

And for your information, that 'aint no Kentucky waterfall, it's an Oklahoma neck blanket and it looks damn good blowing in the wind when I'm cruising with the T-tops off the 'ol Firebird.

looks like a genetic defect...
little beedy eyes
stunted facial features
little pellet mouth
bloated

and the hatchery pellet head is a mess too....

honestly why do all grip-n-grins have some dood with a kentucky waterfall looking like he has a turtle head poking out? all while holding his raceway trophy with fully extended arms

ahh the romantiziation of trout...

I have a belief that if there isn't a population of trout due to civilization created problems, that they should first clean up the mess, then use a hatchery to replenish the lost population to get it started. unfortunately most of these F&W guys look at it as "If we keep stocking it, the fish population will grow larger" while also thinking "more trout stocking equals more overtime"

I watch the state and feds stock the Millers River every spring, first week or two of May they stock Browns and Rainbows, then the last week they stock Atlantic Salmon fry in the same places as the Browns and Rainbows.

best part is the Federal guys are happy to see that out of the million fry they stocked, only 3 make it 50 miles downstream to the fish ladder on the Connecticut River where the Striped Bass are waiting from the Atlantic.

And they wonder why there are no returning Atlantic Salmon is the Millers River.

Firebirds and mullets aside, I'm sort of on the fence when it comes to stocked fish. Yes it's an abomination if you're in Colorado or Montana but obviously Oklahoma isn't trout territory, so if we want trout it's stockers or nothing.
And I can say from personal experience that stockers, given enough time to adapt, do indeed become something approximating real trout, at least to a flatlander.

For example, last year our wildlife department verified natural reproduction in both rainbows and browns in the Lower Mountain Fork river, which is a fantastic year-round tailrace fishery in SE Oklahoma.
The problem is, the LMF gets so much pressure from a three-state area that there really isn't any choice but to continue stocking hatchery trout to meet that demand.

There are some barbless artificial-only zones where those hatchery trout have a chance to go wild, but my rambling point is, for a large chunk of the country hatchery trout are the only option. I guess the difference lies in if your state approaches it from a Powerbait-dunking perspective or a quality fishing experience perspective.

Next door in Utah, our hatcheries are starting to pump out more and more tiger trout. A beautiful fish that is full of spunk and liveliness.

A real fisherman is like a junkie. If he needs a fix, an aquarium looks good to him.