Southwest Virginia offers a plethora of fishing opportunities for wild trout (Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis, Brown Trout Salmo trutta, and Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss) in headwater and large valley floor streams. However, low productivity in most area streams, including the South Fork Holston River, limits growth leading to populations where individuals seldom exceed 25 cm. The Buller Fish Hatchery, located in Smyth County, Virginia, offers anglers a unique 1.6‐km special‐regulation catch‐and‐release trout fishery on the South Fork Holston River limited to single‐hook artificial lures. Historically, this section was dominated by wild Rainbow Trout that seldom reached 25 cm. A supplemental feeding program was initiated by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources in March 2015 in hopes of significantly increasing the size distribution of Rainbow Trout. This limited feeding program improved the size distribution within the first year, and 24% of Rainbow Trout exceeded 30 cm. Annual monitoring (2015–2018) documented that 17–34% of Rainbow Trout collected at the treatment reach exceeded 30 cm, with densities varying from 215 to 554 fish/km for fish greater than 30 cm. Relative weight greater than 100 shifted from 0% of the population in 2014 to 8–25% of the population in 2015–2018. Rainbow Trout size structure and relative weight remained unchanged during the survey period at the control reach and were lower than at the treatment reach once supplemental feeding began. Annual costs associated with supplemental feeding at this reach were calculated at US$1,271/year and averaged $2.34/fish (>30 cm) within the catch‐and‐release area. Results suggest that supplemental feeding can be an effective tool for improving wild trout size structure in low‐productivity waters. Feeding was not cost prohibitive and was within Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources budget guidelines.

中文翻译：

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补充喂养作为发展优质野生虹鳟鱼渔业的一种工具

西南弗吉尼亚州为野鳟鱼提供了很多捕捞机会（布鲁克鳟鱼Salvelinus fontinalis，褐鳟鳟鱼trutta和虹鳟Oncorhynchus mykiss）在上游和大谷底溪流中。但是，包括南叉霍尔斯顿河在内的大多数区域河流的生产力低下，限制了人口的增长，导致人口很少超过25厘米。位于弗吉尼亚州史密斯县的布勒鱼孵化场为垂钓者提供了独特的1.6公里特殊管制捕捞和释放鳟鱼捕捞，该捕捞仅限于单钩人工引诱的南叉霍尔斯顿河上。从历史上看，此部分主要由野生虹鳟鱼主导，很少达到25厘米。弗吉尼亚野生动植物资源部于2015年3月启动了一项补充喂养计划，希望能显着增加虹鳟的规模。这项有限的喂食计划在第一年内改善了大小分布，虹鳟的24％超过了30厘米。年度监测（2015–2018年）记录到，在处理范围内收集到的虹鳟鱼的17–34％超过30厘米，对于30厘米以上的鱼类，密度从215到554鱼/公里不等。相对体重大于100的人群从2014年的0％转移到2015-2018年的8-25％的人口。在对照期内，虹鳟鱼的大小结构和相对体重在对照范围内保持不变，并且一旦开始补充饲喂，其比处理范围内的虹鳟低。据计算，在该捕捞和释放区域内，与该区域补充饲料相关的年度成本为每年1,271美元，平均每条鱼（> 30厘米）为2.34美元。结果表明，补充饲料可以成为改善低产水域中鳟鱼体型结构的有效工具。