Many of you have already seen the news release, but let me start with that:
Rainbow trout stockings scheduled this fall
LINCOLN, Neb. – Rainbow trout are being stocked in city ponds and state park and recreation area lakes across the state by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. These stockings will enhance fishing opportunities this fall and winter.
Cutthroat and tiger trout stockings also are scheduled for a select number of water bodies.
Stocking schedules can change on short notice for a variety of reasons. The following is a tentative rainbow trout stocking schedule, including quantities:
Week of Sept. 27 – Fort Robinson State Park ponds: Lower Ice House, 500; Middle Ice House, 250; Cherry Creek, 250; Grabel No. 2, 1,200; Grabel No. 3, 650
Week of Oct. 4 – Humphrey Pond, Ogallala – 600; Bridgeport State Recreation Area middle lake – 2,000; Laing Lake, Alliance – 1,500; Bridgeport SRA northwest lake – 1,400; Lake Carter P. Johnson, Fort Robinson SP – 2,500; Elm Creek, Webster County – 1,000
Week of Oct. 11 – Northwest: North Morrill pond – 2,250; Middle Morrill pond – 450; South Morrill pond – 400; Riverside Park Pond, Scottsbluff – 900
Southwest: Holdrege City Lake – 1,800; Fort Kearny SRA No. 6 – 1,080; Curtis golf course pond – 150; Oxford City Lake – 300
Northeast: Crystal Cove Lake, South Sioux City – 2,500; Ta-Ha-Zouka Park Lake, Norfolk – 1,500; Pawnee Park west pond, Columbus – 1,500; Fremont Lakes SRA No. 2 – 3,000; Niobrara State Park Pond – 750
Southeast: Fontenelle Park Pond, Omaha – 1,200; Benson Park Pond, Omaha – 1,050; Hanscom Park Pond, Omaha – 450; Towl Park Pond, Omaha – 300; Lake Halleck, Papillion – 1,200; Steinhart Park Pond, Nebraska City – 800; Weeping Water Park Pond – 1,500
Week of Oct. 18 – Southwest: Lake Helen, Gothenburg – 1,900; Windmill SRA No. 2, Gibbon – 540; Plum Creek Park Pond, Lexington – 675
Northeast: Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area, Royal – 1,500; Fremont Lakes SRA No. 2 – 500
Southeast: David City Park Pond – 600
Week of Oct. 25 – Northwest: Bessey Pond, Halsey – 600
Southwest: Birdwood WMA, North Platte – 2,500; Heartwell Park Lake, Hastings – 810; Suck’s Lake, Grand Island – 585; Ansley City Pond – 750; Central Nebraska Veterans’ Home pond, Kearney – 200
Northeast: Auble Pond, Ord – 1,000
Southeast: Wilber Reservoir No. 1 – 300; Bowling Lake (south pond), Lincoln – 400; Holmes Lake, Lincoln – 3,000; CenturyLink Lake, Eugene T. Mahoney SP – 1,500; Optimist Lake, Auburn – 800; Stanton Lake, Falls City – 200; Pawnee City Park Lake – 300; Humboldt City Park Lake – 600; Melham Park Lake, Broken Bow – 750
The Lake Ogallala fall rainbow trout stocking will take place in early November.
Game and Parks also stocked cutthroat trout the week of Sept. 27 at: White River, Fort Robinson SP – 750; Lake Carter P. Johnson, Fort Robinson SP – 950; Bridgeport SRA middle lake – 1,000; Alliance golf course pond – 300; Grove Lake WMA sandpit, Royal – 50.
Tiger trout, a hybrid of the brown trout and the brook trout, will be stocked the week of Oct. 11 at the Curtis golf course pond (300) and the week of Oct. 25 at Rock Creek Lake, Parks (1,000) and the Chadron State Park Pond (500).
Fishing for trout is a great way to introduce children to fishing because simple and inexpensive equipment may be used. A spinning or spin-cast rod and reel with a hook baited with a worm will work well. Add a split shot a couple of feet above the hook and a bobber a couple of feet above the split shot. Spinners, salmon eggs, dough baits and artificial flies also can catch trout.
If you are just getting into fishing, a helpful resource is Game and Parks’ Going Fishing Guide, available at OutdoorNebraska.gov/howtofish. For information on Fish Stocking, including the dates pf upcoming trout stocking, OutdoorNebraska.gov/fishstockingreports.
Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/fishing for more information on fishing in Nebraska.
Now let me add some comments:
Standing Bear
Believe me, the phone has been ringing. As soon as this news release was published, folks were wondering why Standing Bear in Omaha was not listed. Here is why: We are in the planning stages of an Aquatic Habitat rehabilitation project on Standing Bear. We thought that work would be starting this fall and therefore trout stockings for Standing Bear were NOT planned for this fall.
In reality, work is not going to start this fall. We will get some put & take trout into Standing Bear if we have some available.
How To Catch ‘Em, What To Do With ‘Em
If you need some ideas on how to catch these 10-inch rainbows, or what to do with them after you have caught them, I have blogged about these put & take trout stockings many times. Try looking back to this old blog post, Spring Trout Stocking, 2021.
Trout Slam
Those of you working on your Trout Slam, look close you will find that some of these are also being stocked this fall:
If you are looking for even more variety, there are some of these being stocked too!
Take the Kids
I say this all the time too, and let me tell you why. . . . From the phone calls I get about the trout stockings, we have a bunch of old anglers just waiting for the stocking truck to show up so they can start filling their freezers.
That ain’t why we stock these fish!
We stock 10-inch rainbow trout around the state where they are easily-accessible to youngsters and beginning anglers. If you are fishing for these fish, you should have a new angler with you! Enter them in the Take ‘Em Fishing Challenge while you are at it!
The weather is nice, it is time to grab the kids and GO FISH!
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