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Trout Stocking Continuing Prior To May 3 Opening

U.S. Forest Service-commons.wikimedia.org

While much of the focus has been on the state's Walleye Initiative to put more survivable-sized walleyes into lakes and rivers, another large scale fish stocking effort is underway.

The DNR reports more than 316,000 catchable size trout are being stocked in waters across the state.

DNR state fish production manager Dave Giehtbock says the snow and cold slowed the trout stocking this year, but they should be ready by the fishing opener May 3....

"....we typically stock catchable trout in waters across the state that don't have natural reproduction or otherwise are limited in their ability to have a fishery. Those older fish can survive and do well to provide a fishery for people so we plan to stock those waters, usually on an annual basis...."

Giehtbock says they plant fish with the expectation they will be caught...

"....typically these fish will survive quite well into the summer. They typically don't over winter. There are a lot of places where we could find fish over-wintering, but typically we're going for places that, we want them to be caught and quickly before summer gets going and it gets too hot...."

More than 100,000 of the fish will be stocked in urban fishing waters, small lakes and ponds managed with a local municipality.

The DNR website has a list of the waters that will see trout stocking.

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