FS Digest

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re doing well and are safe and healthy. A friend and I are trying to learn to fish and I was curious as to how hopeless it would be to fish a stocked lake this far into summer. Specifically, we’re trying to fish the Wachusett reservoir. I imagine that our first time fishing is going to be difficult enough and I wanted to make sure we weren’t fishing a “cleaned-out” lake. Is that even a thing that happens?

Essentially, do people fish all of a stocking in the first few weeks after a stocking, or is that not even a thing that happens?

Thanks all.

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by Cchel4243

FS Digest

I guess it just depends where you’re at and how often and when they stock. Here in my state we have a “season opener” and the lake typically gets fished out within a couple months, plus other species start spawn period and start eating the stocked trout that aren’t too big making it tougher.

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by tacobellbandit

FS Digest

Depends on how much stocking is done in your area. As well as how much they practice catch and release.

At least where I live, multiple lakes are stocked so as fisherman we don’t really run out of places to fish. The urban pond I go to do get fished a lot, but there is good practice of catch and release, so there is still fish available in the beginning of spring before they stock it.

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by g2gfmx

FS Digest

Even if the lake is cleaned out of stocker trout, it will be loaded with sunfish, perch and other assorted eager-beaver fish that will be super fun to catch on your first (or 50th) time out.

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by andrew-wp

FS Digest

Great, thanks!

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by Cchel4243

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

Unsure of your location, so hard to tell what practices your state uses in stocking . Here in Oregon, our ODFW stocks most lakes multiple times throughout the season with 5K-10k "legals" and many times, "trophy" (2-3lbs+) keepers, 200-500 at a time. I am rather certain we are spoiled by this practice....they actually publish dates and quantity, sometimes even the "release ramp" location on a particularly large waterbody. We are still catching "planters" into the fall months, though we hope for the "holdovers" from the previous years' stocking or one of the "trophy stockers"..... they cut red and taste better, after at least a few months of natural food.
So, short answer.. not knowing how your state stocks, my guess is that there are still plenty to go for. Try to find an incoming water source like a feeder creek and target it after a rain....the wiser trout (and who wants to catch a dummy ?) will be hanging out there, waiting for the inevitable smorgasbord washing down. Good luck !