Tips for stocked trout
Any pointers on fishing for stocked trout? The small lake near me in pa just stocked rainbow trout. Was there for 3 hours today and caught nothing, nor did the 8 guys I saw around the lake. Trout were stocked yesterday
--
by hhw
Trout take a while to adjust to a new environment. Give it a day or 2 then just try some easy to eat stuff like worms or minnows, power bait.
--
by K2_Adventures
They’re a little out of sorts & traumatized after being loved. They need 2-3 days to calm down and consider eating, in my experience.
--
by youtubefishingfamily
I used spinners and spoons with great success when they stock Pine Lake in Washington State in late April. Kastmasters and Dardevles were the best. Kastmasters I could find at any local store, Dardevles were harder to find so I ended up ordering online.
Could be the fish need a few days to chill out and get used to not eating hand fed pellets on the surface? We would see schools swim by our dock and if we flashed our palms in the air (like we’re throwing in food) they would scramble up.
--
by theron_b
If you know what ramp or shoreline they did the actual stocking from, cast around there after a day or two. I guess they chill in the area for a spell. Thats the advice I got when going to stocked waters, hope it helps!
--
by PraiseKeysare
Powerbait works really well for stocked trout. In fact it should be illegal. If you've never fished with it it's really simple. Make a Caroline rig with a 24 to 36 inch fluorocarbon leader (4 lb works real well, but you could go a little heavier), a number 8 or 10 single egg hook, and a 1/4 oz or so egg sinker. Put a wad of powerbait on your hook, enough to cover it, throw the whole shebang out as far a you can. Let it sit. The powerbait floats and the sinker holds it all in place. I nothing happens after 10 or 15 minutes or so, reel in and repeat the whole process in a different direction or another spot entirely. There are a bazillion different floating baits that you can do this with, but for just starting out get you a jar of Berkley Powerbait, whatever color/flavor you think they'll like, and go catch some fish.
Powerbait on tiny treble hook , use small split shot, power bait floats up a little off the bottom , bingo
Yeah treble hook works really well as long as you're gonna keep em and eat em. Not so much if you want to let em go. HHW if you want to release them safely let me know and we can talk about barbless circle hooks, how to use them and where to get them. If you're gonna keep em, treble is the way to go.
All the above bait recommendations are good, but you shouldn't get too worried about it. I once caught a stocked trout that had 6 cigarette filters in its stomach.
Stocked trout are not finicky. But I still wouldn't use a cigarette butt as bait. That one you caught was just hooked on nicotine. It happens.
Here in the great state of Illinois (Not), the dnr stocks lakes around the state two times a year, once in the spring and fewer lakes in the fall. The stocked fish last for about two weeks, but in this state those two weeks are about the only good fishing opportunity that exists. As mentioned prior the Berkley power bait works great, but I have also found that bright colored Rooster Tails and dark colored Panther Martin's work when their being sluggish. I've been trying to find a fly that will work but so far no luck, so if anyone has had success fishing these stocked pond fish with a fly, please let me know.
If you're fishing from the bank put a casting bubble on your conventional rig, put some water in to give it some weight, and put a 36" fluorocarbon leader and tie on a olive or black woolybugger. Trout love em and any way you can get it out there to em and wave it in their faces is gonna get you some fish.
I've been fishing in FINS lakes that are stocked with rainbow trout by the state of Kentucky for about 2 years now. The best lure and most fun I've had is by using a 1/4 oz Blue Fox classic silver vibrax spinnner. Several fisherman around the lake have switched to them since seeing my luck. You can get them at Rural King farm store if you have them there.
Me and my buddy recently went fishing and we did not catch a thing! So as we were leaving we ask the girl at the check in booth when was the last time the lake was stocked? She said it was just stocked 2 hrs ago with 1,500 lbs if trout but it’s going to take them about a week to start biting. Ugh . So next time find out when they stocked the lake so you know when the fish are hungry.
Where in PA ? i'm from SW PA
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.