Nearly 330,000 catchable-sized trout are being stocked in dozens of inland trout waters across Wisconsin before the Saturday, May 4, inland fishing season opener.
“Cold weather has delayed some of the stocking this year, but we still plan to have everything done by the May 4 opener,” said David Giehtbrock, fish production manager for the state Department of Natural Resources.
DNR fisheries crews have been stocking rainbow, brown, and brook trout raised at the Nevin, Osceola and St. Croix Falls state fish hatcheries. They’ve also been working with fishing club volunteers, students and others to help stock fish raised under 21 cooperative rearing agreements with DNR.
Some of the fish will stocked in urban fishing waters, small lakes and ponds cooperatively managed with local municipalities and used as a place for fishing clinics and fishing opportunities for kids.
Area waters scheduled for stocking include:
• Waupaca County: Waupaca River, 1,607 rainbow trout and 300 brown trout; Mirror Lake, 643 rainbow trout; Crystal River and Bass Lake, 804 rainbow trout; Little Long Lake, 429 rainbow trout; Skunk Lake, 402 rainbow trout; and North Branch Pigeon River, 804 rainbow trout.
• Portage County: Spring Lake, 991 rainbow trout; Springville Pond, 1,205 rainbow trout; Sunset Lake, 1,634 rainbow trout; and Thomas Lake, 1,286 rainbow trout.
• Waushara County: Spring Lake, 2,000 rainbow trout and 485 brown trout; Redgranite Quarry, 600 rainbow trout and 291 brown trout; and Johns Lake, 900 rainbow trout.
• Shawano County: Homme Pond and Korth Lake, 536 rainbow trout; and Middle Branch Embarrass River, 100 brown trout.
• Winnebago County: South Park Pond, 643 rainbow trout.
• Marathon County: Little Wolf River, 250 brook trout; Black Creek, 125 brook trout; Clark Spring, 300 brook trout; Fourmile Creek, 600 brook trout; and Freeman and McGinnis creeks, 208 brook trout.
The trout are stocked in waters where the habitat is marginal and there is no natural reproduction. They are a small subset of the state’s overall trout treasury of more than 13,000 miles of classified trout water and trout populations that have generally increased statewide over the last 60 years.
Links to downloadable and interactive maps of trout streams and other resources to help find places to fish can be found on the inland trout page of the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov