I have had a lot of phone calls, e-mails and messages asking about our fall trout stockings, and I have been telling folks that when we knew we would let everyone else know. Well, here it is!
First a “disclaimer” or two: The schedule for these stockings depends on a lot of man-power, fish, and equipment logistics. There are 52 water bodies in the list that follows, 75-some thousand catchable-size rainbow trout, and personnel and equipment from at least two fish hatcheries, Grove and Rock Creek , involved in these stockings. The schedule that follows is exactly what is planned, but occasionally things go wrong, and then schedule adjustments have to be made. Most of the time though, we get these fish stocked exactly when we say they will be stocked.
Here is the list:
Stocking Date | Location | Number | Comments |
1-Oct. | Bessey Pond | 600 | Halsey |
Crystal Cove | 4,500 | South Sioux City | |
2-Oct. | Fremont #2 | 4,000 | |
Bridgeport N.W. Lake | 1,400 | ||
Grabel ponds 1, 2, 3 | 800/pond | Ft. Robinson State Park | |
6-Oct. | Niobrara State Park Pond 2 | 750 | |
Standing Bear | 3,750 | Omaha | |
7-Oct. | Holmes | 3,000 | Lincoln |
Bowling | 400 | Lincoln | |
Lake Carter P. Johnson | 2,500 | Ft. Robinson State Park | |
8-Oct. | Pawnee Park West | 1,500 | Columbus |
Ta-Ha-Zouka Park Lake | 1,500 | Norfolk | |
Lake Ogallala | 3,500 | ||
Humphrey Pond | 900 | Ogallala | |
13-Oct. | David City Park Pond West | 600 | |
14-Oct. | Lake Halleck | 1,200 | Papillion |
Weeping Water | 1,500 | ||
South Morrill Pond | 400 | ||
Middle Morrill Pond | 450 | ||
North Morrill Pond | 1,350 | ||
Scottsbluff Zoo Pond | 900 | ||
15-Oct. | Independence Landing | 600 | Seward |
Standing Bear | 3,750 | Omaha | |
Lake Ogallala | 4,000 | ||
16-Oct. | Benson Lake | 1,050 | Omaha |
Century Link Lake | 1,500 | Mahoney State Park | |
Harlan Stilling Basin | 1,200 | ||
Windmill #2 | 600 | ||
Fort Kearney #6 | 1,200 | ||
17-Oct. | Grove Lake | 1,500 | |
20-Oct. | Fremont #2 | 1,000 | |
Oxford City Lake | 300 | George Mitchell Park | |
Holdrege City Lake | 3,000 | North Park | |
21-Oct. | Grand Island Such’s Lake | 1,300 | |
Heartwell Park | 900 | Hastings | |
Towl Lake | 300 | Omaha | |
Hitchcock Lake | 450 | Omaha | |
Barnett Park Lake North | 300 | McCook | |
Melham Park | 1,500 | Broken Bow | |
Plum Creek Park | 750 | Lexington | |
22-Oct. | Auburn Fairgrounds Lake | 800 | |
Steinhart Park | 1,200 | Nebraska City | |
Stanton Lake | 600 | Falls City | |
Pawnee City Lake | 300 | ||
Humbolt City Park Lake | 600 | ||
Auble Pond | 1,500 | Ord | |
Ansley City Lake | 1,500 | ||
Lake Ogallala | 2,500 | ||
23-Oct. | Birdwood Lake | 4,000 | I-80 lake west of N. Platte |
Curtis Golf Course Pond | 150 | Curtis |
A big reason we stock the catchable-size rainbows is that they are relatively easy to catch. They are cold-water fish and as the waters begin to cool, they will remain a lot easier to catch than some of our warm-water species. If you need some ideas on how to catch these put & take rainbow trout, you can find them HERE.
Each species of fish may be best enjoyed by preparing them in different ways. When I decide to harvest some trout, I do nothing more than field dress them, and then I prefer to smoke ’em, What’s To Eat. They are also good if you put some butter in the body cavity, some rosemary and lemon juice and then wrap the trout in foil and put it on the grill for awhile. You will know it is done when the meat flakes easily from the bones and skin. If you want an idea on frying them, my buddy Greg Wagner has one HERE.
Yes, we raise and stock these catchable-size rainbow trout so folks can catch them and take ’em home; that is why they are called “put-and-take” stockings. However, we are NOT in the business of providing fish so folks can fill their and all their friend’s freezers with trout. We are in the adventure supply business. Chances are good that these catchable-size rainbows are being stocked in a water body near you. If you are an experienced angler, please find a beginner, a kid, and take ’em fishing, get them hooked on a trout!