By Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Been forever since I have given an update on our Trout Slam program. Going to remedy that right now.
My excuse is not that we have not had folks pursuing a Trout Slam, but that entries have not come in bunches. They flowed in slowly, but steadily, all last year.
Twenty-three Trout Slams were completed in 2024. Those slams were accomplished by nineteen different anglers. Your certificates and hat pins are in the mail! You can see a list of all of our Trout Slam recipients HERE.
Yes, that means some anglers have completed a Trout Slam more than once. As a matter of fact, in this batch of Trout Slam recipients, three of them completed their second slam. One angler completed the Slam for the third time, two anglers for the fourth time, two more for the fifth time, one for the sixth time and one angler completed their ninth Trout Slam! Yes, I am jealous of all of those anglers!
Those of you still pursuing a Trout Slam want to know where the fish were caught. Let me give a brief break down of the entries this past year:
Brown trout entries came from a total of nine different waters. The most entries came from Soldier Creek, Ninemile Creek, and Long Pine Creek.
Rainbow trout entries came from fourteen different waters. The best of those were the Grabel Ponds, Ninemile Creek and Lake Ogallala.
Brook trout were entered for seven different waters and the best were Monroe Creek, Soldier Creek and the Ponderosa WMA.
Lastly, Cutthroat trout were entered from eleven different waters. The most cuttie entries were caught in Soldier Creek and the Wood Reserve Ponds as well as the Alliance Golf Course Pond.
We are going into early spring. Water is going to be cold, weather schizophrenic, and the fishing tough. However, trout are coldwater fish and early spring is always a great time to catch them. Better get to work on your Trout Slam!
