PUT-AND-TAKE TROUT All across the country, stocked trout lakes provide superb angling opportunities for folks on a budget. In many cases, you can easily catch trout from shore, particularly in spring. In others, a small boat, easily launchable at primitive boat accesses, may be a better option. This is especially true during summer, when trout tend to go deep to avoid warm surface water that stresses their metabolism. Strip pits, mine pits, borrow pits and other relatively small manmade waters are often top candidates for stocking with trout, particularly if they feature extremely deep water and steep shorelines. Such waters tend to remain cold and oxygen-rich throughout the year, making them ideal trout habitat. Rainbow trout generally predominate in stockings, although other species may be used as well. While trout seldom reproduce in these waters, they don’t have to. State fisheries agencies typically pull their tanker trucks up the shore during the cool spring or fall months and discharge large quantities of hatchery-raised fish. The first few days following their introduction, while trout are still becoming accustomed to their new surroundings, the fish tend to remain quite shallow, within easy reach of anglers casting from shore, or longline trolling lures near the surface in open water. Small spinners, tiny crankbaits and mininature spoons provide flashy, shiny morsels that these unwitting and enthusiastic trout can’t resist. Remember, hatchery-raised fish haven’t seen lures before, and often find their first encounter with anglers to be their last. But that’s OK. Fisheries agencies often plan on and encourage the harvest of trout from these waters, since the fish aren’t going to reproduce anyway. Thus the term put-and-take. They put ‘em in. You take ‘em out.
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 23:00:00 +0000