Still time to fish for stocked rainbow trout this fall

Mild weather is hanging around this fall and Nebraskans can take advantage by fishing for stocked rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Trout 10 inches and larger have been stocked in urban and parks waters around the state in the past several weeks to enhance fishing opportunities during the autumn months.

Not only are the trout fun for anglers of all ages, but they provide a challenge. In Nebraska, it’s the Trout Slam, an angler’s quest to catch a rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout and cutthroat trout in this state. The warmer weather is giving these anglers plenty of chances.

One place to work on a Trout Slam is the recently renovated Lake Ogallala, which will be stocked with rainbow trout soon and with tiger trout in December.

The renovation eliminated rough fish, which will allow water quality to improve, aquatic vegetation to flourish and macroinvertebrates on which trout feed to boom.

“The Lake Ogallala trout fishery will be well on its way back to being one of the best around because that is always what happens after we renovate it,” said Daryl Bauer fisheries outreach program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

“Once the carp and suckers are gone, water quality and habitat conditions improve,” he said. “With that fishery full of trout prey, the fish we stock will grow at rates up to an inch per month.”

This time of year, while the mild weather remains, Nebraskans can get in some trout fishing following a morning hunt or wet a line during Thanksgiving get-togethers.

Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search “trout stocking reports” to see the stocking schedule.