How to Stock Trout: A Beginners Guide To Get You Started With Stocking Your Pond or Dugout With Trout!

Fish stocking and farming date back to the 1900s when commercially rearing fish became viable. According to statistics, about 95% of trout are commercially raised and the reason why the wild varieties are still abundant. Otherwise, most breeds would be quite limited or even entirely extinct due to overfishing. Fortunately, fish farming has seen tremendous advancements and doesn’t require a lot. In the next sections, we have an overview of how to stock fish. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it to restock rivers, for sports hunting, or for any other reason. These instructions will help you raise large healthy populations of trout, regardless of the breed.

What is Trout Stocking?

As the name suggests, trout stocking is merely raising one or more types of trout in a hatchery. Fish stocking is commonly done for recreational, commercial, and tribal fishing purposes, and various regions have unique requirements. The ultimate goal of stocking is to repopulate the rivers, lakes and oceans to increase the catch frequency, and provide a constant supply of delicious trout. Fish stocking can is done by government agencies, private organizations, or individuals on public or private waters. Trout is one of many fish you can stock in a pond and later release into wild waters.

What Is The Right Temperature?

Brook, Rainbow and River trout all grow well between temperatures of 55 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures above 70°F have low oxygen and may pose a problem, while going below 34°F also may result in enzymatic changes that aren’t good for the trout. Temperature significantly affects the oxygen available in the water. A 39°F will hold as much as 12.9 ppm (parts per million) at saturation, while a 68°F contains as little as 6PPM. Rainbow trout are known to suffer below 6PPM and will die at 3PPM, so it is vital to keep the temperatures lower.

Why Stock Trout?

There are many reasons why fisheries and individuals stock trout. The most obvious is to increase the natural population. However, fish stocking has several other merits as shown below.

For Sport Fishing – Farmed and stocked fish provide opportunities for fun fishing. They are raised in hatcheries and easily attack trout baits sold in angler stores. Stocking replenishes the fish population and also increases the frequency of making a catch, which is the whole idea behind sport fishing.
Tribal Fishing – Many tribes and communities depend on trout and consume them regularly. However, intense fishing can make catching one difficult as the population subsides. Since the early 20^th century, people have stocked trout and other fish species to increase the population and maintain a steady supply for the communities that depend on them.
Supplementing Other Species – Trout are generally cold-water fish, unlike other species like bass, which are warm-water fish. During cold seasons, cold water fishes have low metabolism and are not as hungry, making them harder to catch. Trout can survive and provide a steady supply during such periods.
Introducing New Varieties – This reason is closely related to sport fishing. Introducing new varieties, such as the rare golden-coloured trout can add excitement to the adventure. However, it is vital not to endanger existing wild trout by introducing new species to the habitat.
Personal Supply – Fish stocking and farming are quite similar. The difference is that stocking aims to release trout back to the wild, while farming is commercial or for personal consumption. You can farm trout in a pond for a year-round supply of fresh fish when you need it or even sell it to restaurants and other customers.

Step-by-Step How to Stock Trout

Stocking fish should be effortless, but isn’t always straightforward. It is essential to know all the regulations in your area. In some places, all stocked fish must be sterile and marked. Farmers must also maintain a realistic number depending on the area where the trout will be released. If you plan to release adult stocked trout to a wild river, lake, sea or ocean, make sure you aren’t breaking any rules in the process. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you start stocking trout.

1. Create the Best Possible Habitat for Adult Trout

Once you know the species to stock and legislation, the next step is to create a habitat. Stocked trout aren’t meant to spawn, but some can survive being eaten by their bigger cousins if the conditions are right. Temperature and oxygen are of utmost importance when creating trout ponds and hatcheries. The habitat should be as good as you can make it to retain an optimal stock of healthy fish you can catch easily. Trout grow well in colder conditions, which offer more dissolved oxygen than warm waters, and maintaining low temperatures is the key to stocking them.

2. Keep a Sustainable Population

You can breed any number of trout, depending on the pond conditions you have set up. An average one-acre pond with eight feet depth can support as many as 300 trout. However, because the water level will drop during summer and hot conditions, it is recommended to have fewer trout. Overstocking can deplete the oxygen and cause various issues. It is generally advisable to stock one breed of trout, but you can mix different species that survive side-by-side in the wild.

3. Provide Natural Trout Food

Trout mainly eat terrestrial and aquatic insects, and their larval forms, especially during winter. They move closer to the surface to eat ants, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, leafhoppers and inchworms brought by the lush overgrowth of grasses and trees during summer. Trout will generally eat if there’s food, although temperature, pH and oxygen concentration affect when, where and how they feed. You can also supplement the natural diet with manufactured fish food. Remember to feed when temperatures are colder.

4. Test and Correct the Habitat

Trout ponds and other fish farming habitats face various problems, including algae, which is quite common. Different types of algae can grow in your pond, including filamentous, planktonic and attached-erect algae. Some cover the bottom of the pool in dense overgrowth, while others die off and deplete the oxygen levels. Simply check the regulations to identify the permitted chemicals and algae-control applications. You should also keep the pond safe from waste and pollution.

5. Release Adult Trout

It is vital to release all adult trout into the wild at the end of the season to avoid overstocking. Farmers should also mark the stocked fish and set realistic stocking numbers. You shouldn’t have more than one trout per 50 meters square of the river area. The best practice is to stock small batches of trout at frequent intervals. You can also team up with clubs and other farmers to have a stocking policy. Make sure you remove and release as many trout as possible at the end of the breeding season.

Summary

Trout stocking requires a comprehensive understanding of how the fish survives in its natural habitat. Pond conditions, food and regulations are the most crucial aspects of reviewing before you start stocking. It is also worth noting that different types of trout will have distinct requirements. Providing a flourishing habitat is vital, whether you intend to repopulate a river or plan to eat the trout from your pond. The priority is to keep healthy trout populations all year round, even though Spring and Fall are the best seasons to begin stocking.

Sources

https://www.wildtrout.org/content/trout-stocking