Texas trout anglers should check their gear.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s popular rainbow trout stocking program will kick off November 27 with the first deliveries of fish to selected lakes in the Neighborhood Fishin’ program.
The remaining lakes will be stocked November 29.
Lakes to be stocked November 27 include Southside Lions Park and Miller’s Pond in San Antonio; Buena Vista Park, Waco; Bullfrog Pond, Austin; and Central Park Pond #1, College Station.
Stockings will continue until March with some lakes being stocked every two weeks and others on a monthly basis.
Channel catfish are stocked from April through October, and rainbow trout are stocked in winter months.
“The reason for stocking some lakes on a monthly basis is to reduce losses of fish to resident cormorants,” said Dave Terre, TPWD’s chief of management and research. “We hope the less-frequent stockings will keep the birds from patterning our stocking activities and make more fish available for anglers. We will stock the same total number of fish, just less often.”
A second change to the program is the addition of Missouri City Community Park Lake in the Houston area. This lake replaces Tom Bass I, which was not being used by many anglers based on recent TPWD surveys. “We are always looking for ways to maximize participation, user satisfaction and cost efficiencies in this program that involves public and private funding. We are very excited to bring a new lake and new city partner into the Neighborhood Fishin’ program,” Terre said.
A 2012 survey indicated that more than 80,000 people take part in the Neighborhood Fishin’ program. Fish for the program are purchased partly with funds from the Texas Bass Classic Foundation (which is supported by the Toyota Texas Bass Classic) and from local partners.
A new local partner this year is Valero, which is sponsoring Miller’s Pond in San Antonio.
“Regular stocking is a key component of the Neighborhood Fishin’ program, which helps increase fish-catching opportunities in small city park lakes close to where people live,” Terre said. “Providing this opportunity is especially important to our youth and families, who may be new to fishing or just want to have some fun together outdoors. Our surveys show that nearly 50 percent of participants are kids or adults who are new to fishing.”
Anyone 17 years or older needs a fishing license to fish at the Neighborhood Fishin’ locations, and anglers can use no more than two poles while fishing. The bag limit for trout and channel catfish is five fish per day with no minimum length limit.
Below are the names and locations of lakes in the Neighborhood Fishin’ program with the dates they are scheduled to be stocked with trout. Keep in mind that weather or other problems could cause the dates to vary slightly. However, such frequent stocking means the fishing should be good any time you go.
Ponds to be stock include:
