How to catch farm raised, stocked trout from any pond.

So, you want to fish for farmed trout in your local stocked pond, but you can’t seem to get those slimy little things to bite? Well, let me give you some advice and help on how to go about catching a fish that is used to being hand fed but is also notorious for being easily spooked.

I live in a town of about 35,000 less then ecofriendly people in central Illinois. Just outside of town there is a state park that has 5 or 6 ponds, or I would say “strip pits”, on the property. They are very deep and very clear fishing ponds. I have to say; the Bass fishing is GREAT if you can get out on the water. Catfishing is good at night and the pan fishing is ok, but they are slim in numbers, in my opinion. There is one of these ponds that the state stocks with trout in the spring every year. If you go to this pond, especially right after it is stocked, you can very easily catch your first trout ever or stock up your freezer with fresh, caught by you, delicious trout. You must, of course, first have a fishing license and a trout stamp. Both of which you only pay for once a year and are very reasonable in price. Especially if you fish a lot or want to catch a lot of trout for your freezer.

So now, how do you catch those delicious and fun to catch trout? Everyone has their own way of doing things and so I will give you the basics and let you decide if you want to try something new or different. Lets get started with understanding the farm raised trout. Most are raised in considerably smaller accommodations then in the pond you are fishing for them in. In these farm ponds, they tend to act more like a schooling fish and stay huddled together. So, when they are dumped into your pond they continue to do the same thing for some time. Therefore, they will bite lines in waves. If someone is fishing near you and they catch a fish, you are probably going to catch one soon also, so be ready. They also like cooler water and depending on how hot or cold it may be outside may dictate how deep or far out you should throw your bait. If it’s cool out, you should probably throw closer to shore. This could also affect the time of day that you fish. Morning and evening will probably be the best times to go.

What do they eat and what bait should you use? All farm raised trout are fed pretty much the same thing no matter where they were raised. Basically, it looks like dog food! Dog food sized pellets usually a brown or tan color. Take this into consideration and think about how you eat. Say your whole life you were fed pizza (brown pellets). You love pizza! All day long all you do is wait for that delicious pizza to fall from the sky so that you can fill your belly. Eating pizza is the only thing you do besides swim in a circle. Now you are forced to move out of town and they change your diet to salad and vegetables (worms, bugs, minnows). Instead of swimming in a circle you need to swim up and down and all around, basically playing hide and seek to find salad and vegetables, YUK! Which do you think you would do? Yes, this is not like fishing for other fish that you are probably used to fishing for. It’s a good idea to stick to pellet shaped baits. Most bait stores will sell trout bait which will be in a jar and look like playdough or be made into ready to use little dough balls or pellets. They have many different flavors, colors, and types such as floating or sinking trout bait. I have found that the floating bait works the best and I also usually buy the garlic scent just because I like to use garlic in my catfish bait. It is very pungent and attracts the fish. Usually the color will just depend on what the fish in your area like. You can buy different colors and try them all out to see what works best or just ask some of your fellow anglers. Most of the time people have no problems in sharing their, not so secret, secrets.

Time to get that gear ready! This should be the easiest part of catching fish. No matter what kind of gear you have, you should be able to make due and get the results you wish. I have used my catfishing poles and I have used a bait caster to catch trout. I’m sure we have all seen fisherman fishing for trout with long, expensive fly rods and reels! We don’t need those here! As a matter of fact, fly rods probably won’t work for these trout. Any pole and reel will due if you can toss that line out away from the bank. Trout do fight hard compared to the fish you would normally catch here in the Midwest, but nothing you shouldn’t be able to handle with just about any mid-weight combo and line. On the other hand, it is a good idea to get some good hooks. As I mentioned earlier, they fight hard and I have had them pull my hooks out straight and get off my line. Choose a hook that is strong, and not too big. I would say #3 and under. Tie your hook to the end of your line and put a sinker about 1.5 to 2 feet up from the hook. The idea is to use a floating bait and let your sinker go to the bottom allowing your floating bait to suspend about 2FT. from the bottom above any vegetation. Now just throw that line out there and wait for them fishes to swim around that circle to the yummy pizza you tossed out for them. Happy fishing!!! Always, enjoy everything outdoors!