Does anyone have any updates on the trout stockings in Fort Worth yet?

TPWD usually reports trout stockings about mid-November (maybe next week?)

Thank you !!

Plus #1.

In Fort Worth you have added bonus of a second agency that stocks rainbows that are typically larger than the trout stocked by the TPWD.
The Tarrant Regional Water District stocks rainbows at the Trinity River at Trinity Park and at the Trinity River at Riverpark. These trout are usually larger but in fewer numbers than the trout stocked by the TPWD. As mentioned, keep up with the stocking dates on the TPWD website.
But be sure to check the TRWD website for their stockings of larger trout.

The TPWD does a great job stocking trout at many locations including the Trinity River in Fort Worth. And their stockings are often timed closely to the TRWD stocking dates. Stockings are usually done on Thursdays unless a weather event or scheduling problem occurs.
Here is the TRWD web site link. You might need to use the TRWD search feature to find the stocking dates. But if memory serves, they will post that information on the main page when the time of the stockings is fast approaching.
http://www.trwd.com/

Although most of the trout stocked by the TRWD are approximately 12 inches long, there have been in past years trout that we caught that measured 18 inches or more. Here are a few photos of the larger trout that I and some other TFF members caught at Trinity Park. , this does not however represent the size of most fish stocked. Regardless of the size of the trout, catching a fish that is not native to our waters is always a real treat for local fisherman.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/Fishmaster64/rainbowfeb02.jpg



TFF trout fishing buds with some really nice TRWD trout. We had a blast that day.


We caught most of our trout on Super Dupers. Get ready, trout fishing is right around the corner.

Dang it, why can't I live in Forth Worth? I haven't been trout fishing yet, but the trout that are stocked near me are the size of your pinky.

DWS, it is a nice bonus stocking by the TRWD. My hope by sharing the link to the TRWD site and the photos posted is to increase interest in particular of TFF members who have children and those just checking in on this site hoping to gain some fishing wisdom to have a successful trip if they go to one of the stockings. Often I see moms or dads who are taking their kids fishing and they are not using the right lure or bait to have a good day.

I realized after reading what I had shared previously that I failed to include some information I have found over the years to maximize my chances of catching the stocked trout. So let me add this to the discussion.

1. For the larger trout stocked by the TRWD, the best time to catch the trout in a short time period is on the day they are stocked. This is particularly true if you can be there at the time they are stocked. From years past that is usually in the morning around 9am to noon. Now, sometimes the trout do not feed soon after being stocked as I am sure they are out of sorts having been taken from their hatcheries, put in a fish hauling truck, driven all the way from an out of state hatchery and then shot down a tube from the truck into water that is a different quality and temperature. In fact, I have always been amazed how more often than not they bite at all that first day they are stocked. But is not unusual to begin catching the just stocked trout within 15 to 30 minutes after being stocked.

2. For those who wish to fish with lures, many different types of small spoons and spinners will work but Super Dupers that can usually be found at Academy in both gold and silver are hard to beat. I need to go and buy some more myself. I believe the size we had the most luck is the # 501 but my memory on that may be incorrect.
I suggest you buy both gold and silver Super Dupers. Depending on the cloud cover, one color usually will out fish the other. If you can find the ones with a pearl finish, those are the ones I have lots of luck on over the plain gold and silver ones.

3. I have found the best time to catch the trout on lures is on the first day and it declines with each passing day. These fish are caught quickly and the pressure is high on the first few days. I wish they would stock on Saturdays when the kids are out of school but my guess is that would cost too much by paying the workers who deliver them on a weekend. I say I wish they stocked on Saturday because frankly there are too many guys like me ( I am 51 years old) catching them when in fact these urban stockings are in large part to give kids an opportunity to catch fish. Don't get me wrong, all fisherman have a right to fish for and take their catches home with them. I will be there every chance I get this year as I have in years past. But I also pack a few extra Super Dupers or Berkley Trout bait to give to the moms or dads who are with their kids and not using the best baits to have success.

4. So if catching the trout on the first couple of days on lures is best for those who like to use lures, what do you do if you cant go on those first few days when there are still plenty of trout to be caught ? If possible, match your equipment to the fish you are fishing for, this means using light line. I use 6lb test on a light action spinning rod combo.
Use small hooks in the 6 or 8 size range, trout are not largemouth bass and a large hook will inhibit you from consistently catching them. Get a package of small hooks and use just enough weight to help you cast your bait out, the fish in the trinity often run in packs not far from the banks, you seldom have to cast more than 10 yards and in fact I have most of my luck just casting short distances from where I am standing.

Finally, when using baits let me share a technique that I learned from a very wise older women who was out catching most of us fishing the same bait.I watched her and realized her method was the best when using baits like Berkley Power Baits. She had a sliding bullet weight just large enough to allow her to cast out 10 yards. The bullet weight was pinched off approximately 12 inches above her Power Bait with a split shot weight. The split shot allowed her to make adjustments to how close or how far from her bait worked best.Too much weight and the trout will tend to drop your bait before you have an opportunity to hook them. Berkley Power Bait for trout is a paste like substance that you want to make a ball just large enough to only cover most of the hook. If you make it the size of a marble, that may be too big. Think Salmon Eggs when fishing with that bait and match it to that size or slightly larger.

I don't know how to make illustrations using the computer. So let me try to explain her method. She would cast her Power Bait straight out into the river. She allowed the bait to fall to the bottom then she tightened the line. She would wait for approximately 30 seconds then she would slowly sweep her rod towards the river bank causing the bait to come towards her. Power Bait floats, so her rig with the baited hook that had a split shot weight 12" above the hook keep the larger weight away from her bait as it floated just above the river bottom.
If she did not get a bite, she would slowly reel in the line moving the rod back towards the river until she again had the rod pointed straight out in front of her. She would repeat this action very slowly and very methodically until her bait reached the shoreline and repeat until she caught a fish. Once she caught a fish, she would quickly cast as close to the spot she got the bite as possible. Her method works, she caught more fish than those of us who just casted our Power Baited hooks out and tightened the line and waited for a trout to find it, she covered a lot more territory and increased her odds of finding a fish that always seemed to be on the move.

That is my best advice based on my experience that I hope will be helpful to those of you who have not fished for trout before, try it if you can because they are a lot of fun to catch.