Still new to this trout fishing here...

I was wondering how long do the stocked trouts last in urban/park ponds if they are not all caught or dead?
specifically in the DFW area?

Depends on location but I'd say early May . I kept one alive in my ornamental pond for about 2 years but it's shaded with high water circulation .

is there a way to tell if trout are still in there? other than actually seeing them.

what about in smaller ponds?

Depends on weather temp . Trout that is stocked here normally are gone within a couple months of stocking either by fishermen or heat . But here they only stocked 1500 per pond which is smaller than 1acre each . Then on wkends there’s usually 20 or more fishing all day . Best time to go is in middle of week in morning time , that way kids are in school and most pple are working . The colder the better cause trout live longer and when it’s below 40 very few come out to fish .

Trout will live until water temps start to approach 80 degrees. They thrive in 45-60 degree temps and become less and less active as temps reach the 70's.

Depends on the bird population also. I went to the Mesquite pond a couple of days after the stocking and saw more trout caught by cormorants than caught by people fishing.

do they get a lot harder to catch as they get used to the ponds weeks after weeks? obviously less numbers = harder to catch, but are they more "shy"?

Usually get harder to catch on a lure after they come some what familiar with their surroundings. Trout bait such as the Berkley Power Bait works good. Fish it off of the bottom.


Side Note: Water temperature from 44 to 67 degrees is ideal for Rainbow Trout. Temperatures over 68 degrees will start causing stress on the fish. Temperatures over 73 degrees they will start dying off!

thanks for all the info guys! much appreciated!