THE FLIP SIDE: Trout Coming To Lakes

STOCKING SET FOR NOV. 1

Throw another log on the fire and thoughts turn to trout.

We’re not talking trout in the White River or trout in a wild stream. Trout are coming to the tamer waters of Lake Springdale, Murphy Park Lake in Springdale and Lake Atalanta in Rogers.

Ben Batten with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission said Wednesday that rainbow trout will be stocked in the three lakes on Nov. 1. The date is tentative and could be changed if the roads are slick, a fish truck breaks down or other factors.

Stockings are also set for Nov. 15 and 30, then twice a month through March.

The daily limit is five trout. Anglers 16 or older need an Arkansas fishing license and a trout stamp.

Game & Fish stocks trout each fall and winter when the water is cold enough for trout to survive. Lake Atalanta gets a few thousand trout in the first stocking. The two smaller Springdale lakes get a few hundred.

These trout average 11 to 12 inches long, but lunkers of 3 pounds and larger are occasionally stocked. These are brood stock from the Game & Fish trout hatchery atMammoth Spring.

A couple of years ago, a bevy of these big boys were turned loose at Lake Atalanta and anglers had a field day catching them.

Melissa Jones, coldwater fishing coordinator at Game & Fish, said each lake in the winter trout stocking program shares the lunker bounty. Most of these waters are small urban lakes scattered around Arkansas.

Rainbow trout have already been stocked into Lake Brittany at Bella Vista. The Bella Vista Property Owners Association stocks the lake, not Game & Fish. Bella Vista trout are purchased from a commercial hatchery in Missouri and trucked to Lake Brittany.

About 1,000 trout 11 to 12 inches average were stocked at Lake Brittany on Oct. 16. Bella Vista Lakes Ecologist Darrell Bowman said some trout at Brittany survive and grow through the summer, so there are trout longer than 12 inches.

Among the Lake Brittany trout are some golden trout that are pale gold in color without the black spots rainbow trout have.

There’s more trout fishing news. The catch-and-release trout fishing season opens Nov. 9 at Roaring River State Park northeast of Seligman, Mo.

Fishing is from 8 a.m. to 4 p. m. Friday through Monday. The season runs through the second Monday in February.

Fishing is with flies only. Jigs similar to crappie jigs are considered flies at Roaring River.

Anglers can catch all the trout they can hook, as long as they release every one.

Your faithful outdoors reporter will testify that this catch-and-release season is some of the best trout if fishing the Ozarks has to offer.

The Missouri Department of Conservation stocks some big rainbow trout at Roaring River for winter fishing. They’re eager to bite woolly buggers, egg patterns, just about any fl y that sinks.

Roaring River is quiet during fall and winter. Fewanglers take advantage of this cool-weather fishing. You might have an entire pool of the trout stream to yourself.

There are picnic tables and barbecue grills for a nice lunch and some fine hiking trails to explore. Roaring River is one of the prettiest parks you’ll ever visit.

So toss another log on the fire and get ready for some fabulous Ozarks trout fishing.

FLIP PUTTHOFF IS OUTDOORS EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.

FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER AT TWITTER.COM/NWAFLIP.

Outdoor, Pages 6 on 10/25/2012

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