Tiger trout, a hybrid of brown trout and brook trout often stocked in waters in the western and northwestern United States, will be stocked for the first time in Arkansas within the next couple of weeks, said Christy Graham, trout program coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
The stocking of 2,500 tiger trout is experimental, with no promises of additional stockings.
The fish will be stocked in the White River's catch-and-release area below Bull Shoals Dam. They were acquired via trade as fingerlings from a hatchery in Wyoming in April 2019. Game and Fish sent Wyoming channel catfish and crappie.
"One of the things we always hear is people wanting to have different, unique opportunities for trout fishing in the state," Graham said. "So, introducing this new species is just one way for us to add to that diversity of their experience."
Though Game and Fish has never stocked tiger trout, Graham said trout biologists "have seen wild tiger trout hatched on the Little Red River, where both brown and brook trout have reproduced in the wild.
"Tiger trout have characteristics of both of parent species," Graham said. "They have kind of the golden-brown color of a brown trout, but they'll have swirls and patterns like a brook trout. Many also have fins that will have that black-and-white leading edge like a brook trout has. It's a really neat-looking fish."
The goal of the experimental stocking is to determine how well the tiger trout can survive and grow in Arkansas trout waters. Game and Fish biologists can survey how well the hybrid holds up below Bull Shoals Dam and whether it is something the agency wants to pursue.
Sports on 06/02/2020