When to go after stocking

[Rascal]

Im not sure if this has all ready been asked(I didn't find it in the search bar) but....

how long should one wait to go fishing after a trout stocking? I have heard people say to wait a few days but I have also seen guys get em righ as they are dropped off the truck... so what do you all say?

 

[everett464]

I suppose it depends how hungry you are.

 

[troutdude]

Either way works. And it depends on how quickly you want to limit out. But, they'll disperse in a few days and be harder to find.

 

[Drew9870]

Think of aquariums, when you dump a new fish in it will be a bit frantic, unless the water conditions are similar to the old conditions, then it might just suffer a bit of stress from the transport. Having that said, I have slaughtered them the day of, the day after, and the day after that, mainly the first three days including the day of stocking are my favorite if it is just a pond, but you can always have different success with each different batch of fish.

 

[Kage]

i've gone the day of and that's been the ONLY time i've been able to catch anythin haha

 

[Kevinb5688]

I have watched the truck pull up, dump fish, and seen fishing rods dip one at a time down the line of people. Hatchery trout are dumb they will hit for ya out of the truck. At the sportsmans show kids fish for them in a small 1 foot deep pool covered with people and they still bite all day. I dont know many fish you can do that with. Lol

 

[troutdude]

Some 10 years ago, I took one of my niece's to Quartzville Creek. Just after we began getting our lines wet; the hatchery truck pulled onto the bridge above us. Out came a tube, and a few hundred 'bows. We then had a "catching fiesta!" Those fish hit literally anything that we tossed into the water (various spinners and spoons, wet flies like leeches and buggers, worms, marshmellows, power bait, Pautzke's eggs...you name it. We got hits on all of it. We both had a blast and after about 30 or 40 C & R's in a couple of hours or so, decided we we're done for the day.

P.S. I wish that I could have captured the look on Dani's face w/ a camera; when all of those 'bows flowed out of that truck and into the water in front of us. A truly priceless expression!!!