KDSN RADIO News
DNR to start annual trout stocking in 18 Iowa lakes this month
Staff from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be stocking trout at 18 lakes and ponds around the state soon.
Up to 2000 rainbow trout will be released at each location. “They’re generally easy to catch. They’re pretty willing to bite anything flashy or anything that smells like it tastes good and so it’s a great fish for kids to get started on,” said Mike Siepker, a regional fisheries supervisor for the Iowa DNR. “Trout are also easier to handle than a lot of other fish. They don’t have spines, and so if you want to bring kids fishing, they can grab the trout, and they don’t have to worry about getting poked by the fish.”
There are family-friendly activities planned at many of the lakes, which will be stocked with trout later this month and in November. “In Iowa, our native trout were native to northeast Iowa, and that’s where our cold water streams are, because trout need cold water to survive,” he said. “They’re not like our bass and our catfish that can handle those warmer waters in most of Iowa.”
But in the fall, all water in Iowa is considered cold enough for trout to survive, and that’s why the DNR stocks ponds this time of year with trout raised at the state fisheries. “We want to make sure the lakes are cold enough for the trout when we do stock them because if we stock trout and it’s a little too warm, they just don’t bite as well,” Siepker said, “and so we want to make sure that the water’s cold enough so the trout survive, but also cold enough that when we do stock them anglers have high success rates.”
The locations being stocked were picked because they met key criteria. “We need a pond that’s the right size,” Siepker said. “If they’re too big, the trout spread out and they’re hard to catch. If they’re too small, then a lot of times they’re just not big enough for the amount of people that want to participate, but also it’s important that they have good public access because we want anglers to be able to come to those ponds and enjoy their fishing trip, have good access, and hopefully catch some fish.”
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources website has a Community Trout Stocking Schedule that lists when lakes are being stock and which lakes are having events. Children under the age of 16 can fish for trout if they’re accompanied by a properly licensed adult.
Here are dates and times for the DNR’s trout stocking this year:
Oct. 23, Ottumwa Park Pond, Ottumwa, 11 a.m.
Oct. 24, Prairie Park Fishery, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m.
Oct. 24, Liberty Centre Pond, North Liberty, 10:30 a.m.
Oct. 25, East Lake Park Pond, Mount Pleasant, 10 a.m.
Oct. 25, Wilson Lake, Donnellson, Noon
Oct. 25, Lake of the Hills, Davenport, 10 a.m.
Oct. 27, Triumph Park East & West, Waukee, Noon
Oct. 27, Terra Lake, Johnston, Noon
Oct. 29, Big Lake, Council Bluffs, 3 p.m.
Oct. 29, Moorland Pond, Fort Dodge, Noon
Oct. 29, Sand Lake, Marshalltown, Noon
Oct. 30, North Prairie Lake, Cedar Falls, 11:30 a.m.
Oct. 30, Heritage Pond, Dubuque, 11 a.m.
Oct. 31, Lake Petocka, Bondurant, Noon
Nov. 1, Stolley Pond, Spencer, 1 p.m.
Nov. 3, Ada Hayden Heritage Park Lake, Ames, Noon
Nov. 3, Bacon Creek, Sioux City, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 26, Blue Pit, Mason City, 11 a.m.
