Trout shortage reduces winter stockings at Family and Community locations

Winter trout stockings for Family and Community Fishing Locations will see a shortened season this year after recent losses in trout production at two of the three publicly owned coldwater fish hatcheries in Arkansas earlier this year. Although the total trout available has been reduced, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff are committed to delivering trout for the Christmas holiday to all FCFP locations that traditionally see the winter bonus fishing opportunity.
Spring floods wreaked havoc at the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery in Mammoth Spring, damaging equipment and infrastructure and washing many trout out of the raceways before they had a chance to grow to catchable size. During October, additional setbacks at Norfork National Fish Hatchery caused it to lose up to 80 percent of its rainbow trout stock, resulting in the AGFC redistributing trout planned for other locations around the state to be used in the Beaver, Norfork and Bull Shoals tailwaters. Emergency regulations were also placed on many trout-fishing destinations to enable the stocked trout and high-quality fishing experiences they provide to last longer.

“Instead of having no trout available for three of our most popular fishing destinations in the north half of the state, we needed to adjust stocking rates at all of our fishing locations, but that also comes with the price tag of having to share the burden across the state,” Christy Graham, AGFC Trout Program coordinator, said.

With less than a quarter of the typical supply available for the winter, FCFP staff decided the best course of action was to stock all of the program ponds that normally receive winter trout one time in December instead of stocking multiple times at only a few locations.

“We know some locations are more popular than others, but the idea of the trout stockings is to give people across the state the opportunity to catch a trout while the water temperature will let those fish live,” Clint Coleman, FCFP assistant coordinator, said. “With only about 13,500 rainbow trout to distribute, we need to wait until the week before Christmas to make sure the fish are in ponds and hungry right when people are out of school or have taken off work for the holidays, so they are more apt to enjoy a trip or two this winter.”

Once stocked in December, rainbow trout will be available for harvest at 38 of the 50 FCFP locations, and anglers will be allowed to keep up to five trout per day.

“We’ll still be able to stock hundreds of trout per location, but it will just be that one time during December this year,” Coleman said. “The water temperatures will allow them to live until spring, and we’ll resume stocking with catchable channel catfish in April.”

The AGFC Family and Community Fishing Program was developed in 2002 after a three-year pilot study. The program’s goal is to enhance or create destinations in highly populated areas so that excellent fishing is available to all Arkansans. The program has grown from stocking catchable-sized fish in 10 locations in 2002 to 50 locations in 2025. In 2007, the program expanded from stocking only channel catfish to include rainbow trout in winter when water temperature allowed these fish to survive. The program has provided an opportunity for thousands of Arkansans to fish with friends and family in convenient locations. Visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing for more information and to see a list of stocked locations throughout the state.

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