Nebraska lakes stocked with thousands of trout this fall

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is helping Nebraskans celebrate the holidays with a different type of stocking.

Officials have stocked thousands of trout throughout the state in the past several weeks, Game and Parks said Tuesday in a press release.

The intent is to enhance fishing opportunities for Nebraskans, allowing them to take advantage of the warmer weather this season.

The commission said the stocking effort is part of a “Trout Slam,” a quest in which anglers catch a rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout and cutthroat trout in the state and provide documentation.

In September, Game and Parks stocked city ponds, lakes and recreation areas statewide with cutthroat and rainbow trout.

This year, officials are promoting fishing at the recently renovated Lake Ogallala, which will be stocked with 20,000 rainbow trout this month.

The lake will be stocked with tiger trout in December.

The renovations to Lake Ogallala included eliminating “rough fish,” such as carp.

Officials said the removal of those fish increases both water quality and the availability of food for the trout.

“Once the carp and suckers are gone, water quality and habitat conditions improve,” said Daryl Bauer, fisheries outreach program manager for Game and Parks. “With that fishery full of trout prey, the fish we stock will grow at rates up to an inch per month.”

A full schedule of trout stocking in the state can be found here.