DNR Fisheries
Service Stocks Nearly 12,000 Preseason Trout
Ponds, lakes, rivers
in Central, Western and Southern Regions receive fish
ANNAPOLIS — Taking advantage of the break in the weather, the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service this week stocked
14 bodies of water in Central, Southern and Western Maryland with 11,950
preseason trout. The Fisheries Service will continue to stock additional
areas as weather permits and it is expected that approximately 50,000 fish
will be stocked during the preseason. All preseason stocking should be
completed before the first Saturday in March. Trout season starts
Saturday, March 26.
In the Central Region, the following bodies of water were stocked:
Centennial Lake (750), Howard’s Pond (600), Daniel’s Dam area on the
Patapsco (1,500), Lake Needwood (750), Elkhorn Lake (750), Morgan Run
Special Area (1,500), Farm Museum Pond (750), Stansbury Pond (750) and
Westminster Pond (500).
In the Southern Region, Lake Waterford (750), Hutchins Pond (400) and
Allen’s Pond (450) were stocked.
In the Western Region, the Casselman River (1,500) and the Barnum area
(1,000) were stocked.
The rearing of trout for the 2006 season requires that at least one
raceway at the Albert Powell Hatchery near Hagerstown is cleared to
receive the fingerlings from the hatch house. This allows DNR to grow the
fish a little larger than some states. Some of the fish for the Eastern
Region have been grown over the winter at the Unicorn Hatchery outside
Millington, while fish to be stocked in the Southern Region were raised at
the Cedarville Hatchery near Brandywine.
Most of the put-and-take trout fishing areas have brief closures
periods for stocking. These closure periods allow stocked trout to spread
out and acclimate to their new surroundings. Additionally, having a set
opening day gives all fishermen an equal chance at catching fish. Anglers
should check their Maryland Freshwater Sportfishing Guide for details
concerning closure periods for their favorite waters. In addition, a trout
stamp is required to possess trout in Maryland and to fish in special
trout management areas.
The DNR trout stocking program is funded entirely by the sale of
freshwater fishing licenses and trout stamps and Federal Sportfish
Restoration Program (Wallop-Breaux) funds which are generated by anglers
and boaters’ tax dollars. For more information about trout stocking in
Maryland, visit
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/springtroutstock.shtml