TPWD trout stocking tips

This is the first year for me to fly fish when TPWD is stocking trout at the local ponds. Any tips on what flies work the best on these trout?

corn, marshmallows, salmon eggs, live worms

don't forget power bait!!

You guys are bad! Comments like that could get you reported to the Fly Fishing Purity Police.

Woolly buggers are often good soon after stocking -- olive the best color.

When Mick says "soon after stocking," I think he means while the truck is dumping them. No sense in letting them get comfortable and possibly going rogue!

In GRTU, we encourage our members to give the trout 24 hours to acclimate to their new environment before we start fishing. I realize it is often different for those that follow the TPWD trucks. Actually, the first trout caught on the Guadalupe are often taken by ospreys. They learn fast what a stocking truck means.

What Mick says!
Did you see the footage of that osprey flying over us (with a trout) on the Guadalupe? They just fly up and down the river showing off for potential mates.

Black and Olive Beadhead Wooly Buggers, Yellow and Orange "Pom Pom"(Single Egg Pattern) Last Year I was out fishing the powerbait chunkers with flies in the Killeen/FT Hood area.

cool thnanks guys. I know I can catch them on other stuff easier, but I like the challenge. My dad will catch enough on power bait to put food on table.

For the Pom Pom fly, I used a size 10 Gold single egg hood that I had sitting around. Think you can get a pack for $1.26 at walmart. And in the kids craft section of either walmart or hobby lobby you can get a pack of a hundred or so pom poms in just about any size and color you could ever want including neon and ones with flash in them as well for a couple of dollars. If you don't tie flies, you can grab the hook eye in a pair of needle nose pliers. Drop of super glue on the hook shaft and basically hook it like you would a egg or powerbait ball and you are done.

I don't know where the trout come from ... but some of the stocker trout hit a brown pellet looking fly. Dooh!

Try a pistol pete 1/2 fly 1/2 spinner. Wicked.

ask George about them pellets, they work, I cant remember the name of em

Stubby Steves
Never used them on trout but they work for all feed trained species
http://www.stubbysteve.com/

Yellow or chartreuse Y2K's, chartreuse or olive #12 wooly buggers, any yellow, chartreuse, pink, or red egg pattern as those kinda match the power bait used by the bait chunkers.

Why would we ask George how to catch itty bitty fish???

WOW i am blown away from all the feed back. This is an awesome web site. As soon as get done with all the family holiday stuff out of the way it game on.

Is a "brown pellet looking thing" a fly, or a pellet? I think the name you're looking for is "Purina?"

bump

My pet rabbit makes lots of brown looking pellet things. Haven't tried to fish with them though.

Ive had good luck with a #12 Briminator tied in olive or black.Or tye one with olive/black combinations.But this is for the Brazos and Broken Bow.I dont know if its good for the Guad.

I usually try to fish the first day the fish are stocked because of the limited numbers stocked these days. But Mickfly is absolutely correct. When we are waiting for the hatchery truck on the Trinity River in Fort Worth there is not a Cormorant in sight. But about the time the trout truck shows up the birds gather in flocks and help themselves to the fish.

To answer the original question some variation of the Whooly Bugger seems to appeal to the hatchery trout.

What stops the trout put into the trinity from just swimming away?

cormorants, bass, catfish, otters, etc

tires, cars, shopping carts, etc.

so the trout can just swim as far as they want? Do they tend to find the first deep hole?

these fish were raised in concrete runways fed on pellets of fish food, they generally travel in pods in a relatively small area after release (it's all they've known) a few adventurous ones may go further from stocking point after time (these are known as adventure troot) but they are usually all caught or dead before they really acclimate to living a "wild" life...my advice is to start near the point where the stocking truck poured them into the water and work up or down from there, the only thing that I've ever seen shut a stocker troot down is muddy water & even then they'll eat bait.

stocked the trinity with mostly 12 -14 inch trouts. but saw a few upwards of 18 inchers. lures seemed to rule the day. power baits will be the ticket after first few days. flys: saw a feller catch one right at the release of trouts. GETCHASOME

Actually around here they have a fly for everything and they have a fly (artifical) that emulates a pellet. Power bait makes a brown pellet as well. And at Shady lakes here you can buy the actual pellets they feed the trout with. Kind of like how desperate are you catch a fish?

I have found over the years that a black rooster tail works, a black jig works. Depending I use olive, brown or black on the jigs. Not working I try salmon eggs, power bait or a worm.

Hammered them today at Odessa's Comanche Trails with a size 12 bead head yellow-bodied, brown palmered hackle, black-tailed WoollyBugger.

How is the luck at the trout pond in Denton?