This little stocked Rainbow Trout was caught at Boulder City’s Veteran Memorial Park. When the winter fishing season officially starts, the local ponds get a stocking of trout. There is no set date, as the stocking gets determined by the water temperatures and not our interpretation of the change in seasons. The first few stockings often bring big 12-inch trout to these waters. As the season progresses, the size often drops to 8-inch fish. The legal-size limit.
It is exactly one of these smaller fish we have here in the
picture. Now, don’t get me wrong, all anglers want to catch the bigger fish,
but these small fish can be great fun. Rather than a strong, rod-bending pull
from a big fish, you end up getting energetic aerial displays as these fish
leap out of the water to try and shake your hook. A rather different approach
and way to catch these fish, giving a more exciting time compared to normal
bait fishing.
South Africa does offer some stocked trout fishing. Some
pond owners stock their ponds in the winter months, but these fish don’t
survive the warm summers. Only a few areas stay cool enough year-round for fish
to survive, but this does require traveling. The price tag on these stocked
trout forces the owners to feed these fish to keep them alive as long as
possible. The fish then stop eating natural baits and only eat the pellets they
are fed. That in turn, makes it hard to catch any fish without “cheating”.
The idea of casting a small fly into a local park pond and
catching Rainbow Trout, to this day, blows my mind. It is a privilege that’s
easy to overlook. A fragile balancing act only made possible by good
management. Yes, it is a small fish. But to me, it is a special fish. It’s not
just the bright rainbow colors on it that make this fish so beautiful. It is
the knowledge that millions of people don’t have the opportunity to experience
this the way that I have.
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