ODFW Trout Stocking Heats Up

Keyaira Hansell shows off a catch from her favorite secret fishing hole.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife hatchery stocking continues through the spring and into the summer providing a great introduction to fishing for younger or inexperienced anglers. A general Oregon Angling License is all that’s required to fish for trout. Youth 14-17 years old need a juvenile angling license and kids under 14 fish for free. ODFW also offers Oregon residents and visitors a weekend to fish, crab and clam without a license the first full weekend in June. This is a great opportunity to introduce new anglers to the water.
Bright dough baits, single eggs and worms fished just off the bottom or under a bobber are popular presentations, but there a number of spinners, spoons and other baits made for casting and retrieving that also work well. Most trout in shallow still-water ponds will be suspended within a foot or two off the bottom, so when you're casting lures, it's a good rule of thumb to allow them to sink for a few seconds before retrieving them. Try different depths to find the fish. The ODFW website has a great beginners guide to trout fishing:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/docs/ODFWOutdoorsTroutFishing.pdf

The stockings will periodically place different quantities of approximated sizes based on age. The three different size classifications for ODFW stocked rainbow trout are:
Legals that range from 8"-10"
Larger Trout 12"
Pounders 14"
Trophy Trout = 16"

For more on Free Fishing Weekend events in Benton County, contact Matt Frank at 541-487-7240

For more information on local stocking schedules near Corvallis call the ODFW South Willamette District Office in Corvallis: (541) 757-4186 or visit the ODFW website to check stocking schedules for nearby areas:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/trout_stocking_schedules/

This piece was published in the 5/22/14 issue of the Corvallis Advocate:

http://www.corvallisadvocate.com/2014/randy-says-start-your-young-angler/

An updated version of this article was published on Wide Open Spaces
http://www.wideopenspaces.com/odfw-family-and-youth-trout-fishing-opportunities-in-oregon-for-2016/