After a slow start, thanks to drought conditions during the early fall, Connecticut and Massachusetts have wrapped up their fall trout stocking programs. For some reason, the fall stocking doesn’t garner the same fanfare as what we see in the spring and it’s not just because of the generational ‘Opening Day’ traditions. Massachusetts has not had an official opening day for decades and the hysteria still hits with a bang every year.
Back on October 25, CT DEEP posted this message to their social media platforms, “Trout stocking in rivers, streams, and Trout Parks has wrapped up for the fall. Hatchery staff distributed 57,570 trout. 22,120 of those were greater than 12 inches in length.” This, of course, leaves only the last rounds of broodstock Atlantic salmon stocking on the calendar which usually takes place sometimes in late November or early December.
Massachusetts officials also announced that their stocking program had concluded around the end of the month of October, state officials said that more than 63,000 trout had been stocked throughout the state between September and October. This will set up and support the excellent ice fishing we see every year from interior portions of Massachusetts and will bolster the exceptional wintertime open-water fishing we see on Cape Cod each year.
Anglers are encouraged to take advantage of this put-and-take resource, taking a few home for dinner. Stocked trout with eat a variety of lures and baits. For those that prefer to dead-stick bait on the bottom or beneath a bobber, garden worms, live shiners and Berkley PowerBait are all great options. For those that would prefer to catch their fish on lures, old classics like the Krocodile Spoon, Kastmaster and Thomas Buoyant are great metal lures for stockie trout. These fish will also hit suspending jerkbaits, small swimming lures and the old standby Mepps Spinner.
