225,000 Rainbow Trout Stocked Into Idaho Lakes and Rivers

The weather is finally warming up and it’s time to break out the excuses to skip work and social gatherings to go fishing in Idaho.

Idaho Fish and Game announced that a quarter of a million catchable-sized rainbow trout are being dropped into lakes and rivers around the state this month.

Time to Fish: 225,000 Trout Stocked in Idaho Lakes

Idaho Fish and Game frequently stock popular waters around the state, and usually they post on their website where they will be taking fish and how many they’ll be putting into each location. In March they stocked about 80,000 fish and in April they plan on releasing 225,000 rainbow trout.

For April, Fish and Game will be heading out each week to different locations. Some waterways will only get a few hundred fish and others will get thousands. Hyde Creek Pond in the Salmon Region will only be getting 200 trout and Chesterfield Reservoir in the Southeast Region will be getting the most with 19,200 rainbow trout. Additionally, Mann Lake in the Clearwater Region will be the only lake to get yellow trout.

RELATED STORY: The Best Bait For Catching Rainbow Trout

Some lakes are listed on the Fish and Game website on one page as getting stocked, but on the forecast sheet it doesn’t have them listed so you don’t know when it will happen. Dierkes Lake in Twin Falls is one of the popular fishing sites that the site says will be stocked with 2,500 rainbow trout but the forecast doesn’t say when. The breakdown by region also lists many more sites than the general highlights page.

Free Fishing Day in Idaho

Idaho has ‘Take Me Fishing’ trailers that travel around the state with fishing gear that people can use for free and without a license at special locations. You can see the schedule on the IDFG website to find a spot close to you. Anyone can also fish for free all day long on June 8th. The free fishing day happens every year on the second Saturday in June.