In Texas, rainbow trout can be stocked in your pond or lake as early as December and on through the month of March.  For 2-3 pound bass, you want to stock your pond with 5-8” rainbow trout, while those line-breaking bass will need some in the 8-10” range for their snack. Rainbow trout have an elongated body compared to a bluegill and are easy for bass to swallow whole.  They also have a higher fat content and make a nutritionally sound winter snack for largemouth bass.

5-8″ Rainbow Trout are a great winter snack for 2-3 lb. Largemouth Bass

How many fish do you need to stock your pond and how long will the trout survive? Rainbow trout are stocked at 30-100 pounds per acre, depending on budget and purpose.  They aggressively eat pelleted fish food and will grow throughout the winter.  Rainbow trout require higher dissolved oxygen and cooler water temperatures than most “pond” fish.  They will do fine in water below 70ºF.  Once water temps climb above 70º, the trout will start to stress and your bass will go into a feeding frenzy.  This final gorging really helps your bass replace body weight and conditioning lost during spring spawn.

Rainbow trout are also popular with anglers and can be stocked as adults.  Many city parks stock them in early spring for events introducing fishing to kids.  If you stock rainbow trout in ponds without bass, make sure to harvest as many as possible prior to the 70º mark.  Rainbow trout are best when eaten fresh since freezing makes the meat soften and less desirable.

If you’re looking to catch a new fish or want to provide the forage to push your bass to the next level of “fatness”, consider stocking your pond with rainbow trout this winter.

Stocking your pond or lake with larger Rainbow Trout like this one can make for some exciting angling!

Coppernose bluegill have a story comparable to the Florida largemouth bass and in warmer climates, including Texas, Coppernose bluegill thrive. Research conducted in Texas suggests Coppernose bluegill grow faster and reach a larger ultimate size than native bluegill. The largest bluegill taken from private water in Texas was 3.25 lbs. Many times we recommend feeding the bluegill to get a good number larger than 10 inches, which gives you a protected brood stock. Because Coppernose grow faster and get bigger they will produce more offspring than native bluegill. One female bluegill can produce more than 10,000 eggs per spawn. This is why they are stocked as the primary component of the food chain to support largemouth bass. Bass have to eat 10 pounds of bluegill to gain a single pound in weight.

Coppernose bluegill will serve a dual purpose in your pond or lake. Not only are they fun and often easy to catch, they are the backbone of the food chain. They spawn shortly after bass in water temperatures from 67°F to 89°F and can spawn up to five times a season. Also, they mature to spawning capability at only three to four inches. Bluegill spawned early in the season will mature and begin spawning later the same season. Early maturity and frequent reproduction make them an ideal forage fish, and a necessity to grow trophy largemouth bass.              Share

After wearing out more than a few pages of the notebook and some trial and error, we engineered a sliding pullout pontoon. A few test runs in the pond and it was decided that a 20 inch expansion overall was the magic number. It was important that the one-man boat was stable enough for a fisherman to stand on and cast comfortably. We added some pullout trays and railing and took it to the scales to see where we were on weight. Wow, only 175 pounds! We set up some ramps and made sure one of our “average” strength employees (we haven’t included his name so no-one will tell him) could push it into the back of our taller than average Ford.

Picked a color for the powder coat, which turned out a little too bright on the first two (may have to discount those). Decided to put a spray on bed-liner over the deck for traction. The last thing to do was to give it a name and show it to the world. We thought about “Nomad” (sounds depressing), “Minnow” (sounds too small), “Explorer” (already used), and finally “Rebel”. It was short (so the sticker wouldn’t be longer than the boat), and promoted the ideas of individualism and going against the norm. Accented with the slogan “Go Anywhere. Catch Everything!” we are hopeful that fishing enthusiasts will have as much fun using it as we did building it.

Check back soon and often for all the updates!