For the second year in a row, anglers have some exciting opportunities to chase hefty thirteen- and fourteen-inch brook and rainbow trout at four ponds in southern Vermont this fall, thanks to a successful new stocking program from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

“We’re stocking around 1,500 large, one-and-a-half-year-old trout between Knapp Ponds #1 and #2 in Cavendish and Lakes Paran and Shaftsbury in Bennington,” said Lael Will, a fish biologist with the department.  “Our goal is to give anglers an opportunity from peak foliage right through the winter to go after some really nice stocked trout in waters where late season trout fishing was not an option before.”

The newly stocked trout, raised at the department’s Bennington, Roxbury and Salisbury fish culture stations, are the second stage of a two-year pilot project begun last fall.  The goal is to learn whether fall stocking encourages anglers to get out on waters where fall and winter trout fishing was previously closed or marginal. 

Starting the second week of October, department fish biologists will be surveying anglers at all four stocking locations to learn about their experiences. 

“Last year anglers shared with us that they loved the new fall and winter opportunity from our first round of late season stocking,” said Will.  “We’re excited to get back out for creel surveys in mid-October and hopefully hear from more people taking advantage of these new trout fishing opportunities.”