SALEM, Va. (WFXR) — The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources trout stocking program is getting back to normal after being sidetracked by the COVID-19 outbreak. Last spring, stockings were put on hold in many places, and scaled back in others because of the pandemic.
Now, with social distancing and mask protocols in place, the stocking program has started again. Friday, VDWR crews were stocking rainbow trout into a stretch of the Roanoke River along W. Riverside Drive in Salem. That length of stream is designated as put-and-take, so anglers can immediately fish the stream and keep up to six fish a day. It will be stocked multiple times over the next few months.
People fishing for trout in Virginia need a Virginia fishing license and a Virginia trout stamp. They can be purchased at various retail outlets or online.
Virginia’s trout management program is one of the most successful in the nation. The VDWR stocks select streams and lakes from October through May when water conditions and temperatures are optimal for trout survival. Most of the stocked fish are rainbow trout, though some bodies of water receive a stocking of brown trout or brook trout.
The trout stocking program Is designed to give people across the commonwealth easy access to the opportunity to fish for trout, especially in urban areas. Streams and lakes are selected based on the amount of public access they provide, as well as for the suitability of the habitat for trout. Trout require cool, clean water to survive and thrive.
Other streams in Virginia maintain self-sustaining wild trout populations.
Stocked trout can be caught through a variety of methods. Among the most popular ways to catch trout are spin fishing with artificial lures, using live bait or premixed trout baits, or by fly fishing.
More information on Virginia’s trout stocking program is available on the VDWR’s Trout Management page.
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