Do Bass Know When The Lake Is Stocked With Trout?

[Jtrout]

I fish a 37 acre reservoir and its stocked with trout I was wondering if the bass know when the trout come they are dumped out in one spot every year around the same time. Any body ever thought about it?

[cyclops2]

Would YOU remember when it is opening day of trout day buffet ?  Smartness is different for each animal.

 

But free food is always a blessing. Be it animal or plants with fertilizers every spring.

 

Yes, they go to each food source all year long. Bass , catfish, &pike WILL ATTACK a stranger. First 1 bites. Then they all rush in for a piece of meat.

[Lund Explorer]

I fish a 37 acre reservoir and its stocked with trout I was wondering if the bass know when the trout come they are dumped out in one spot every year around the same time. Any body ever thought about it?

 

Bass turn on the feed when opportunity presents itself.  I doubt they have a calendar to refer to, but just the mere presence of a bunch of extra feed being dumped into the lake is going to kick things into high gear.

[RSM789]

I have never seen it, but I have been told that the bass at Lake Mission Viejo begin circling like sharks just outside the trout plant area when trout plants are done regularly.  Note that this is in an area where no fishing is allowed and a few big fish have set up home (you see them cruising in the clear water) as if they know its hands off of them there.

[OK Bass Hunter]

If it's been done enough they might associate the vibrations caused by the trout truck with food being brought. The same way that farm raised catfish know the pellet truck shows up.

[cyclops2]

Perfect use of their Lateral Lines.  Good call OK.

[Senko lover]

I'd remember if Golden Corral was open for free one day a year!

[bigbill]

There is a lake that's stocked with trout minutes from me. Once the place settles down from the first opening day thirty day once a year fisherman I notice a very large fish attacking the trout. I'm thinking a great northern pike some how made it from a connecting lake were there stocked to control the white perch population. This pike knows when it's din, din time in the spring.

[Slade House]

If it's been done enough they might associate the vibrations caused by the trout truck with food being brought. The same way that farm raised catfish know the pellet truck shows up.

You are correct, yes after a while they will associate the sounds of the trout truck as time to eat lots of trout. Ive seen it happen.  Also my 10 month old bass at home have started to associate me coming home with a bag in my hand as time to eat , and they will get excited and position themselves accordingly.  

[DRH2O]

I live about 10 min away from a fishery that gets stocked with trout every fall. It's highly pressured from the shore but it's very weedy and doesn't really get an overabundance of boat traffic at all. There are some real behemoths that get pulled out every so often but the the fish there are generally spooky and agoraphobic and fishing there can be an unrewarding chore even on a good day.

This place is as likely as any to hold the next state record though, and my guess is that the biggest fish are conditioned to turn on when that trout truck pulls in and starts doing it's thing.

Accordingly, this last fall I took trout stocking day off from work and went out early, positioning my kayak so I could cast to a small shelf between the drop off and the weedline. I sat there and waited for 2 hrs as the trout circus started. People showed up in droves - standing shoulder to shoulder all along the shore, the dock and the ramp.

I must have been quite a sight that day, hovering just beyond the reach of most of the shore anglers and throwing a big 9" trout colored slug-go at the same spot they were throwing all their tiny little spinners and spoons.

It was a rough day to be on the water in the Yak, temps were in the low 40s and wind gusts were around 30mph. In the end I had nothing to show for my effort that day but I still think that it's a valid premise. Difficult, though, to try and establish any pattern when you only get one chance per year.

[gulfcaptain]

The city ponds I fish, they know.  They post up in the general area of where the truck will show up.  Trout hit the water and normally stay quite close to where they are dumped and migrate down the bank and spread out.  The bass pin them to the bank.  One lake I fished I happened to catch a 6lb fish within 10min of being there, but the volume of large fish in the 8+ lb range grouped up in small packs up to 8 fish working to pin those trout to the bank was awe inspiring.  Once the truck regularly visits every other week, the larger fish wait patiently.  The best time to catch them on the swimbaits is either the 4-5 days before the next stock, or the day of.  After that, well odds of getting bit are slim and well slim.  And the first plant normally takes the fish a while to key in on. They will follow them but not consume them at first, but after a few days they figure it out.  Then anytime after that it's feeding time. 

[Sam]

Ok Bass Hunter has a valid point.

 

I don't really think the bass "know" when the trout will be placed in the lake but once the trout are released they learn that they have something more to eat.

 

One day I made the mistake of feeding the catfish in my Double Secret Pond before starting to fish and those catfish followed me all around the pond all day.

 

Never will do that again.

[Mattlures]

I live about 10 min away from a fishery that gets stocked with trout every fall. It's highly pressured from the shore but it's very weedy and doesn't really get an overabundance of boat traffic at all. There are some real behemoths that get pulled out every so often but the the fish there are generally spooky and agoraphobic and fishing there can be an unrewarding chore even on a good day.

This place is as likely as any to hold the next state record though, and my guess is that the biggest fish are conditioned to turn on when that trout truck pulls in and starts doing it's thing.

Accordingly, this last fall I took trout stocking day off from work and went out early, positioning my kayak so I could cast to a small shelf between the drop off and the weedline. I sat there and waited for 2 hrs as the trout circus started. People showed up in droves - standing shoulder to shoulder all along the shore, the dock and the ramp.

I must have been quite a sight that day, hovering just beyond the reach of most of the shore anglers and throwing a big 9" trout colored slug-go at the same spot they were throwing all their tiny little spinners and spoons.

It was a rough day to be on the water in the Yak, temps were in the low 40s and wind gusts were around 30mph. In the end I had nothing to show for my effort that day but I still think that it's a valid premise. Difficult, though, to try and establish any pattern when you only get one chance per year.

You chose the wrong bait. a trout colored sluggo looks NOTHING like a trout. Your strategy was good but your bait choice was bad. Try it again with an 8in weed less Hudd

[Jtrout]

I got a couple hudds 6 and 8 inch in rainbow trout I can't wait lol

[Jtrout]

The average trout stocked in there are 11-12 inches I met a guy there with a pic of a five pounder with just the tail sticking out of its gullet

[Mattlures]

YES bass know when the trout are being stocked. They become conditioned especially if the stocking is consistent. The bass will get used to the stocking and move into the stocking areas a day  or 2 before the truck shows up. When the truck does show up the bass are sitting there waiting. The best possible situation a bass fisherman could have is if the trout truck showed up and just dumped a bunch of water in with no trout. They would be easy to catch on a trout swimbait. Unfortunately this does not happen and they are actually tough to catch during stocking.To many real trout for your bait to compete with. That's why the day before the stocking is my favorite day to throw trout swimbaits.

[cyclops2]

Fish are just like.... Freddy the Free Loader. 

[DRH2O]

You chose the wrong bait. a trout colored sluggo looks NOTHING like a trout. Your strategy was good but your bait choice was bad. Try it again with an 8in weed less Hud

 

Your point is well taken. There really aren't any fisheries around me that have trout for the majority of the season so I never really found myself having the need for a $25 realistic trout replica lure.As a result that slug-go was simply the best i had to work with. I do plan on coming better prepared this fall. I did a little doctoring though and I had that slug-go looking pretty trouty by the time I was done... as long as you sort of squinted and didn't look right at it. 

[Paul Roberts]

... Difficult, though, to try and establish any pattern when you only get one chance per year.

Fish can learn to anticipate food. Any aquarium owner will tell you this. Lakes and ponds with fish feeders can amass large numbers of fish, and bass home ranges around feeding areas can become very small and persistent, lasting the entire year including winter.

Lakes stocked with trout (or other fish) on a regular enough basis can get predator fish waiting in anticipation. Some California lakes are known for this. But... as DRH2O experienced, once a year may not pan out.

[livetofish28]

Your point is well taken. There really aren't any fisheries around me that have trout for the majority of the season so I never really found myself having the need for a $25 realistic trout replica lure.As a result that slug-go was simply the best i had to work with. I do plan on coming better prepared this fall. I did a little doctoring though and I had that slug-go looking pretty trouty by the time I was done... as long as you sort of squinted and didn't look right at it.

Just because they're arent trout doesn't mean you can't fish trout baits. Lots of guys fish trout colored Huds in lakes with no trout. Look at the southern trout eater videos. a bass doesn't generally care what color the swimbait is they just see it as a big meal

Tight lines

Andrew

[Jaheff]

Two weeks ago I got to witness this. Was fishing all alone, when all the sudden the truck came and dumped. Here come all the big bait throwers. Was pretty cool watching a guy catch two 15# striper and another guy catch one around 11#  both throwing Deps. The striper were all caught with in two cranks of the handle,after the cast, as if the striper were staged waiting for the trout to go out deeper. I caught a LM before the dump, nothing after.

[Jtrout]

Well actually they stock it twice a year

[gulfcaptain]

Your point is well taken. There really aren't any fisheries around me that have trout for the majority of the season so I never really found myself having the need for a $25 realistic trout replica lure.As a result that slug-go was simply the best i had to work with. I do plan on coming better prepared this fall. I did a little doctoring though and I had that slug-go looking pretty trouty by the time I was done... as long as you sort of squinted and didn't look right at it. 

Look into Savage Gear's Line Thru's in the 8".  They make a floater which is under 4oz and runs about $18.00.  My biggest fish last year was caught on one of these.  Funny part, the day before I had a fish follow a 6" BVD jr.  Brought the swimbait gear back the next, got a 9lb fish and had another 10-12 followers between 4-8lbs.  Sometimes 3 or 4 all trying to get the best angle to attach but just wouldn't commit.  You think this would be normal for trout eating bass....bad part they hadn't stocked any trout in 3 months and it was the 4th of July.  You think there are fish in there that eat trout, they will eat a swimbait 12 months of the year.  Just have to have faith in fishing it.  And when they stock, the trout are going to slowly move out.  Look for deeper banks where they can use the shoreline to pin them or push them up in the shallows.  Got one right after a trout stock that bit basiclly at my feet.  Believe it was the same fish that I missed 2 casts prior that boiled on my swimbait as I pulled it out of the water.  Throw the swimbait and they will come.

[OK Bass Hunter]

There's a small pond by my old high school that gets stocked 2 or 3 times in the winter with trout. Time for me to order a few 6 inch Savage Gear Line Thru Trouts. I'

[gulfcaptain]

There's a small pond by my old high school that gets stocked 2 or 3 times in the winter with trout. Time for me to order a few 6 inch Savage Gear Line Thru Trouts. I'

I would stick with the 8" models.  Bought a 6", not impressed at all.  If you're going to fish a 6" bait buy a 68 Hudd.