Lake Shawnee will be stocked with 7,000 pounds of trout amid shorter fishing season
Though it will be later than usual, a Shawnee County lake is about to be stocked with trout ahead of the winter trout fishing season.
The public can watch as 7,000 pounds of rainbow trout are released into Lake Shawnee at 10 a.m. Nov. 22 at the main boat ramp on Beach Drive just off S.E. 29th Street.
"The tradition of stocking trout in the lake began in 1979 under then parks director Ted Ensley," said a news release from Mike McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Shawnee County Parks + Recreation. "The lake is stocked each October and February to give fishermen a different experience as trout are not native to the lake."
The trout season starts Dec. 1, so after the trout are released, Lake Shawnee will be closed to fishing until 6 a.m. that morning. A $14.50 trout permit and fishing license is required during the season, except for youths ages 15 and younger who need only a $7 permit.
That's later than past years, as the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks shortened its trout season. What had been Nov. 1 to April 15 is now Dec. 1 to March 31.
"The trout program is something we've been happy to support in Kansas since 1994," said Jeff Conley, KDWP fisheries program specialist. "However, over the years, we've made very few changes. This new format gives us the ability to continue the program during its most popular months, at higher stocking densities, while managing increasing costs for the fish, so the feedback received will definitely make us all more efficient."
The agency, which will stock about 62,000 pounds of rainbow trout across 30 waterbodies, will stock fish less often but at higher densities and during the most-fished months in response to preferences of an angler survey. Fishermen may also catch an occasional palomino or golden rainbow trout.
Throughout the 2023-24 season, Topeka's Lake Shawnee will be stocked with a total of about 17,000 pounds of trout. That's more trout than any other body of water in Kansas, according to the KDWP stocking schedule.
Shawnee State Fishing Lake, which is north of Silver Lake, is not on the KDWP trout stocking list.
"All fish stocked will be a catchable size, but a few lunkers will also be added to give anglers extra opportunity to catch a trophy," Conley said. "We can't wait to see who catches them."
A previous version of a KDWP webpage indicated "the season this year has been shortened to account for increasing price of trout."
Another reason for the later stocking is that warmer waters earlier in fall can compromise fish health, the KDWP said, and that anglers will still have ample wintertime fishing opportunities while not competing with time for hunting.
Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Trout stocking starts amid shorter Kansas fishing season this winter
