Robert Fawcett, (603) 271-1744
Jane Vachon, (603) 271-3211
March 30, 2006

Get your gear ready!
FISH AND GAME IS STOCKING TROUT EARLY THIS SPRING

CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire trout anglers are in for an unusually early season this year, with truckloads of trout already rolling out of New Hampshire Fish and Game Department hatcheries, thanks to a winter with little snow and ice and continued signs of an early spring warming.

Stocking trucks loaded with fish are already on the move out of the Milford hatchery in southwestern New Hampshire. "River conditions are very favorable for early trout stocking this year; earlier than any time I can remember," said Fish and Game Conservation Officer Todd Szewczyk, who has already begun stocking trout in the Souhegan and Nissitissit rivers in the southern tier of the state.

Trout stocking is a busy time of the season for Milford Hatchery Superintendent Dick Prunier. Fish and Games's Milford Hatchery crew has raised 80,000 fat and feisty brook trout averaging over a pound each and about a foot long. That adds up to some 40 tons of trout from the Milford Hatchery alone -- all soon to be swimming in rivers, streams and ponds all across southwestern New Hampshire. Milford also has another 75,000 rainbow trout weighing well over a pound each and stretching 15 inches long, that are ready to go. Prunier noted that several large trout specimens lurking in his brimming hatchery pool could also end up in a stream or pond near you. "We've got some 'Walter Trout' in there -- weighing over four pounds -- that dodged our nets last year. We hope to catch them this spring and stock them out."

The Milford Hatchery is just one of six Fish and Game fish hatcheries around the state that together produce a total of nearly a million catchable-size trout - brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout - to stock for anglers throughout the Granite State. As warming temperatures spread northward in coming weeks, Fish and Game's stocking trucks will not be far behind them. Trucks full of fish started to roll from the Powder Mill Hatchery in New Durham this week, and hatcheries in New Hampton, Warren, Twin Mountain, and Berlin soon will follow suit.

Get ready for action by buying your fishing license online anytime at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us, or from license agents statewide. If you're not sure how many times you'll get out to fish this year - take advantage of the new $10 one-day license for New Hampshire residents. Fish and Game's online stocking report - see http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/fishing.htm -- tells which streams and ponds have been stocked recently.

So pack up your friends and family and get ready for exciting outdoor fun. With tons of trout to catch, anglers will want to fish early and often in New Hampshire this year, and early stocking means that anglers won't have to wait to enjoy the experience.

Copyright 2005 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive,
Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should
be directed to lpoinier@wildlife.state.nh.us .