by John Jefferson

That was the title to the first outdoor article I ever wrote. It was a play on words lifted from the risqué name of the “Bond Girl” in a ’60-ish James Bond movie. The Galore part came from the number of trout, large and small, that were originally stocked for the first time in the cold water of the Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam. Some were 14-inches long. My first one tail-danced all the way to the net!

Few, if any of us, realized that day in 1966 when the first stocking took place that it was the beginning of a new era of fishing in Texas. Trout galore have been stocked in Texas waters all over the state since then.

Millions of rainbow and brown trout have been placed. In the mid-sixties, Canyon Dam had been completed, and released water was extremely cold.

Fisheries biologists with Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. (TPWD) realized that the Guadalupe River fishery below the dam would be changed by the cold water and began considering a species that could tolerate the colder temperature. Trout seemed a good possibility. The TPW Commission approved the experiment, and with help from Lone Star Brewing Company which had leftover trout each year from fishing tanks at boat shows, began the stocking.

It worked. Some of the fish lived for a while in the cold water. Most were caught by eager anglers and their kids. Few trout survived until summer.

Soon, TPWD realized that stocking trout in other water bodies would encourage more people to fish. Nowadays, 326,668 catchable-size trout are stocked in 174 sites scattered around every region of Texas but concentrated around the most populous areas. Some venues are Nolan City Park, Kosse City Park Pond, Medina River at Landmark Inn, Waldron Park (Corpus), Carl Young Park (Abilene), Eldridge Park Pond (Sugar Land), Mount Belview City Park, and Louise Hays Park (Kerrville).

Stocking begins Nov. 30 and early Dec. and continues into Jan. and Feb.

A complete list of stocking sites can be found at the TPWD website: www.tpwd.texas.gov/troutstocking. The creel limit is five trout per day.

There is no length limit. Unless you are fishing in a state park, adults must have a fishing license and a $5 Freshwater Fishing Stamp which is included in all freshwater license packages. Anglers under 17 are exempt from license and stamp requirements but must abide by the five fish limit. Bank fishing is possible.

A popular site is the Guadalupe just below Canyon Dam. Special regulations for a marked stretch of the river starting 800 yards downstream from the dam are set out in the TPW Outdoor Annual, but from the dam downstream to that area, any tackle, trout spinning rod, and bait is permitted.

Worms, yellow corn, and salmon eggs are good baits.

For more information and stocking times, contact the hatchery in your area: A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery (512/353-0572), East Texas State Fish Hatchery (409/698-2052), Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery (940/779-2301), and Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (903/676-2277).

JJ