On August 21, the Trout Management Program assisted Norfork National Fish Hatchery personnel with tagging 25 “display raceway” Rainbow Trout.
If you’ve toured Norfork National Fish Hatchery, you have likely seen the raceway that contains large trout they use for education and display. In order to avoid overcrowding, the hatchery occasionally stocks some of the large fish to thin out the raceway.
The Trout Management Program assists with this process by weighing, measuring, and tagging fish so they can identify them if collected during annual electrofishing surveys or if caught by anglers.
The fish stocked ranged from 16.4 to 30.5 inches and 2.7 to 13.3 pounds. The average size stocked was 24.6 inches and 7.9 pounds. Hatchery personnel stocked the fish in Norfork Tailwater at Quarry Park Access, in Bull Shoals Tailwater at Norfork Access, and in Beaver Tailwater.
If you’re looking to get outside and enjoy the nice weather for the holiday weekend, those will be great places to find some big fish!
