MANKATO — Outside of southeastern Minnesota and the Twin Cities, the idea of ice fishing for trout didn’t exist in southern Minnesota.
That changed Thursday when the Department of Natural Resources stocked 3,000 rainbow trout in Hiniker Pond.
Craig Soupir, Waterville Area Fisheries supervisor, said the DNR is not trying to establish a breeding population of trout in the pond year round.
“Trout have certain water temperature requirements and Hiniker doesn’t meet those in late spring and summer because it gets too warm. This is just a ‘put and take’ where we want people to be able to come in and harvest the trout.
“And this is easy for kids to get to fish,” Soupir said.
Waterville fisheries staff and the city of Mankato have been working toward this goal of a winter trout angling opportunity for more than three years.
The 2-year-old trout were raised in the ponds of the DNR’s Lanesboro Fisheries and weigh about a half pound each.
Anglers need to have a valid fishing license and most will need to buy a trout stamp if they want to head to Hiniker and catch and keep trout. The limit is five fish per person.
Bruce Roe of Mankato was watching the stocking and eager to fish the pond Friday. And because he’s over 65 he doesn’t need to buy a trout stamp.
“We used to go to Lanesboro and camp and fish for rainbows in the streams there,” he said.
He said he and some buddies took the trek for about 25 years when they were younger. Roe said the river rainbow trout were fairly finicky to catch.
Soupir said he thinks the trout they put in Hiniker will likely be easier to catch. The fish have been raised in the shallow ponds of the Lanesboro DNR hatchery. He said the ones in Hiniker Pond are likely to stay in shallower areas and swim just under the ice, just as they did in the hatchery ponds.
There are a few lakes and streams in the region that are designated as trout waters, such as Seven Mile Creek, but those are generally stocked with trout in the spring for fishing.
Designated trout waters have more restrictions, such as anglers aren’t able to use live bait. But because Hiniker Pond isn’t a designated trout lake, anglers can use live bait, such as minnows.
The trout were delivered on a truck and put into Hiniker using a 75-foot stocking tube down the steep pond bank and through a hole cut in the ice.
Soupir said they didn’t want to advertise their plans for stocking the pond too early because they wanted to make sure Hiniker would support the fish for the winter.
“Hiniker Pond had a winter kill last year. It happens about once every 10 years. So we’ve been checking the oxygen levels there to make sure they were high enough.”
While there is still decent ice to walk out on and fish, Soupir said the way the winter is shaping up so far might mean a short ice fishing season.
“There are a lot of folks out ice fishing. The reports I’m hearing is the ice depth is ranging from 8 to 9 inches up to 14 inches. But it’s variable even on the same lake. People have been venturing out in their pickups and Ice Castles, but you really have to be careful.”
With temperatures forecast to be in the upper 40s or higher much of next week, ice conditions will certainly deteriorate.