Trout arriving for fishing at waterholes near you in central Ohio

Trout are coming, if they haven’t already arrived, to a waterhole near you as well as to waterholes not so near.

Some 85,000 hatchery-raised rainbows in the convenient catching size of 10 to 13 inches are scheduled to be spit out of Ohio Division of Wildlife tanker trucks at 90 accessible fishing sites before the stocking program ends in mid-May.

The first of two trout infusions was scheduled on Friday at five park ponds in Columbus – Westgate, Linden, Franklin, Schiller and Goodale. A second stocking is scheduled April 14.

Both Cenci Park Lake and the small-fry fishing pond at Delaware State Park were on the stocking schedule for Friday.

Special rules at the Delaware pond stipulate that only youngsters may fish for the first seven days post-stocking, after which adults may join in the pursuit. Adult participation extends, however, only through the last day of April, when the kids-only condition returns.

A youth event is planned as part of an April 5 release at Mirror Lake in Granville.

A trout release is scheduled at Antrim Lake in Columbus on April 18, a traditional Good Friday date that allows youngsters off from school to participate immediately after the stocking.

The final spring trout infusion in Columbus will take place at Krumm Park Pond on April 23.

Two later stockings are scheduled in Delaware County: Ashley Upground Reservoir on April 26 and Sunbury Upground Reservoir No. 2 on May 3. Youth activities are planned to coincide with both releases.

The stocked rainbows don’t seem to be especially particular about fishing methods or bait. The daily limit is five, and anglers age 16 and older must have a valid fishing license.

The trout released into the cool water of late winter and early spring are meant to be caught. Cool-water fish generally don’t survive the summer heat of Ohio.

Stamps for sale

Legal waterfowl hunting won’t be on the menu for months, though an appetizer is available now.

The 2025 Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp, a required buy for anyone who wants to hunt waterfowl in the state, can be purchased for $15. For details and ordering

information, visit the web site, wildohio.gov.

Revenues generated by sales of the stamp go toward wetlands restoration projects, which is a benefit to a large number of plant and animal species. Stamp sales to hunters, birders and collectors have raised more than $11 million since 1982.

Depicted on this year’s stamp is a solitary bufflehead plowing a wake while casting a reflection of its topside image on a calm pond against a backdrop of warm orange hues. The painting by New York resident Ray Easton was chosen as winner of the 2024 Ohio wetlands stamp competition.

This year’s honor went to the depiction of three resting hooded mergansers, two males and a female, painted by Gerald Putt of Boiling Springs, Pa. Putt’s rendering, which topped 22 entries judged by a panel of five, will appear on the 2026 stamp.

Parting shots

An open house is scheduled April 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Hebron State Fish Hatchery, 10517 Canal Rd SE, at Hebron. Visitors can view fish eggs and fry, and observe older fish in raceways. … Four Ohio men and six Michigan men in separate cases were found guilty in Huron Municipal Court of charges related to taking in December more than the legal daily limit of six walleyes from Lake Erie. The Michigan six, two of whom had been snagged for overbagging previously, were each fined $310 and court costs. The Ohio four each paid $210 and costs.

outdoors@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio trout fishing: Hatchery-raised rainbows arriving in waterholes