The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to stock nearly 52,000 trout this spring in anticipation of this year’s trout fishing season. Trout will be stocked in 37 bodies of water across 22 Indiana counties.
Indiana DNR will stock streams with 20,850 rainbow trout in the weeks leading up to April 25, which is opening day of trout season for inland streams.
In addition to the rainbow trout stockings, several bodies of water in the north and one southern stream are getting additional brown trout stockings. More than 11,000 brown trout should be stocked in early May.
The stocked trout are from Curtis Creek Trout Rearing Station near Howe in LaGrange County and average roughly 11 inches in length.
Anglers can fish for trout in lakes year-round, so there’s no need to wait; all lake stockings were completed in February and March.
Trout will bite on a variety of artificial baits such as spinners and flies, but natural baits such as worms and bee moths tend to have the most success.
The bag limit for trout in inland waters, which are bodies of water other than Lake Michigan and its tributaries, is five per day with a minimum size of 7 inches. No more than one of an angler’s catch can be a brown trout. Additionally, any harvested brown trout caught below the Brookville tailwater, Oliver, Olin, or Martin lakes must be 18 inches or larger to be kept.
To fish for trout, anglers age 18 and older need an Indiana fishing license and a trout/salmon stamp. Both can be bought at GoOutdoorsIN.com.
To find a stocked stream near you, see the 2026 trout stocking plan at on.IN.gov/fish-stocking.