Stocked rainbow trout offer anglers a new opportunity near Mankato, Minn., this winter

Mankato, Minn. — The city of Mankato has rainbow trout in Hiniker Pond for the first time ever. The Minnesota DNR stocked 3,000 rainbow trout into the pond Jan. 25 to provide an opportunity for anglers in south-central Minnesota to fish for trout.

“Winter trout fishing is really popular,” said Craig Soupir, DNR Waterville fisheries area supervisor. “There are quite a few winter trout-fishing opportunities, but they’re mostly in the metro or down in the extreme southeast by Lanesboro. We didn’t have anything around the Mankato area.”

About three years ago, Soupir and his team at Waterville started devising a plan to stock trout in the city of Mankato. About 18 months ago, they found the location in Hiniker Pond.

Finally, about a week ago, they determined it was ideal conditions to stock the trout. It was a long process, but Soupir is excited about the opportunity and future opportunities of trout fishing in the southwest.

The stocking is solely for trout fishing this winter because there’s no chance for reproduction and rainbow trout are a cold-water species. This means they require cold water for survival, so Soupir is hoping anglers will come out and fish these next few weeks.

“This is a warm-water pond, so they will not survive over the summer,” Soupir said. “So, we really rely on getting the word out to anglers, providing the opportunity, and hoping those two things connect and we get a really good experience for people to catch trout where they don’t usually have the opportunity.”

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About two weeks ago, Soupir said the fisheries office wasn’t sure if stocking was going to happen. With the warmer winter, the Waterville fisheries office was thinking it would be too much of a risk to stock rainbow trout at the end of January.

Then, a cold snap came right on time.

Soupir said the cold snap allowed his team to feel more confident about the survival of the trout in Hiniker Pond.

Soupir said the team agreed to stock 3,000 rainbow trout about a week before the actual stocking.

The trout came from the Lanesboro state fish hatchery, and each trout weighs about a half a pound. The size is anywhere from 10 to 12 inches, according to Soupir, and he expects the trout to be depleted quickly because many anglers are planning to fish the pond.

“These fish, when we stock them in the winter, they’re very active,” Soupir said. “They’ll bite right away, so there’s an opportunity to people to catch trout right away.”

With warmer weather continuing for the next couple of weeks, Soupir said the temperature won’t affect the trout, but it will affect anglers. He wants to make sure everyone is safe on the ice, especially with a change in temperature.

There’s only foot traffic allowed on the pond, but Soupir said anglers should make sure the ice is safe to stand on and be cautious. Anglers should also have a trout stamp if they want to harvest a trout from Hiniker Pond.

Soupir said he recommends anglers to check the regulations book to understand all the rules before coming to the pond. Also, he suggests that anglers have the appropriate gear for ice fishing and to be safe while on the ice.

For more information on trout fishing across the state, visit the DNR’s website.