Quote:
Originally Posted by tallieho
Sundance; You should clarify.That your fish ,are from a private hatchery.That get placed into a private lake. Fish reared in a gov't hatchery,a whole years growth. might be 7-8".Check your stocking reports
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The stocked public lakes stocked in the spring would have the same size fish as a private lake. In fact some private hatcheries are contracted to supply some fish.
If you look at the stocking reports...some times they stock in late summer/early fall and the trout are bigger.
For public waters...the expectation is that stocking 8 inch trout will see them feed and grow bigger.
In a lake with perch...that growth is not attainable so one needs to stock bigger so having the hatcheries grow them till the fall is better.
Public hatcheries likely dont want to keep fish longer as it costs money and larger trout are more costly to transport. Also it doesnt give them a ton of time to clean and sterilize the equipment before starting a new batch.
Regardless of hatchery...public or private...rainbows spawned in the fall and reared to the Spring will be the same size if they feed them the same. No reason not to be.