Meals on reels: North Texas anglers turn out for trout release

Earl and Veronica Sherrin of Grand Prairie took off work Wednesday to stand along the banks of the Trinity River, fishing poles in hand.

Never mind that it was a cold and cloudy January morning. For the Sherrins and others who showed up, the annual stocking of the Trinity River with rainbow trout is like a holiday.

Higher than normal water levels along the Clear Fork prompted Texas Parks and Wildlife workers to call a last-minute audible and haul the fish to Greenbriar Lake in south Fort Worth.

The concern was that someone would slip on the steep banks at River Park and fall into the fast-moving water.

“The fish would have been fine — they would have loved this,” said Rafe Brock, a Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologist, as he stood on the banks of the Clear Fork. “It was the people we were worried about.”

For the Sherrins and two dozen other anglers, the sudden change of plans was no big deal. They simply packed up their gear and formed a fast-moving caravan to the three-acre lake at Greenbriar Park about six miles away.

They were soon joined by about 3,000 trout in two mobile tanks from TPWD’s Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery near Graford.

Within two minutes of the trout hitting the water, both Sherrins had small ones dangling from their lines.

“This is great,” Veronica Sherrin said. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Her husband, Earl, chimed in: “This is just like Christmas.”

‘They’re fighters’

About 100 yards down the small lake’s bank, Terrance Wilson of Fort Worth had brought his son, Jacob, 8, and his daughter, Kaydence, 6, to the park.

“They’re both good kids and I told their teacher I was bringing them out here to experience this,” Wilson said. “I’m trying out new things.”

Kaydence was the first to catch one. But as the small trout swam in a bucket, Kaydence seemed suddenly disinterested.

“She says she’s done,” Terrance Wilson said. “She doesn’t want to catch any more of them even though she’s a natural.”

Her older brother kept watching his line, waiting for one to bite.

“You’ll know when you’ve got one,” Terrance advised Jacob. “They won’t go quietly.”

Derry Johnson of Mansfield, who was fishing with buddy Andrew Cardona of Grand Prairie, summed up the appeal of fishing for rainbows.

“They’re fighters,” Johnson said. “They’re non-native so they’re something different than bass or crappie and they’re good to eat. You can fry them up and they taste good and it takes about 30 minutes to catch your limit.”

Part of a statewide program

Every winter, Texas Parks and Wildlife stocks thousands of rainbow trout across the state.

Greenbriar Park also participates in the state’s Neighborhood Fishing program and has already had smaller releases of trout in December. Other ponds and small lakes in Tarrant County, such as the Randol Mill Duck Pond in Arlington and Chisholm Park pond in Hurst, also are stocked with trout.

The Tarrant Regional Water District has two more large-scale releases planned for the Trinity River on Feb. 4 and March 8. There is also a TRWD Flyfest scheduled March 12, most likely at River Park off Bryant-Irvin Road if the river’s conditions are favorable.

The fish thrive as long as the water temperature stays below 70 degrees. Once the water temperature rises above that level, they’ll die off or be eaten by other fish, said Brock, the TPWD fisheries biologist and district supervisor.

Al Lewis, 85, has been coming out on the first day the trout have been released and catching his share for more than 20 years. But Lewis has some advice for those wanting to catch trout.

“They’ll be biting for the next few days, then they’ll get a little harder to catch,” he said. “A lot of them will be gone and some will have found places to hide.”

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Meals on reels: North Texas anglers turn out for trout release."