A total of 7,250 brown trout and 1,955 rainbow trout have been stocked in 17 bodies of water across Indiana.

“The demand from trout anglers for brown trout has been increasing over the past several years,” said Matt Horsley, fisheries biologist for northeast Indiana. “Stocking brown trout into our northern lakes and streams has the potential to extend trout fishing opportunities from just a month or so to several months, possibly even the entire year.”

The stocked brown trout averaged 8.25 inches in length.

Brown trout stocking locations include:

• Fancher Lake, Lake County, 200 trout

• Harbor Lake, Porter County, 240 trout

• Little Kankakee River, LaPorte County, 250 trout

• Potato Creek, St. Joseph County, 150 trout

• Pinhook, St. Joseph County, 200 trout

• Lawrence Lake, Marshall County, 1,380 trout

• Myers Lake, Marshall County, 1,920 trout

• Sand Lake, Noble County, 400 trout

• Fairfield Northeast Lake, Tippecanoe County, 350 trout

• Boones Pond, Boone County, 550 trout

• Brookville Lake Tailwater, Franklin County, 1,610 trout

Rainbow trout stocking locations include:

• Pinhook Lake, St. Joseph County, 200 trout

• Shoaff Park Pond, Allen County, 300 trout

• Memorial Park Pond, Huntington County, 200 trout

• Johnson Lake, Jefferson County, 300 trout

• Oak Lake, Clark County, 405 trout

• Garvin Park Lake, Vanderburgh County, 550 trout

Anglers 18 and older will need an Indiana fishing license and a trout/salmon stamp to fish for trout. The bag limit for trout is five. The limit includes any combination of brook, rainbow or brown trout, but no more than one may be a brown trout. There is no minimum size limit for lakes except for the 18-inch minimum size limit for brown trout at Oliver, Olin and Martin lakes in LaGrange County, and the Brookville Lake tailwater in Franklin County. Streams have a 7-inch minimum size limit. There is no closed season for taking trout from inland lakes. Streams are closed to trout fishing from Dec. 31 to the last Saturday in April.

Pufferbelly Trail extension

On Nov. 20, The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Allen County celebrated the opening of the Pufferbelly Trail extension.

The 4.33-mile asphalt multi-use trail was constructed by Allen County with help from a $3.2-million Next Level Trails (NLT) grant.

“This extension of the Pufferbelly Trail is a key connection – in the region and as part of our continued growth of trails across the state as part of the Next Level Trails initiative,” said Dan Bortner, DNR director.

The new trail extends the existing Pufferbelly Trail north from the Life Bridge Church Trailhead at Union Chapel Road to Fitch Road near the Allen County and DeKalb County line. The trail is a part of the planned Poka-Bache Trail, an 81.3-mile State Visionary Trail. The Poka-Bache Trail will ultimately connect Pokagon State Park in Angola to Ouabache State Park in Bluffton.

In April 2022, the city of Fort Wayne received a round-three NLT grant to complete the final gap of the Pufferbelly Trail within Allen County. Once complete, the entire trail will extend more than 13 miles from downtown Fort Wayne to the county line.

“There are now over 140 miles of trail in Allen County creating a network of well-used active transportation and recreation opportunities,” said Megan McClellan, Fort Wayne Trails executive director. “This new 4.33-mile stretch of the Pufferbelly Trail will connect thousands of additional residents to this system, while also connecting to beautiful natural areas like Payton County Park and Willow Creek.”

Wilbur Wright Trail opens

On Nov. 17, the Indiana DNR and the Health Communities of Henry County opened the recently completed Wilbur Wright Trail.

The 2.6-mile asphalt multi-use trail was constructed by Healthy Communities of Henry County with help from a $1.3-million Next Level Trails (NLT) grant.

“When Next Level Trails launched in 2019, it set a mission to provide greater connections between and within communities,” Bortner said. “This new segment is the next step to providing greater connections across east-central Indiana, working toward making another important connection to the Cardinal Greenway, Indiana’s longest recreational trail.”

The new trail was built on former railroad corridor beginning at County Road 625 East in Blue River Township. The trail extends northeast through the town of Mooreland to County Road 525 North alongside State Road 36 where it ends. The trail is a part of a larger visionary trail network to connect to the existing Wilbur Wright Trail in New Castle, as well as to the Cardinal Greenway in Losantville. Key partners for the project include the Town of Mooreland and Henry County.

“As a state visionary trail, the Wilbur Wright Trail is an excellent example of how Healthy Communities of Henry County and our partners connect people and communities through trails,” said Jeff Ray, the organization’s trails director. “This 2.6-mile segment is helping us open new opportunities for families and individuals to enjoy the outdoors in the Mooreland area. We are only 2.12 miles from connecting Mooreland to the Cardinal Greenway in Losantville.”

Contact the author by writing to this publication, or by e-mail to jackspaulding1971@outlook.com.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com in paperback or as a Kindle download.