When I read the press release from Indiana’s DNR on tailwater trout being stocked, my thoughts went back years ago when I was involved in a “sting operation” with an Indiana conservation officer.

My good friend Sgt. Dean Shadley called me and asked if I would be willing to go fly fishing with him in the tailwaters of Brookville Lake for the newly stocked rainbow trout. I quickly and very needlessly reminded him the season for taking rainbow trout wouldn’t open for another week. He said, “That’s the point.”

It wasn’t illegal to catch a trout as long as it was quickly unhooked and returned to the water.

It seemed several anglers were slipping in and catching the recently stocked rainbow trout before the legal season. Sgt. Shadley planned to keep a “close eye” on the area pretending to be an early trout angler himself. He recruited me and another friend, Rob Winters, to come along to make it look like we were a group of out-of-season anglers fly fishing for trout.

Once we were in place, it didn’t take long for us to see action. Dean and I both inadvertently caught a trout. Looking around to make sure we weren’t being watched by any prospective poachers, we carefully unhooked and released the fish.

Shortly after, we watched as a lone angler with a bait casting rig set up in the willows lining the tailwater. Carefully rigging a bobber and baiting a hook with a piece of nightcrawler, the guy cast out into the tailwater.

Within only a few minutes, the guy sets the hook and lands one of the newly stocked rainbows.

I think we may have betrayed our undercover attempt as when the guy pulled the fish out of the water; we all stopped casting and started watching him.

Suddenly realizing he had become the center of attention, the guy quickly releases the fish and rebaits the hook. Not knowing what to make of the situation, he continues fishing.

Soon, he hooks and lands another trout.

Repeat of the same scenario with us watching him and he realizes it and releases the fish.

The guy gives up and leaves; but we must say… he was determined.

Later that afternoon, he came back two more times hoping we would be gone, but again decided to release more of his almost ill-gotten gain.

As the sun was setting, we considered the sting operation a success as no trout were taken from the tailwater.

The Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife plans to stock approximately 1,500 rainbow trout into the Brookville Lake tailwater this week. Stocked trout will average 9 inches in length and supplement an existing population of brown and rainbow trout.

The tailwater is a 2-mile stretch of the East Fork of the Whitewater River below the dam running through Brookville. Approximately 1,500 rainbow trout and 2,600 brown trout are stocked there annually, providing a unique opportunity for anglers to target trout in southeastern Indiana. The tailwater is cooler than most Indiana streams during the summer, giving trout the potential to survive and grow over multiple years.

Special trout fishing regulations for the tailwater include a 7-inch minimum length limit for rainbow trout and an 18-inch minimum length limit for brown trout. The daily bag limit is five trout, only one of which can be a brown trout. Trout fishing is catch-and-release only for all Indiana rivers and streams from Jan. 1 to April 14. Anglers targeting trout need to possess a trout stamp in addition to an Indiana fishing license.

Trout anglers can look forward to continued quality fishing opportunities for rainbow and brown trout in the tailwater in the coming years. For more information on fish stockings, see visit dnr.IN.gov/fish-and-wildlife/fishing/indiana-fish-stocking/.

Firewood permits at Brookville Lake, Whitewater Memorial SP

The public is invited to cut up and remove certain downed trees at Brookville Lake and Whitewater Memorial State Park for firewood.

Trees eligible for firewood have fallen as a result of natural causes or have been dropped by property staff. They are along roadsides or in public areas such as campsites and picnic areas.

Permit sales and cutting are available through Feb. 24.

The cost of one pickup-truck load is $10. All proceeds will be used for resource management and restoration efforts, including replacement of trees in campgrounds and other public areas.

A firewood permit must be obtained for each load at Mounds State Recreation Area or Whitewater Memorial offices from 8 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Permits are not available on observed state holidays or weekends.

Firewood may be cut up to 30 feet from roadsides in designated areas; however, vehicles are not allowed off roads. The use of tractors, UTVs, and ATVs is prohibited. Wood may be cut and removed from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call the Whitewater Memorial office at 765-458-5565.

Firewood cut at Brookville and Whitewater is for personal use only and may not be sold.

Mounds State Recreation Area (on.IN.gov/brookvillelake) is at 1410 State Road 101, Brookville, Indiana 47012. Whitewater Memorial State Park (on.IN.gov/whitewatermemorial) is at 1418 S. State Road 101, Liberty, Indiana.

Boonville man injured in fall from tree stand

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a tree stand accident that occurred Nov. 23 in Warrick County.

Around 2 p.m., Warrick County Dispatch received a call of a hunter being injured after falling from his tree stand near the area of State Road 61 and Square Deal Mine Road in Boonville.

Eighty-year-old Kenneth L. Nord, of Boonville, was climbing into his tree stand when a strap broke, causing him to fall approximately 20 feet. Despite being injured, Nord called a friend for help.

Nord was transported via Life Flight to St. Vincent Hospital in Evansville with serious injuries to his arms and legs. He was not wearing a full body safety harness or other safety equipment at the time of the accident.

Other responding agencies included Warrick County EMS, Boonville Fire Department, and Warrick County Sheriff’s Department.

Conservation Officers would like to remind everyone using elevated platforms to always wear a full body safety harness, use a tree stand’s safety rope, never try to put up or remove a tree stand by themselves and always inspect their tree stand before climbing up into it.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net.

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.