On Saturday, March 22, a Mississippi angler landed a unique fish that does not naturally exist this far south. Tommy Ware of Ocean Springs was fly fishing at a private pond in Scooba when he hooked a 3 pound 10 ounce Rainbow Trout. Mr. Ware caught the trout on a black wooly bugger fished on a 4x tippet and 5 pound test fishing line. After doing some research, Mr. Ware discovered that his lunker Rainbow Trout was larger than the current state record of 2 pounds 15 ounces, which was caught in Lake Whittington in 2001. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks fisheries biologists Stephen Brown and Lauren Thayer weighed the fish on certified scales and confirmed that Mr. Ware had indeed caught a state record. “That’s not a fish that you typically see in Mississippi, but we are happy to recognize and certify the lunker Rainbow Trout for Mr. Ware”, said fisheries biologist Stephen Brown.
Rainbow Trout is one of the few non-native sportfish species that can be legally stocked in private ponds in Mississippi. Rainbow Trout are typically stocked in the winter as an additional species to enhance pond fishing experience, and will not survive as water temperatures increase to 70° F and above.
For more information regarding fishing in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp.com or call us at (601) 432-2212. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mdwfp or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDWFPonline.
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