North Dakota Trout Stocking Report 2026

Every sentence here comes from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (ND Game and Fish), and each section names its sources. Updated .

North Dakota Game and Fish stocks catchable rainbow trout, 8 to 10 inches long, in community ponds, small lakes and dams, mostly in spring as soon as the ice is off. A few waters get a second plant in the fall, and some get brown or cutthroat trout as well. Each lake's stocking report lists what went in each year by species, number and size, with no dates. Ryan Park Pond's goes back to 2016 and shows 700 catchable rainbows and 338 adults in 2026.

From North Dakota Game and Fish: Fish Stocking Report, Ryan Park Pond, North Dakota Game and Fish: A Line to the Past, a Bridge to the Future (May 2019), North Dakota Game and Fish: 2026 North Dakota Fishing Waters and North Dakota Game and Fish: Fish Stocking Report, North Woodhaven Pond.

The ND Game and Fish trout stocking report

North Dakota's fishing waters, each with its fish, stocking information, directions, boat ramps and shore access where the department has them. Pick your search criteria and press Find Lakes, then open the lake's stocking report. It gives the year, species, number and size class of each plant, not the date.

Open the Where to Fish

From North Dakota Game and Fish: Where to Fish and North Dakota Game and Fish: Fish Stocking Report, North Woodhaven Pond.

When North Dakota stocks trout

Spring, from ice-out

Trout go in as soon as the ice melts, the small town ponds first because they warm sooner. In 2019 the department's production supervisor said those were targeted in April. The 2026 Fishing Waters guide lists the spring plants water by water: Wilton City Pond and Hazen Creek in spring, and North Woodhaven Pond in late spring.

A fall plant on a few waters

A few waters get trout again in the fall: OWLS Pond in Bismarck in spring and fall, and the Turtle River twice in spring and once in fall, for a river trout fishery.

From North Dakota Game and Fish: A Line to the Past, a Bridge to the Future (May 2019) and North Dakota Game and Fish: 2026 North Dakota Fishing Waters.

Rules on stocked water

  • Anglers 16 and older need a license, which runs from April 1 to March 31. Residents pay $27 plus a $2 certificate, or $10 plus $2 at 65 and older. Nonresidents pay $68 for the season, $48 for three days or $58 for ten, each plus a $5 certificate. Resident children under 16 fish free, and nonresident children under 16 fish free with a licensed adult.
  • The trout limit is 3 a day and 6 in possession, any mix of brown, cutthroat, lake, rainbow and tiger trout. Salmon have their own limit of 5 and 10.

From North Dakota Game and Fish: North Dakota Fishing License, North Dakota Game and Fish: Resident Licenses and Fees, North Dakota Game and Fish: Nonresident Licenses and Fees and North Dakota Game and Fish: 2026-28 Fishing Regulations.

How to hear about a stocking

  • Check the lake in Where to Fish before a trip. The department posts changes to its managed lakes under the fishing tab at gf.nd.gov.

From North Dakota Game and Fish: 2026 North Dakota Fishing Waters.

Worth knowing before you go looking

  • Some stocked ponds do not last the summer: Underwood Pond is stocked in spring and dries up by mid to late summer.
  • Hooker Lake has had no winterkill in recent years, so older, bigger trout are there. They are largest in the fall, and the 2023 survey netted trout of 10 to 20 inches.
  • Free Fishing Days are for North Dakota residents only: June 6 and 7 and December 26 and 27 in 2026.

From North Dakota Game and Fish: 2026 North Dakota Fishing Waters, North Dakota Game and Fish: North Dakota Fishing License and North Dakota Game and Fish: 2026-28 Fishing Regulations.

Which day to fish it

The schedule says where the fish went in. Which day to go is a different question: the forecast scores each day of the week for trout at the water you pick, from its water temperature, the wind and the weather.

See the week for rainbow trout

Species guides: Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout

Sources

Every sentence above was read on one of these pages, and a check re-reads each quoted line against the page it came from.

Spotted something out of date or plain wrong here? Tell us and we will check it.