Wisconsin Trout Stocking Schedule 2026

Every sentence here comes from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Wisconsin DNR), and each section names its sources. Updated .

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) stocks catchable-size rainbow, brown and brook trout each spring from its Nevin, Osceola and St. Croix Falls hatcheries: 326,064 of them in 2026, more than half of them rainbows. The state has 13,000 miles of classified trout streams: some hold trout that breed on their own, some are stocked to jump-start wild populations, and some are kept up entirely by stocking. In 2026 the inland trout harvest season on streams, springs and spring ponds opened April 4, a month earlier than before, and runs through October 15; on inland lakes and ponds it opened with the general season on May 2. Anglers 16 and older need a fishing license, and the trout season also takes an inland trout stamp.

From Wisconsin DNR: Catchable-Size Trout Stocking 2026, Wisconsin DNR: Inland trout fishing, Wisconsin DNR: DNR Reminds Anglers Of New Opening Day For Inland Trout Harvest Season (March 18, 2026) and Wisconsin DNR: Wisconsin's General Fishing Season Opens May 2; New Regulations In Effect (April 7, 2026).

The Wisconsin DNR trout stocking schedule

Every water stocked with catchable-size trout this year, by county, with the species, whether the fish were yearlings or adult broodstock, and how many. Seasons, bag limits and length limits can differ from one listed water to the next, so look each one up in the Wisconsin Fishing Finder or the trout regulations.

Open the catchable-size trout stocking list

From Wisconsin DNR: Catchable-Size Trout Stocking 2026 and Wisconsin DNR: Fish Stocking.

When Wisconsin stocks trout

Spring catchable-size trout

Each spring catchable-size trout go into lakes, ponds and streams across the state. In 2026 that was 172,066 rainbows, 84,820 brook trout and 69,178 browns, 10,960 of them adult broodstock.

From Wisconsin DNR: Catchable-Size Trout Stocking 2026.

Rules on stocked water

  • Residents pay $20 a year for a fishing license, $7 at 16 or 17, or $8 for one day. Nonresidents pay $55 a year, $15 for one day, $29 for four days or $33 for fifteen. The inland trout stamp is $10. Licenses and stamps for 2026-2027 run until March 31, 2027.
  • Some trout bag and length limits changed for 2026-2027 to allow more harvest where trout are plentiful. The Guide to Wisconsin's 2026-2027 Trout Fishing Regulations has each water's limits.
  • On a navigable stream you may wade and fish anywhere, as long as you keep your feet wet, once you have reached it from public access or with the landowner's permission.

From Wisconsin DNR: Fishing Licenses, Wisconsin DNR: DNR Reminds Anglers Of New Opening Day For Inland Trout Harvest Season (March 18, 2026) and Wisconsin DNR: Inland trout fishing.

How to hear about a stocking

  • DNR posts each year's catchable-size stocking list on its Catchable-Size Trout page, and the stocking database adds every species and every year back to 1953.

From Wisconsin DNR: Catchable-Size Trout Stocking 2026 and Wisconsin DNR: Fish Stocking.

Worth knowing before you go looking

  • The early April opener is for inland streams, springs and spring ponds only. Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Green Bay and its tributaries keep their own trout seasons and limits, unchanged in 2026.
  • The great majority of Wisconsin's lakes and streams have self-sustaining fish, and DNR stocks only some waters, where stocking serves a purpose.

From Wisconsin DNR: DNR Reminds Anglers Of New Opening Day For Inland Trout Harvest Season (March 18, 2026) and Wisconsin DNR: Fish Stocking.

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 · Brook 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.