Sauman -- we use that rainbow trout "trick" a lot around here. We've got a very small pond where the Optimist Club and the Brookings Wildlife Federation stock rainbow trout in spring for the kids. It's only a half acre pond, and they have clinics, help the kids bait hooks, clean fish, etc. In addition, the state agency (SD Game, Fish and Parks) stocks catchable rainbows in a gravel pit complex owned by the city. They stock those spring and fall (which goes into winter ice fishing). The trout can't survive mid-summer temps, but most are caught by then. The largemouth bass and panfish don't seem bothered, it reduces pressure on the naturally reproducing fish, and if the largemouths eat some of them, so be it. Our student chapter of the American Fisheries Society is doing a creel survey this year, and we'll get an idea of what percentage of the trout are actually harvested (as well as the hours of recreation that are provided).
