Freshwater Fisheries Society crews have been busy pumping rainbow trout into Nanaimo lakes lately. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

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Here fishy, fishy: Nanaimo lakes stocked with rainbow trout

Mar 29, 2020 | 11:20 AM

NANAIMO — Fishing one of Nanaimo’s stocked lakes can be a fun social distancing way to spend an afternoon.

Even more so now, since the Freshwater Fisheries Society piped 7,000 trout into seven lakes in Nanaimo in March, according to the society’s online stocking report.

More than 25,000 fish were placed into the seven lakes since last October, according to the society.

Tristan Robbins of the Duncan based Vancouver Island Trout Hatchery told NanaimoNewsNOW upwards of 200,000 catchable sized rainbow trout are placed in 60 Vancouver Island lakes annually.

“Some of these fish will get to several pounds if they can avoid predators and anglers,” Robbins said. “Typically the catchable sized rainbows that we release into these urban lakes on Vancouver Island are about a half pound.”

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Robbins said Nanaimo based biologists dictate which lakes get stocked, which for the most part are urban lakes.

“Fish are mainly put where the angling pressure is that the natural enviroment won’t be able to support the amount of fishing they get,” Robbins said.

Freshwater fishing licences are required and can be bought online here.

The non-profit society Fishing for Fun supplies fishing gear and lessons for low income families. Information on the Nanaimo based organization are available on the group’s Facebook page and website.

Restocked lakes in March

Westwood: 1,900

Long: 1,000

Diver: 500

Green: 2,000

Colliery #1: 500

Colliery #2: 500

Colliery #3: 500

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes