Texas Parks and Wildlife stocks more than 100 ponds and lakes throughout the state every winter, including Kidd Springs Park.
The pond at Kidd Springs is the only public stock pond inside the Dallas city limits, and it’ll be swimming with about 800 rainbow trout on Jan. 3. Adults need to buy a freshwater fishing license, but a license is not required for children 16 and younger.
About 300,000 trout are raised in hatcheries all over Texas for the annual winter stock, which began in the 1970s.
“Most Texas waters get too warm for trout to survive in summer, so we stock them for a put-and-take fishery during the winter months,” hatchery program director Carl Kittel stated in a release. “The hatchery-reared fish will bite almost immediately after stocking and typically will take a variety of baits, from whole kernel canned corn or commercial soft bait to artificial flies and even small spinnerbaits.”
