RDFGA restock Bower Ponds with trout ahead of free fishing day

Those 16 years of age and older must be able to provide a fishing license to take part.

“I hope it’s a huge turnout. We are planning for 1,500 to 2,000 people, and if we get that many, we’ll be very happy,” he said.

There will also be displays by conservation groups and presentations on the environment.

Donnelly said this event has been a year in the making.

“We are trying to recreate urban fisheries in Red Deer, so it’s the first time since 2006 that we’re stocking Bower Ponds,” he said.

On June 2nd, the Association held a preliminary stocking of approximately 350 Rainbow Trout at Bower Ponds, supported by Smoky Trout Farms.

It was the result of a year of environmental testing with the City of Red Deer and the provincial government.

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This morning at Bower Ponds the Red Deer Fish & Game Association and Smoky Trout Farms completed the preliminary stocking of 350 Rainbow Trout. 1,100 more Rainbow Trout will be put in Bower Ponds on June 16 ahead of the free fishing day kids can catch event on Saturday, June 20.

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Next up, they’ll hold a primary stocking of 750 Rainbow Trout on Tuesday, June 16, with help from local Grade 6 students, before the free fishing day four days later.

“The fishing game has been around for over 100 years in Red Deer. They used to do this every year, annually, and then the floods in 2006 stopped it,” Donnelly said. “We wanted to bring that back, and we wanted to work with the city to get more urban fisheries in the city. That way, kids can just go for a bike ride and catch some trout.”

At one point, Bower Ponds used to be stocked only with trout, but after the flood, Northern Pike got into the pond.

Donnelly explained that restocking the pond is also meant to take off some of the pressure from the Red Deer River, which is fished quite frequently.

The trout were put into Bower Ponds with the intent that every fish would be caught by the fall. This is because with the urban ponds in Red Deer, the oxygen levels get low in the winter, and the fish will die.

“The goal is to stock the pond every year from now on, and Bower Ponds is our trial. We’ll then work additionally with the city and the province to test other ones. We are already working on Three Mile Bend,” he said. “That way we would have multiple stocked fisheries in the city for everyone to fish in.”

by Ian Gustafson

RDFGA restock Bower Ponds with trout ahead of free fishing day

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