Why Stock Trout in Your Pond?

If you stock, say, an average 300 trout each year in your dugout, it will cost about $525 (6 to 8” trout @ $1.75 per fish). If only 250 fish survive till late fall or early winter, they could easily reach the one pound or better mark. Trout in the stores are selling for, around $5 a pound. Now you’ve added more than double value to your production, without any input costs.

But the specialists recommend that you aerate your pond and you might need to supplementary feed your fish. So, let’s say you required a bag of fish feed during the summer. This increases your costs another $40. And what about costs for electricity to the aerator; this could be anywhere from $5 to $13 per month, depending on the make, model and horsepower of the air pump. For the whole year’s electricity, perhaps add another $60 to $160. Now your fish are costing just over $700, still only about half the cost of buying trout from the supermarket. However, you have gained a supply of healthy rainbow trout, grown on your own property and harvested fresh at your convenience. At the same time you get to enjoy the outdoor air, keeping yourself active, and sharing in the camaraderie of fishing with grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Could you set a cost on recreational pond fishing, say, similar to golfing, bowling or fitness clubs? Can you set a price on your granddaughter’s smile, as she’s yelling to you “there’s a monster fish on my line,” as she finally lands her first fish? Some people even value their fish so much that they never go fishing, have names for each one of their trout and have a stroll each evening out to the pond to feed them! Is there a better remedy … to ease the tensions so typical of today’s daily life?

Yes, the economics show that you won’t lose money by stocking a few hundred fish in your pond. In fact, if you choose the fish as a table-ready baked trout or pan-fried or simply just smoked, you win in the pocket book by growing your own.