Hagerman offers good early season fishing for giant trout

By Roger Phillips, Idaho Fish and Game public information specialist Idaho Fish and Game's Hagerman Wildlife Management Area opens for fishing March 1, and anglers are in for some big surprises. Clear Springs Foods in nearby Buhl donated hundreds of trophy-sized trout averaging about 6 pounds, and Fish and Game will stock another 5,000 catchable trout at the WMA before the opener. "This is going to be a great year to catch big fish, the best year in the 21 years I've been here," said Joe Chapman, Hagerman hatchery manager. "If you want to catch fish, this is the place to come." Clear Springs Foods and Idaho Trout Company, two commercial trout growers in the Hagerman Valley, donated 12,000 pounds of the trout (approximately 2,000 fish based on a 6-pound average), which have been planted in the ponds on the WMA and throughout Magic Valley waters. "Where ever you fish, you're going to have the opportunity to catch a big one," Chapman said. "I am confident there are some 10-pound fish out there." He also pointed out that if an angler wants to get his or her name into Fish and Game's new catch-and-release state records that started this year, they will have a good opportunity to land one at the WMA. Hagerman has long been a favorite destination for early season anglers thanks to its mild climate, scenic beauty and excellent fishing amenities. The WMA has about a dozen ponds and lakes along with bathrooms, picnic tables, handicap accessible dock, fish-viewing pond, and more. Opening day takes on a festive atmosphere as families spend the day fishing and relaxing. Anglers will also see better fishing access and fishing conditions at Riley Pond on the WMA. Last year, Fish and Game hired a contractor to excavate silt that had accumulated over 50 years. Excavation created a deep-water trench from the pond's shoreline to about 30 yards out that created excellent fish habitat that's easily accessible for shore anglers. Chapman and his crew at the hatchery will continue to keep the ponds at Hagerman well stocked after the opener on March 1. Riley Pond will be stocked weekly and others stocked every other week with catchable rainbow trout. On top of that, Fish and Game staff removed carp from Anderson 3, Anderson 4, and Riley ponds last year, which completed a five-year effort to remove carp from the Hagerman WMA ponds. They will be transplanting largemouth bass into these three ponds this spring to begin rebuilding those warmwater fisheries. Bass and bluegill populations plummeted after carp appeared at the WMA about 15 years ago. Chapman said juvenile carp out-compete largemouth bass and bluegill for food, so biologists wanted to see if they can restore them by eliminating carp from the ponds. Largemouth bass and bluegill have already been restocked in all other Hagerman WMA ponds, and biologists will evaluate how successful the fish are re-establishing themselves. It may take a few years, but they hope to once again create quality bluegill and bass fisheries on the WMA to provide more opportunity for anglers. If you don't want to wait until March, Fish and Game has also stocked some of those donated lunker trout in other Magic Valley waters. Places include Dierkes Lake, Filer Ponds, Crystal Lake, Dog Creek Reservoir, Empire Pond #1, Emerald Lake and Connor Pond by Burley. "We tried to stock as many waters as we could that weren't frozen," Chapman said. There are also many places in the Hagerman Area that are open for fishing year round. You can check them out by looking at the current fishing regulations booklet, or go to http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/.