Idaho Fish and Game's Hagerman Wildlife Management Area opens for fishing March 1, and there will be plenty of trout available for anglers on opening day.
According to Hagerman hatchery manager Joe Chapman, Fish and Game will stock 4,350 catchable-sized trout in the various ponds on the WMA prior to the opener. That number will include some of Hagerman’s famed “banana trout.”
Clear Springs Foods, a commercial trout grower in the Hagerman Valley, is also donating some larger fish. Chapman anticipates about 400 of these broodstock rainbow trout — averaging about three pounds each — will be stocked at various locations in the Hagerman WMA by March 1. More will be stocked in other Magic Valley Region fisheries.
The Hagerman hatchery crew will continue to keep the ponds at Hagerman well stocked with catchable sized trout after the opener on March 1.
Idaho Fish and Game's Hagerman Wildlife Management Area, just south of the City of Hagerman on U.S. 30, is Idaho’s first Wildlife Management Area. It has about a dozen ponds and lakes, and amenities there include bathrooms, picnic tables, a handicap accessible dock, a fish-viewing pond, and more. Hagerman has long been a favorite destination for early season anglers thanks to its mild climate, good amenities, and ample fishing opportunity. Opening day routinely draws anglers from all over southern Idaho, and this year will likely be no different.
“This year, March 1 falls on a Sunday, so I anticipate that there are going to be a lot of people out at Hagerman,” Chapman said. “It is going to be a fun atmosphere.”
For some tips from Chapman on fishing Hagerman early in the season, and for more information on the Hagerman Wildlife Management Area, check out this video:
Chapman noted that the weather can be unpredictable at Hagerman in early March, so he advises anglers to dress warm and come prepared for any kind of weather.