Echo Lake Stocked With Prized Trout for Opening Day Saturday

If you’re a fisherman, it’s a glorious sight to see. Hundreds of rainbow trout being stocked into your favorite fishing lake on a sunny, clear day.

This week the DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife has stocked various lakes throughout the state with hatchery-raised trout, according to a DEP press release. Over 180,000 rainbows, brown, tiger and other species of trout will be divided among 21 counties as part of the state’s annual spring trout stocking. The activities will be in preparation for one of the state’s most anticipated fishing days, Saturday, which is opening day of the trout season.

Howell residents are in for a real treat this year as their own Echo Lake was selected for a special trout stocking. According to the DEP’s press release, Echo Lake will be stocked as a “broodstock” water body which means larger trout up to 24 inches will be added in hopes of starting a healthy trout breeding lake. The lake will receive approximately 400 trout with 30 breeder trout between the size of 17- to 24-inches, according to the press release. The remaining trout will be smaller with an average size of 10 inches.

Many anglers will start fishing on Saturday after the lakes have been stocked with trout from Pequest Trout Hatchery, which raises a total of 600,000 trout each year. Anyone who wishes to fish and keep trout in the state must purchase a Trout Stamp in addition to a Freshwater Fishing License

Echo Lake, located in Howell on Maxim Southard Road, is part of Echo Lake Park. The lake was dredged about 10 years ago to make it deeper and also has a newly finished bridge area as of last week, according to local residents.  Echo Lake offers residents casual fishing for all ages with open fishing areas around the entire lake.