Rainbow trout coming to Lake Mendocino

<p>Lake Mendocino is being stocked with rainbow trout for the first time, creating a winter fishery at that popular destination for anglers.</p><p>About 30,000 year-old rainbow trout will be released Thursday, said Scott Harris, environmental scientist for state Department of Fish and Game.</p><p>“They are 10 to 14 inches. We want to put them out at least at half a pound, a nice size fish for someone going out for trout fishing,” Harris said.</p><p>“It is purely a put-and-take fishery. We want them to be caught; that is why they are being put in there.”</p><p>Lake Mendocino is known as a warm-water fishery with small mouth bass, large mouth bass, striped bass, catfish and carp. Those are fish that thrive in the lake during the summer.</p><p>In the winter, however, Lake Mendocino water temperatures drop to 50 degrees, which is good for trout, but can make fishing slow for the warm-water species, Harris said.</p><p>Lake Mendocino is open to fishing all year.</p><p>“The main reason for us to do this is it allows for a year-round trout fishing opportunity in Mendocino County,” Harris said.</p><p>The trout are expected to stay in the lake during the winter, but some could move into the east fork of the Russian River during the spring, when the lake gets warmer.</p><p>The trout are from the Darrah Springs Hatchery east of Redding, which raises about 800,000 fish a year to be planted in Northern California, according to hatchery manager Kevin Ceccato.</p><p>They will be planted at the Lake Mendocino south boat ramp at about 11 a.m., Harris said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.</p>