Outdoor notebook: KDWPT announces new Walk-In Fishing Area near Beloit; Arkansas adds tiger trout

A new Walk-In Fishing Area is being added near Beloit, giving anglers of all ages the opportunity to fish a public spot free of charge.

The 6-acre pond is located just off the blacktop approximately 5 miles west of Beloit on Main Street and has shoreline access around much of the pond.

The pond was stocked on May 15 after going dry several years ago, with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism adding 150 pounds of channel catfish, as well as 800 adult bluegill, 160 intermediate largemouth bass and 9 pounds of fathead minnows, according to district fisheries biologist Scott Waters.

Anglers will be able to harvest many of the catfish and bluegill immediately, while the largemouth bass are still several years away from reaching the 18-inch minimum length limit, according to Waters.

The property will be open from March 1 to Oct. 31 and includes a small parking area on the east side of the blacktop near the main entrance. Small carry-in boats, kayaks and float tubes are allowed.

Creel and length limits for the pond are as follows:

• Largemouth bass must be 18 inches in length. The daily creel limit is two.

• Channel catfish must be 15 inches, with a daily creel limit of two.

• There is no length or creel limit for bluegill, but selective harvest in encouraged.

WIFA atlases and maps can be found online and at most sporting goods stores, as well as at all KDWPT offices.

For more information, contact Waters at 785-545-3345.

Arkansas to stock tiger trout hybrid

Some interesting news for those of you in the southeastern part of Kansas: the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will be stocking tiger trout for the first time in Arkansas this summer.

About 2,500 tiger trout, a hybrid of brown and brook trout that are typically stocked on the West Coast, will be stocked in the Bull Shoals Catch-and-Release area below Bull Shoals Dam as an experiment. The fingerlings were acquired via a trade from a hatchery in Wyoming in exchange for channel catfish and crappie and grown at the Jim Hinkle/Spring River State Fish Hatchery to a length of 10 to 12 inches, according to a report by Jim Harris, of Arkansas Wildlife Magazine.

The drive from Pittsburg to Bull Shoals Lake is just under four hours, meaning a daytrip is within reach for this unique trout. The trip isn't that much longer from Topeka at between 5 1/2 and 6 hours, depending on which route you take.