Today while fishing a local river, I found another misplaced stocked trout just like last spring. Hardest lipless crank strike I've ever experienced, I knew what it was before I even saw it even though trout aren't supposed to live there. I think someone is stocking privately somewhere along the river, so I will be back with my kayak to find out! Thank you VA "navigable waters"

I didn't have a cooler with me because I was bass fishing, and didn't have time to run home before work, so I disguised it as my lunch and kept it in the fridge in the break room...

Yeah u never know in the river. What kind of rattlebait?

Very cool. I like catching fish that aren't supposed to
be stocked! For me it was a 14# striper! And she's been
spotted since, but not caught, that I know of.

That's pretty cool!  My home lake only has a few smallmouth in it, but the population is growing.  The only reason they are in there is because a guy I know illegally stocked fifty smallies a few years back that he caught out of a local river.  He even illegally made his own rock pile for the smallmouth to hang around, bringing the stones out a couple a time whenever he looked around the lake in his boat to make sure everyone else was following the rules.  The funny thing is, he works for the security and lake rules enforcement team at my lake lol.

 

3 hours ago, MassBass said:

Yeah u never know in the river. What kind of rattlebait?

A 1/4oz xcalibur in chrome sexy shad

2 hours ago, Darren. said:

Very cool. I like catching fish that aren't supposed to
be stocked! For me it was a 14# striper! And she's been
spotted since, but not caught, that I know of.

If I caught a 14 pound striper, he would suffer a similar fate to the trout

2 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

That's pretty cool!  My home lake only has a few smallmouth in it, but the population is growing.  The only reason they are in there is because a guy I know illegally stocked fifty smallies a few years back that he caught out of a local river.  He even illegally made his own rock pile for the smallmouth to hang around, bringing the stones out a couple a time whenever he looked around the lake in his boat to make sure everyone else was following the rules.  The funny thing is, he works for the security and lake rules enforcement team at my lake lol.

 

Power corrupts right?