Courtesy of the Minnesota DNR

MANKATO — The Minnesota DNR Fisheries staff will be releasing 3,000 rainbow trout into Hiniker Pond on Thursday at approximately 11 a.m.

The trout were produced at the DNR Lanesboro State Fish Hatchery and will be transported in a large tanker. The year-old trout will arrive into Hiniker Pond via a 75-foot stocking tube down the steep pond bank and through a hole cut in the ice.

The fish are creating a ‘put and take’ angling opportunity, which means they are stocked for anglers to harvest and enjoy; not to create a long-term trout population there. Waterville fisheries staff and the City of Mankato have been working toward this goal of a winter trout angling opportunity for more than three years.

Cameras can capture the large truck with the 75-foot-long tubing that fish will use to reach the lake. There will be a hole drilled through the ice to deliver the fish into Hiniker Pond. Cameras can also capture colorful rainbow trout before they are delivered beneath the ice. Craig Soupir will be available for on-camera interviews as well.

For more information, contact Craig Soupir at 507-497-1821.