The real reason behind stocking these bigger trout is because they draw bigger crowds of people. Plain and simple. Money walks and well you know the rest.... Lake Poway was the first lake in San Diego to start branching out to different private hatcheries and stumbled upon the bigger Tailwalkers after a few other different choices. If you were a trout fisherman, what would you want? A limit that weighs 4 pounds or a limit that commonly weigh over 20 pounds? That was a lot of the driving force behind the decision of switching to these trout.

Its funny though because the fish still respond to the stocking truck like they used to when the smaller trout were stocked even though it only brings big trout nowadays that they can't eat. They hear the beeping of the truck in reverse and stack up near the loading ramp and sit there patiently. When the trout get dumped, they will chase them, but they can't eat them. I saw a dying 12 pound trout on the surface get hit probably 15 times from bass that were all under 4 pounds. They were just fired up on all of the fish activity and new scents. Also when the trout are stocked there is an oil slick of their slime coats that sits in the water and gets the bass all fired up, but they just can't eat these new big fish and just chase them for the most part. Like I mentioned before, these Tailwalker trout are WAY more active and alert than the DFG fish, making them even harder for a big bass to have an interest in. They are incredibly quick and fight very hard and to a big bass are probably too much of a hassle to pursue with minimal rewards.

Poway is not unique in regards to the issues we are facing with "trophy trout." More and more lakes are switching over to private hatcheries and bigger fish and the bass populations are changing right before our eyes. It is sad to see a pathetic, retarded fish such as a stocked trout have more significance in a fishery than trophy bass, but to each his own I guess.

Fortunately for Lake Poway, there are no endangered or threatened frogs in the area so that won't prevent trout stockings; hopefully! The real concern is battling with these pesky Quaggas. Those little mollusks are the spawn of Satan.