During May 2020 we carried out a major survey of the fish population at Four Springs Lake to assess the trout population. This information along with past stockings numbers and angler catch information collected since 1999, have been assessed and reported. A final report is now available on the IFS website at: About Us - Publications - Fishery Performance Assessment Reports.

Additionally, our hard working compliance staff have been out collecting some interesting creel data from fishers at Four Springs Lake. Since the start of the season, 675 fishers have been checked at Four Springs. Of these, 383 had been fishing for one or more hours, while the remainder were just about to start fishing or had only just commenced. The average time spent fishing by these fishers was 4 hours.

Of the 383 fishers interviewed, they caught 326 brown trout and 132 rainbow trout.  Table 1 below shows the number of brown trout caught and kept, the number of sized fish caught and released, and the number of undersized fish returned.

The most successful methods catching 3 or more fish in a single fishing session were, spinning with hard bodied lures and soft plastics, especially in the first two months of the season. Later, towards the end of 2020, other methods such as fly fishing with wets and dry flies became more successful although hard bodies and soft plastics still held their own.  

Table 1: Creel information (383 fishers), Four Springs Lake, August to December 2020

	Brown trout	Rainbow trout
Caught & kept	219	34
Caught & released (sized fish)	103	73
Caught & released (under sized)	4	25
Total	326	132