MANOR, Texas — The Neighborhood Fishin’ Program is cutting out barriers to fish in Texas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) stocks ponds with fish so that you don’t have to go far to find dinner.

Right now, ponds across Texas are being stocked with rainbow trout because they can handle the colder water. They’re meant to be fished and eaten because as soon as the water gets warm, they won’t do well. 

“We’re giving them the opportunity to fish for something that they would normally not find in Texas,” said Mukhtar Farooqi, a fisheries biologist with TPWD. 

When it starts to heat up, TPWD will fill the ponds with catfish instead.

As soon as the first bucket of fish was dumped into Kingfisher Pond in Manor, Texas, in early December, Rob Chambers was the first fisherman to catch a rainbow trout. He zipped it up in his cooler and said he was taking it home to eat. He drove down to Manor from Round Rock for the stocking.

“I've come out several times,” he said. "I love it."

Kingfisher Lake gets about 225 fish every two weeks. Jerry and Trent Melber were nearby at Bullfrog Pond, which gets half as many fish. The Austin-born brothers are fishing buddies for life.

“We’ve been fishing ever since we were knee-high to a grasshopper,” Jerry said. “Years and years.” 

Although the Melber brothers enjoy eating other fish, catching rainbow trout is just for fun.

“We just catch ‘em and release ‘em,” Jerry said.

Trent goes fishing just about every other Friday when the fish are stocked in the ponds. He knows when they’re arriving and he gets his fishing pole out before they’re even released into the water.

“Kids nowadays, all they want to do is get behind a video game, screens, [and] not get out and enjoy the outdoors,” he said. “It’s important to pass it on.”

Farooqi said TPWD has seen an increase in fishing license sales during the pandemic. People 17 and older must have a license to fish in ponds and lakes around the state, except in state parks where you'd pay an entrance fee.

"There has been an uptick in a lot of the recreational outdoor activities," he said. "On the fisihing side, we've seen the license sales go up really high as more and more people think, 'We've got the time and we need to get out.'" 

There are 18 ponds across the state that are stocked every other week through the Neighborhood Fishin' Program. Farooqi said TPWD is hoping to add more ponds and lakes to the list in the future. In part, funding for the program comes from selling fishing licenses. To find a pond near you, visit the TPWD website.

Follow Charlotte Scott on Twitter.