If you are planning to stock your pond with trout and will be transporting and releasing them yourself, you should observe several precautions and follow the steps outlined below to insure the survival of your fish during this critical operation. Rapid changes in water temperature of 10 degrees or more, careless handling, or small traces of chlorine may be fatal to your trout. Copper and galvanized metals are poisonous to trout and should not come in contact with water used for them. You will need large containers to handle your fish. Ten gallon milk cans or large plastic garbage pails are well suited.
Fill cans half full of water.
Use non-chlorinated water. It is preferable to take water from your pond or a clean stream. Water drawn from a home supply may have passed through copper or galvanized pipes or may be chlorinated and, therefore, could be harmful to the trout. Check temperature of water with a fahrenheit thermometer when filling cans and again before putting fish in them. On extremely hot days or on long hauls, you may need to cool the water with ice.