Virginia pulls Lovill’s Creek from the trout program and delays Mint Springs Middle Lake to 2027

Virginia’s daily trout page is carrying several access changes along with Friday’s plants. The Department of Wildlife Resources says the stocked section of Lovill’s Creek in Carroll County is being permanently removed from the stocked trout program this season after recent property posting cut the water open to the public. Little Stony Creek in Scott County will not be stocked until roads reopen at the U.S. Forest Service Hanging Rock Day Use Area.

Mint Springs Middle Lake repairs are expected to finish by January 2027, and DWR trout stocking there is postponed until October 2027 so habitat and angling access can be confirmed first. Repairs at Mint Springs Upper Lake are done, and stocking for 2026–27 will go ahead once water level and temperature are suitable for public use. At Beartree Lake, dredging is nearly done and the lake is refilling depending on rain. DWR will try to stock it this season only when water conditions allow, and will shift those fish to nearby streams if it cannot. Raven Cliff Recreation Area in Wythe County stays closed to the public through early 2027 for Hurricane Helene repairs, so Cripple Creek’s allocation is going to the Collins Cove section until that work is finished.

The same daily schedule lists five Oct. 16, 2026, stockings: rainbow trout in Helton Creek in Grayson County; rainbow and brown trout in Passage Creek’s heritage-day, national-forest water in Shenandoah County; brown trout in Passage Creek’s delayed-harvest water in Warren County; rainbow and brook trout in Sugar Hollow Reservoir in Albemarle County; and rainbow trout in upper Norton Reservoir in the City of Norton. DWR says announced stockings can move for weather, equipment, or staffing. Monthly announcements now come out on the third Friday for the following month.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Virginia DWR — Daily Trout Stocking Schedule (schedule and access notes, including Oct. 16, 2026, rows).