Lions Centennial Park lies along the northwest side of Highway 2A, the major local thoroughfare, as it passes through town. A long narrow park of several acres in size, it has a stocked trout pond near its northern end, stocked every spring with about 500 eight to ten inch rainbows. The rainbows come from a hatchery at Smoky Trout Pond west of Red Deer, which raises about 100,000 fish per year, primarily rainbows, brook trout and grass carp.
While there is a walking path surrounding the pond, there are two specific fishing spots, one on the southwest corner and the other on the northern edge. This last one has a small wooden wharf built out onto the water, a good place to place your easy chair as you snooze, waiting for a bite.
The pond is intended for fishing primarily by youth and seniors, but is not regulated. No boats are allowed in the pond; one must fish from the shore. We had no fishing gear aboard when we passed through Ponoka, so had to just stand on the wharf and dream.
Elsewhere in the park are a children's playground and a mini golf course, as well as a pretty big sculpture - the
World’s Largest Bucking Saddle Bronc Horse & Rider. Also in the park are an open air stage, covered picnic areas, flush toilets, barbeque pits, the stocked trout pond and a play structure. Just north of the park's northern edge is a gazebo, useful for picnicking or getting out of the rain.
Following are excerpts from a news story from 2009 detailing stocking of the pond that year.
Lions Club restocks Centennial Park
fish pond
The annual fall re-stocking was carried out recently by Max Menard from Smoky Trout Pond west of Red Deer.
By George Brown | Sep. 8, 2009
After a lazy summer of fishing, the Ponoka Lions Club has added to the rainbow trout stocks at Centennial Park.
The annual fall re-stocking was carried out last week by Max Menard from Smoky Trout Pond west of Red Deer.
Lions Club member Bob Peters, who oversees the pond, said the club adds fish to the pond every fall after a summer of heavy fishing. The provincial government stocks the pond with about 500 rainbows every spring.
“We try to promote the pond is for the elderly and for the children but we can’t restrict it,” Peters said.
Menard delivered about 185 eight- to 10-inch rainbow trout that were hatched last October. “We get about one inch to one and a half inches per month of growth on them.”
The fish could use another month or two of growth but the majority put into the pond are ready for the frying pan.
Smoky Trout Pond raises about 100,000 fish per year; primarily rainbows, brook trout and grass carp. Fish moved and stocked into ponds by Menard have a nearly 100 per cent success rate, especially if the pond’s oxygen content is high.
The oxygen level in the Centennial Park pond was acceptable — about five to six parts per million. The quality of oxygen would be less at lower depths.
The fish pond could benefit from additional aeration to help fish over-winter, Menard said. As the pond gets older, it contains less oxygen.
From the Ponoka News