Rainbow Lake

Fishing and stocking

Trout water; 5 stockings on the 2026 record, spread March to October. A 11-acre reservoir, and one of 8 stocked waters on the Frederick County record.

Frederick County · Maryland · see it on the national map

last stocked Oct 16 7 days ago

best window 10:09 pm-12:09 am solunar major today

5 stockings 2026

4,050 fish reported

11 acres (NHD)

The year here

stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details

What swims here

Trout 5 stockings

Stocking record 2026

Agency feed checked today.

Date	Species	Size	Fish	Status
Mar 1mo	Trout	catchable	1,000	stocked
Mar 12	Trout	catchable	1,000	completed
Apr 1mo	Trout	catchable	800	stocked
Apr 14	Trout	catchable	800	completed
Oct 16	Trout	catchable	450	completed

When to fish Rainbow Lake

	Major periods (~2 h)	Minor periods (~1 h)
Today	9:47-11:47 am and 10:09 pm-12:09 am	4:03-5:03 am and 4:19-5:19 pm
Tomorrow	10:32 am-12:32 pm and 10:57 pm-12:57 am	5:11-6:11 am and 4:44-5:44 pm

Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Eastern Time (EDT).

What the record actually says

Stocked 7 days ago (Oct 16)

Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Maryland fishing forecast

Gear for this water

Stocked within the last three weeks: fish are still bunched near the release points and keyed on familiar smells.

For the trout (trout stocked 5 times here in 2026, stillwater)

Slip bobber and jig	1/32 oz marabou jig or waxworm suspended at cruising depth
Ultralight spinning rod	6 to 7 ft ultralight, 4 lb line; long casts from the bank
Dough bait rigs	floating dough bait 18 inches above a small egg sinker; hatchery fish know the smell

Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.

Nearby stocked waters

The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.

Water	Distance	Most recent
Friends Creek	2.4 mi	May 11
Cunningham Falls Lake	6.2 mi	Oct 13
Owens Creek	8.6 mi	May 11
Little Pipe Creek	9.1 mi	Apr 17
Marsh Creek PA	9.3 mi	Apr 27

Follow Frederick County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule

Records from Maryland DNR (official page). Placement from USGS GNIS and the National Hydrography Dataset. Schedules change without notice. Seasons, limits, and licenses: Maryland fishing regulations.