Since 1960, adult brown trout collected from spawning runs have been used to supplement some lake fisheries within Tasmania with poor or highly variable recruitment. This fisheries management strategy has at times, been favoured over hatchery stockings due to the highly variable returns resulting from fry or fingerling releases. However, following the closure of the primary trout hatchery operated by the Tasmanian government, this strategy has become the main method of stocking small to medium sized trout fisheries. Previously, there has been limited assessment of this strategy, other than via angler catch details, mainly collected by a relict postal survey conducted since 1986. There has been no formal examination of growth or survival. A series of fishery assessments conducted at Penstock Lagoon between 2013 – 2018, has helped shed some light on this subject. The information collected suggests the strategy has merit, but fine tuning is needed to optimise returns to meet key fishery performance indicators.