The Department of Natural Resources worked hard this past fall to stock fish in waters across Michigan — fish that will provide anglers with more opportunities in seasons to come. The fall 2024 effort saw DNR crews stock seven different species at 78 locations throughout the state; in all, 590,504 fish, weighing in at 10.7 tons, were added to Michigan waters.
“It was another exceptional fall fish stocking season, enhancing fishing opportunities throughout Michigan,” said DNR Fish Production Program manager Aaron Switzer. “Combined with our successful spring and summer stocking efforts, that brings the total for 2024 to more than 9.7 million fish stocked in Michigan’s waters.”
The number and type of fish stocked vary by hatchery, as each facility’s ability to rear fish differs due to water supply and temperature. In Michigan, there are six state and three cooperative hatcheries that work together to produce the species, strain and size of fish needed by fisheries managers. These fish must then be delivered at a specific time and location for stocking to ensure their success.
In general, fish are reared in Michigan’s state fish hatcheries anywhere from one month to 1 1/2 years before they are stocked. Most fish in Michigan are stocked in the spring, but some fish are stocked in the fall because they require less time and fewer resources to rear in hatcheries, and may adjust better to new environments as they are younger and more adaptable to change.
Seven species were stocked this fall: Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, rainbow trout (Eagle Lake and steelhead strains), walleye and muskellunge.
- Marquette State Fish Hatchery (near Marquette) stocked 28,403 fall fingerling and 606 adult brook trout that weighed a combined 1,835 pounds. These fish were stocked at a total of 30 locations in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette also stocked 425 adult lake trout that weighed 1,169 pounds at two locations in the Upper Peninsula.
- Platte River State Fish Hatchery (near Traverse City) stocked one location in Lake Huron with 30,000 Atlantic salmon weighing 991 pounds.
- Oden State Fish Hatchery (near Petoskey) stocked 82,000 fall fingerling brown trout that weighed 4,494 pounds and 82,919 rainbow trout that weighed 2,681 pounds. These fish were stocked at four locations in the Upper and Lower peninsulas.
- Thompson State Fish Hatchery (near Manistique) stocked 47,014 Great Lakes strain muskellunge that weighed 5,410 pounds at 20 locations in the Upper and Lower peninsulas.
- Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery (west of Kalamazoo) stocked 1,578 Great Lakes strain muskellunge fall fingerlings that weighed 198 pounds at five locations. Wolf Lake also stocked 300,891 fall fingerling steelhead weighing 3,379 pounds in three locations.
DNR fisheries management units also stocked fall fingerling walleye this year.
- The Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit stocked 7,030 Muskegon strain fall fingerlings weighing 518 pounds in seven locations.
- The Central Lake Michigan Management Unit stocked 2,205 Muskegon strain fall fingerlings weighing 200 pounds in four locations.
- The Lake Erie Management Unit stocked Lakeville Lake with 2,082 Muskegon strain fall fingerlings weighing 136 pounds.
- The Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit stocked Little Bay de Noc with 5,351 fall fingerlings (Little Bay de Noc strain) weighing 478 pounds in five locations.
The DNR welcomes visitors to its state fish hatcheries and interpretive centers to witness firsthand the fish rearing process and to learn about Michigan’s waters. For more information or to plan your trip, visit Michigan.gov/Hatcheries.
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