The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has closed the books on what it calls another successful fish stocking season. Eight different species, adding up to 672,478 fish, weighing in at nearly 13.5 tons were released into state waterways at 123 locations. DNR fish production manager Ed Eisch tells WSJM News when you add the fall fish stocking season to the spring and summer seasons, the DNR released more than 18 million fish into Michigan’s waters in 2021.
“We stock everything,” Eisch said. “We stock the Great Lakes, we stock large, small, and medium inland lakes and lots and lots of streams and rivers get stocked as well. You can actually go to our website and there’s a fish stocking database on there where you can search out, if you have a given area that you’re interested in or a specific water body that you’re interested in.”
The state has fish hatcheries in several locations with the Thompson State Fish Hatchery near Manistique accounting for the most fish in the fall season, with 349,213 fall fingerling steelhead. The Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery near Mattawan stocked 9,850 fish. Eisch says without the fish stocking program, fishing would not be as plentiful or varied.
