Walleye eggs are collected and fertilized on-site in the spring at state lakes and rivers. The fertilized eggs are then transferred to the hatchery.
Saugeye are a hybrid produced by fertilizing female walleye eggs with male sauger sperm. To produce saugeye, walleye eggs are collected in the spring from state lakes. At the hatchery, the eggs are fertilized using sauger that are collected from the Ohio River and held at the hatchery. After three weeks in incubation jars, walleye and saugeye fry hatch into rearing troughs where their yolk sac provides nutrition for the first week of life. Once they absorb their yolk sac, fry are transferred to outdoor ponds where they feed on plankton (microscopic animals). After 30 - 40 days in hatchery ponds, fingerlings are stocked into inland lakes.
Yellow perch reproduce naturally in hatchery ponds by laying their eggs on submerged trees. After hatching, fry feed on zooplankton until they reach about two inches in length, at which time they are stocked into Ohio lakes. To increase the amount of food available to walleye, saugeye, and yellow perch fry, hatchery ponds are fertilized to promote growth of plankton.
Largemouth bass breeding adults are stocked into hatchery ponds that have gravel-spawning beds. Once the water temperature approaches 65°F in the spring, these bass will spawn.
After hatching, the fry are collected and transferred to ponds (without adults) at a rate of 15,000 per acre. Adult fathead minnows are often stocked in these ponds before the bass fry, and the minnow fry produced are then available to the bass as food. By fall, the bass will be three to five inches and ready to be stocked into public fishing lakes being rehabilitated.
Bluegill breeding adults are stocked in hatchery ponds in the spring. These fish will spawn from late spring through mid-summer. The newly hatched bluegill feed on zooplankton and aquatic insects throughout the summer. By fall, they have reached a length of two to three inches and are ready to be stocked into public fishing lakes being rehabilitated.
Channel catfish production starts in the summer using adult breeders kept at the hatchery. Adult fish deposit their eggs in 10-gallon containers placed on the bottoms of the hatchery ponds. The eggs are then brought indoors for incubation, and hatch in about a week. The newly hatched catfish are then placed in hatchery ponds and fed a formulated diet until they are about 12 inches in length (yearlings). In the fall, channel catfish are stocked into selected lakes throughout Ohio.
What is raised previous
Hatcheries Main