Fall fingerling Walleye pond drawdown Bellmont Mi. and release Crystal Lake, Crystal Mi.

This past fall, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked hard to stock fish in waters across the state — fish that will provide angling opportunities in seasons to come.

The fall 2025 effort saw DNR crews stock seven different species at 76 locations throughout the state: 648,557 fish, weighing in at a total of 8.6 tons.

“This was another exceptional fall fish stocking season, enhancing fishing opportunities throughout Michigan,” said DNR fish production manager Aaron Switzer. “Combined with successful spring and summer stocking efforts, the 2025 total reached nearly 19.5 million fish stocked in Michigan’s waters.”

Seven species were stocked this fall: Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, rainbow trout (Eagle Lake and steelhead strains), walleye and muskellunge.

Dickinson County waters that received walleye fingerlings through state plants were Hamilton Lake, 554, and South Lake at the Groveland Mine Ponds, 782.

Meanwhile, walleye measuring about 6.5 inches were planted at Carney Lake, 1,150 fish, and Lake Antoine, 7,500 fish. Those plants were conducted by Wildlife Unlimited of Dickinson County working in cooperation with We Energies and Michigan DNR Fisheries. The fish were reared by Pickford-based Michigan Wholesale Walleye, whose hatchery operation consists of nine ponds and a 240-acre lake that produces an annual crop of naturally fed walleye fingerlings.

Wildlife Unlimited is working the DNR on a three-year stocking plan of larger 5- to 9-inch fingerlings rather than smaller 1- to 3-inch fish that are more susceptible to predation.

Fall plantings by the DNR in Iron County included brook trout of about 7 inches at Madelyn Lake (449), Skyline Lake (450), Spree Lake (900), Timber Lake (3,499), Deadman’s Lake (599) and Forest Lake (798). A total of 100 brook trout in the range of 16 to 17 inches were planted at Fortune Pond’s New Bristol access. Also, Deer Lake received 735 walleye fingerlings.

The number and type of fish stocked by the DNR 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 fish hatcheries that work together to produce the species, strains and sizes of fish needed by fisheries managers.

These fish must then be delivered at specific times and locations for stocking to ensure that they thrive.

In general, fish are reared in Michigan’s state fish hatcheries anywhere from one month to 1.5 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.

Fall-stocked fish also may adjust better to new environments as they are younger and more adaptable to change.

Marquette State Fish Hatchery near Marquette stocked 27,915 fall fingerlings and 250 adult brook trout that weighed a combined 3,022 pounds. These fish were stocked at a total of 27 locations in the Upper Peninsula.

Oden State Fish Hatchery near Petoskey stocked 140,366 fall fingerling rainbow trout that combined weighed 7,508 pounds and were stocked at four locations in the Upper and Lower peninsulas.

Thompson State Fish Hatchery near Manistique stocked 3,008 Great Lakes strain muskellunge that weighed 304 pounds in Lake Hudson and Thornapple Lake. Thompson also stocked 329,085 fall fingerling steelhead weighing 2,413 total pounds in six locations.

Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery west of Kalamazoo stocked 64,532 fall fingerling steelhead weighing a combined 917 pounds in Crystal Lake.

Harrietta State Fish Hatchery near Cadillac stocked 17,548 fall fingerling brown trout and 24,520 fall fingerling rainbow trout. These fish were stocked in four locations with a combined weight of 1,573 pounds.

DNR fisheries management units also stocked fall fingerling walleye this year.

Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit stocked 33,580 Muskegon strain fall fingerlings weighing 1,373 total pounds in 20 locations.

Central Lake Michigan Management Unit stocked 2,507 Muskegon strain fall fingerlings weighing 160 pounds total in three locations.

Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit stocked Little Bay de Noc with 5,211 fall fingerlings — Little Bay de Noc strain — weighing a combined 88 pounds in five locations; 2,815 of these walleye fingerlings were raised in a co-op partner pond tended by the Bay De Noc Great Lakes Sportfishermen. 

The DNR welcomes visitors to its state fish hatcheries and interpretive centers to see the fish rearing process and to learn about Michigan’s waters. For more information, go to Michigan.gov/Hatcheries.

The DNR’s fish stocking database is at michigandnr.com/fishstock/.