DNR’s urban catfish stocking program will postpone some catfish stocking scheduled for April until late September.
The urban catfish program stocks catchable-size channel catfish ranging from 14-18 inches into 10 water bodies located in designated urban areas around the state. For a list of these water bodies, see wildlife.IN.gov/7508.htm.
An estimated total of 5,000 channel catfish will be stocked this year, with 10 lakes scheduled to receive 2,000 fish in late April-early May and 1,000 fish in early June. The other 2,000 fish will be stocked in late September.
East Fork State Fish Hatchery (SFH) has extra resources available after the DNR’s cancellation of the 2020 muskie and walleye egg collection. East Fork SFH usually houses the muskie and walleye eggs and fry. The stocking of those 2,000 catfish will coincide with the third and final free fishing day of this year on Sept. 26. Because the catfish will be withheld from stocking longer, they will also be larger at the time of stocking.
For more information, visit DNR’s fish stocking website at wildlife.IN.gov/5457.htm.
