Conservation Department offers free fish for new ponds

Spring is blanketing the land, and with it come thoughts of fishing. It’s a good time, too, for owners of private ponds to apply for free fish for pond stocking from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

An application for fish to be stocked in private impoundments is available from Conservation Department offices and must be completed and returned by July 15. The offer is limited to new or fishless ponds; owners of older ponds with existing fish populations are not eligible for the free fingerlings.

Stocking farm ponds is an important program in Missouri. The Conservation Department estimates about 14 percent of all fishing trips take place on private ponds. Fish are made available for about 800 new ponds each year.

The Conservation Department provides three different combinations of fish based on which county the pond is located in. A full or 100 percent stocking rate includes 100 bass, 500 bluegill and 100 catfish per acre of water. The other two rates offer reduced numbers of fish. This is because farm ponds in counties with more fertile soil will support more fish, just as more fertile soils will produce more crops.

Distribution of bluegill and channel catfish is normally made in September, while largemouth bass are normally distributed in June of the following year. Owners of ponds 10 acres or less in size must be prepared to make two trips to a site in the county to pick up their fish when they become available. They are told how much water to bring to transport the fish.

The Conservation Department inspects a pond after the owner submits an application and determines its suitability for fish. Owners are notified of the results of the inspection in September. Landowners who are accepted for fish stocking are notified when the fish are available to be picked up.

Minimum standards for receiving the free fish fingerlings include a pond or lake that is at least 8 feet deep. The water and shoreline must be protected from livestock use, though impoundments over 5 acres need not be fenced. The dam must be constructed for permanency and water tightness and the drainage area should be adequate but not excessive for water storage. No undesirable fish, as determined by the impoundment inspector, may be present prior to stocking. Eligibility for stocking can be reevaluated after the removal of undesirable species. This may be done with approval from the Conservation Department, but costs are borne by the landowner.

A combination of largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish is provided. A largemouth bass/bluegill option only is available at the landowner’s request. Fish are young-of-the-year; sizes range from one to four inches.

Pond owners are free to choose to purchase fish from commercial sources, as authorized in the Wildlife Code. Fish purchased from commercial sources are not subject to the Wildlife Code regulations. The Conservation Department does not sell fish, but only makes them available free to qualifying landowners with new or fishless ponds.

For an application for fish for pond stocking, contact your nearest Conservation Department regional service center, or call 573-751-4115.