Catfish being restocked all across Indiana
Indiana Department of Natural Resources SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced Friday that it will be stocking 157 locations across the state with approximately 51,000 catfish this fall to expand angling opportunities across the state.
"All stocked channel catfish will be stocked in publicly accessible waters after being raised by state biologists at Cikana Fish Hatchery in Morgan County, Driftwood Fish Hatchery in Jackson County, and East Fork Fish Hatchery in Daviess County," DNR officials said. "All stocking locations should receive catfish by early November, with quantities subject to change due to production variables."
The catfish range in size from 8-10 inches long.
“Once stocked, they acclimate to their new environment quickly, they shouldn’t take long to start biting,” said fisheries biologist Dave Kittaka.
Local areas being stocked:
LaGrange County
- Messick Lake - 900
- Meteer Lake - 450
- Westler Lake - 1,500
- Witmer - Lake 1,420
La Porte County
- Tamarack Lake (Kingsbury FWA) - 500
Pulaski County
- 12E Pit (Jasper-Pulaski FWA) - 150
- 12W Pit (Jasper-Pulaski FWA) - 150
- East Pond (Winamac FWA) - 125
- North Pit (Jasper-Pulaski FWA) - 150
- West Pond (Winamac FWA) - 100
- Greencastle Jaycee Pond - 350
St. Joseph County
- Lake Osceola - 150
- Pinhook Lagoon - 320
A full list of locations can be found on the DNR's website.
"Anglers are required to follow bag and size restrictions. In most lakes and reservoirs, the statewide regulation is 10 channel catfish per day with no more than one being longer than 28 inches," DNR officials said.
"A few lakes have a different bag limit, and they are listed in the Fishing Guide."