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NGPC highlights hatchery upgrades and larger spring trout stocking
Summary
NGPC described a pond‑lining project at the North Platte Fish Hatchery and a larger spring trout stocking program: roughly 57,000 trout were stocked in March and a further 28,000+ are planned for April.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission told anglers on a webinar that hatchery improvements and altered production schedules are yielding larger trout for spring stockings and potentially larger stocking-size fish for anglers.
Tony Bridal, fisheries division administrator for NGPC, described a multi-year pond‑lining project at the North Platte Fish Hatchery that lines earthen ponds to conserve water and retain nutrients. Bridal said comparisons between lined and unlined ponds show early improvements in growth for walleye and saugeye in the lined ponds.
“This pond lining project … conserve[s] water, increase[s] our nutrient retention, and … provide the food in those hatchery ponds to better our production,” Bridal said.
Trout stocking: Bridal said NGPC stocked roughly 57,000 trout across 46 water bodies during March and plans to stock an additional 28,000-plus fish in April. He said staff have been raising fish to a slightly larger size this year in response to prior research and angler feedback collected via a survey posted at put-and-take trout waters and on NGPC social channels.
Production and feed: Matthew Perion, assistant administrator for fish hatcheries and production, said growth-rate differences largely reflect longer rearing and slightly higher feeding rates under favorable water-temperature conditions. “You’re feeding them more and basically have them in the hatchery for just a little bit longer,” Perion said; he added that, depending on conditions, trout can reach larger sizes in similar time frames.
Why it matters: larger fish at stocking can influence angler satisfaction and early-season fishing opportunities at put-and-take waters. NGPC encouraged anglers to review stocking updates on outdoorNebraska.gov’s fish-stocking page after stockings are completed.
Other hatchery notes: Bridal and NGPC said the hatchery system supports a statewide program that seeks to place trout across urban and community ponds to get children and novice anglers outdoors. The agency also asked anglers to participate in surveys and local youth-fishing instructor training opportunities.
