Walleye fishing in Michigan wouldn’t be as good as it is were it not for rearing ponds. Rearing ponds outproduce all of Michigan’s hatchery production by far, and it might be possible that they produce a better product.
“There’s no question that walleye fishing in Michigan would not be as good, nor as widespread, were it not for rearing ponds,” admitted Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologist Jason Gostiaux, who serves as co-chair of the state’s walleye committee.
The entire process for rearing walleye in the Lower Peninsula begins in April, when the MDNR collects eggs from the Muskegon River walleye.
“There are 32 rearing ponds across the state,” said Gostiaux. “Nine of them are at state hatcheries, 14 are management unit ponds, nine are co-op ponds, and 13 are used for fall fingerlings.” Over the last 10 years, the average production of the rearing ponds has been 3.1 million spring fingerlings and 46,000 fall fingerlings. Some ponds have been in operation for more than 50 years.
“Walleye reared on the ponds serve several purposes,” stated Gostiaux. “Supplemental stocking adds walleyes to lakes with limited natural recruitment, maintenance stocking provides walleyes to lakes with no natural recruitment, and the fingerlings serve as effective predator control for abundant, slow-growing panfish populations. Michigan’s walleye stocking program goes back to 1882.”
In the Lower Peninsula, the whole process begins at the Muskegon River near Newaygo in the spring. A similar operation takes place at Little Bay Ne Noc in the Upper Peninsula. Approximately 40,000 walleyes run up the Muskegon River in the spring, and MDNR personnel and volunteers are there to intercept them, collect eggs, and fertilize them with milt. The eggs are then nurtured at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery into fry, which are subsequently distributed to rearing ponds. The minuscule fry benefit from being raised in a controlled environment, growing into spring fingerlings measuring 1 to 2 inches in about 40 days. Alternatively, if left to grow into fall fingerlings, they measure 4 to 7 inches.
The Mason County Walleye Association’s rearing ponds are a state-of-the-art operation that serves as a model for other ponds across the state. Although the bounty and ultimate product of the ponds are harvested in the spring, work begins long before that. The complex comprises a seven-acre rearing pond and three food ponds. A critical feature of the ponds is that they are drainable, allowing them to be tilled, disced, or mowed, and then planted with buckwheat and oats in the fall. Soybean meal and chick starter chicken feed are broadcast across the pond, adding nutrients to the water and promoting the growth of naturally occurring algae. Plankton, in turn, eat the algae and serve as fodder for the fry when introduced to the pond.
The tiny fry, as big as a pinhead, are one to three days old when introduced to the pond in early spring. Food production in the main rearing pond is supplemented by running water rife with plankton from the three food ponds. The fry feed voraciously for 40 days and quickly evolve into one- to two-inch fingerlings, and reach a critical juncture. The fingerlings’ eyes become bigger than their stomach, and they begin to consume not only plankton but also each other. Timing is critical. Left unchecked or unharvested, the walleye harvest in the pond plummets, resulting in far fewer, but bigger, fall fingerlings.
I had a chance to observe the walleye harvest at the Mason County rearing pond in 2025. It was a huge success, with over 230,000 walleye fingerlings captured on day one from 14 fyke nets.
Day 2 produced another 58,822 fingerlings, and a third day would add to the total. After two days, the pond produced 275,228 fingerlings, representing an exceptional 69 percent survival rate. Over the 35 years the ponds have been in operation, the average survival rate was 58.5 percent. The total will increase slightly when a manual dip harvest is performed before draining the pond.
The entire process wouldn’t be possible without the volunteers who assist MDNR personnel during harvest and pond maintenance. Warm weather and strong winds didn’t hamper the harvest as much as recording the data. Rocks had to be employed to keep paperwork in place. Fingerlings are measured and weighed to estimate how productive the ponds are. Initially, more than 400,000 fry were introduced to the pond, where they feed on plankton for 40 days before being extracted.
The fingerlings were a bit on the small side this year, likely due to the colder spring and a lack of plankton. The nets not only harvest fingerlings, but a host of visitors, including a couple of species of turtles, parasitic insects, snakes, tadpoles, and other biomass.
Timing is critical to the harvest. The idea is to collect the fingerlings when they are at optimal size before they begin to parasitize each other. Only a few fingerlings were observed with other hapless brethren down their throats. Carnivorous water beetles accounted for more of the losses.
The walleye raised in the ponds benefit lakes across the northwest portion of the Lower Peninsula, and notably Hamlin Lake. If you’ve noticed better walleye fishing in recent years, you can thank the Mason County Walleye Association.
The organization relies on manpower and donations to operate effectively. If you can spend a few hours helping or want to donate to improve walleye fishing in Northwest Michigan, contact them on their Facebook page, Mason County Walleye Association.
