Conservation Department Will Stock Ponds

[zander]

News-Leader staff • May 7, 2009

Conservation Department will stock ponds

The Missouri Department of Conservation is taking applications until July 15 from landowners who want to stock their ponds with fish.

The department stocks nearly 1 million fingerling fish in private ponds.

To qualify for Conservation Department stocking, landowners need to complete written applications. Conservation Department personnel visit each pond to be sure it meets the following requirements:

— The pond or lake must be at least 8 feet deep.

— If the pond is smaller than 5 acres, livestock must be excluded from the pond area.

— Ponds must not have existing fish populations, except for fathead minnows.

— The dam must be built for permanence and water-tightness.

Pond owners who qualify can receive bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish.

Anglers can harvest bass in most ponds by the third summer after stocking. Natural reproduction replaces bluegill and bass removed by fishing. Catfish must be restocked periodically.

Pond stocking applications can be submitted online at www.mdc.mo.gov/67.

Information on stocking options is available at www.mdc.mo.gov/10194.

Pond owners who accept fish retain full rights to control access to their ponds.

Accepting the free fish doesn't obligate them to allow fishing or other uses on their land by the public.

However, ponds stocked by the Conservation Department are subject to provisions of the Wildlife Code of Missouri. The fish can't be bought or sold, and statewide fishing regulations must be observed. Those restrictions do not apply to pond owners who buy fish from commercial sources.

[ozark trout fisher]

News-Leader staff • May 7, 2009

Conservation Department will stock ponds

The Missouri Department of Conservation is taking applications until July 15 from landowners who want to stock their ponds with fish.

The department stocks nearly 1 million fingerling fish in private ponds.

To qualify for Conservation Department stocking, landowners need to complete written applications. Conservation Department personnel visit each pond to be sure it meets the following requirements:

— The pond or lake must be at least 8 feet deep.

— If the pond is smaller than 5 acres, livestock must be excluded from the pond area.

— Ponds must not have existing fish populations, except for fathead minnows.

— The dam must be built for permanence and water-tightness.

Pond owners who qualify can receive bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish.

Anglers can harvest bass in most ponds by the third summer after stocking. Natural reproduction replaces bluegill and bass removed by fishing. Catfish must be restocked periodically.

Pond stocking applications can be submitted online at www.mdc.mo.gov/67.

Information on stocking options is available at www.mdc.mo.gov/10194.

Pond owners who accept fish retain full rights to control access to their ponds.

Accepting the free fish doesn't obligate them to allow fishing or other uses on their land by the public.

However, ponds stocked by the Conservation Department are subject to provisions of the Wildlife Code of Missouri. The fish can't be bought or sold, and statewide fishing regulations must be observed. Those restrictions do not apply to pond owners who buy fish from commercial sources.

Now I just got to build a pond, and then I'll be in business. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: