FWC Bream Stocking Well Underway

 

 

 

 

 

by Derek Piotrowicz

 

Bream (sunfish) stocking is in full gear at the Florida Bass Conservation Center, the state's largest freshwater fish hatchery located just south of Webster in rural Sumter County.  Thus far in 2013, the FBCC has raised and stocked 395,000 bluegill fingerlings and 90,000 redear sunfish fingerlings statewide to enhance recreational fishing. Lakes stocked in September include Pickett Lake (Lafayette County), Polk County Sheriff's Department pond, the City of Largo Community Center pond (Pinellas County), Middle Lake Fish Management Area (Pasco County), Lake Iamonia (Leon County), and Lake Miccosukee (Jefferson County). However, we are not done yet—only half of our hatchery bream ponds have been harvested and the bream stocked so far this year.

 

 

To accomplish our annual bream production, adult brood bluegill and redear sunfish were identified by sex and stocked into 7.5 acres of hatchery ponds for spawning in the spring and summer of this year.  As with most spawning ponds, we try to stock bream brood fish at a ratio of one male to every two females. We generally have several spawns each season, and this year was no exception. Just like in natural lakes, our bream spawning activity also cycles around the full-moon periods. Spawning season this year has again been very successful; we are harvesting an average of 200,000 fingerlings per acre.

The Florida Bass Conservation Center will continue stocking bream throughout the fall months. To see the full listing of our annual stocking program, we invite you to visit us at http://myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/stocking/.

 

 

So next time you are out fishing, look for our FWC stocking sign at your local waterway that says “STOCKED To Provide Future Sporting Fishing Opportunities”.  Good luck, and fish on!