Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2018 - 55

Channel Catfish egg mass

How do we raise Channel Catfish?

to them to provide nutrients for the first 5 to 6 days. When
the yolk sac is completely absorbed, the fish will begin
swimming and searching for food. The staff at the hatchery
start these fish on small amounts of high protein dry fish
food. These small Channel Catfish are then distributed
between the Linesville State Fish Hatchery, Union City State
Fish Hatchery and Pleasant Mount State Fish Hatchery for
grow out.
All three facilities are constantly trying new methods to
grow fish to a stockable size, which is generally about 3- to
5-inches by fall. The focus is always on how to raise these
fish in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, while
providing anglers with fish that give the best opportunity
to expand fishing opportunities. Some of these fish are
stocked into ponds where food is available daily. Some
fish are raised in large concrete tanks or raceways where
feed is distributed by automatic feeders. In the last 3 years,
PFBC has annually stocked an average of 118,000 Channel
Catfish. These fish are annually distributed to 35 to 40 lakes
across Pennsylvania.
If you have children interested in fishing, if you have
been thinking about getting back into fishing or if you are
an avid angler for other species, I encourage you to give
Channel Catfish fishing a try. Take a look at the list of lakes
below where PFBC Fisheries Biologists have identified the
largest populations of Channel Catfish. Channel Catfish
are managed as "panfish" in all Pennsylvania waters, which
means there is no closed season and no minimum size. You
can keep up to 50 fish per day. Some of these fish get quite
large, and one or two fish provide a great meal. The current
Pennsylvania State Record Fish was caught in the Lehigh
Canal, Northampton County, and weighed a whopping
35-pounds, 3-ounces. Visit www.fishandboat.com for
information on upcoming catfish festivals.

In early June, when the water temperatures sustain in
the upper 60s to lower 70s, staff at the Linesville State Fish
Hatchery start collecting Channel Catfish eggs. The Linesville
State Fish Hatchery has four, 1-acre ponds that hold adult
Channel Catfish. When the timing is right, Fish Culturists
place 10 to 12 spawning structures in each of these ponds.
These spawning structures are constructed from 20-gallon
plastic jars with the open end covered with plywood. Then,
the plywood is cut to give the Channel Catfish a small
half-moon-shaped opening to enter the jar. Fish Culturists
check these structures for eggs once every 3 days, because
these eggs hatch in only 5 to 6 days from being laid at typical
temperatures. When the eggs are found, the eggs are in a
sticky egg mass-not a pile of loose individual eggs. The
slimy clump of eggs are about the size of a thick
10-inch pancake. Egg masses are removed from
Pennsylvania Lakes with Abundant Channel Catfish Populations
the structures and placed into a cooler that is
designed to keep each egg mass separate. Once all
LAKE
COUNTY
the egg masses have been collected for a given day,
Blue Marsh Lake
Berks
the coolers of eggs are transported to the hatch
Crooked Creek Lake
Armstrong
house for incubation.
Foster Joseph Sayers Lake
Centre
When the eggs are brought into the hatch
Green Lick Reservoir
Fayette
house, each egg mass is weighed before it is
Lake
Arthur
Butler
placed into a container with a solution to dissolve
Lake
Galena
Bucks
the "gooey" part of the egg mass. Once dissolved,
Lake Luxembourg
Bucks
the individual eggs are separated from each other.
Lake Nockamixon
Bucks
This allows hatchery staff to measure the size
of the eggs and inventory the amount of eggs in
Lake Redman
York
each mass. On average, these egg masses weigh
Lake Wallenpaupack
Pike
just under 11/2-pounds and contain about 16,000
Loyalhanna Lake
Westmoreland
eggs. The eggs are placed into egg battery jars
Octoraro Lake
Chester/Lancaster
with flowing water for incubation.
Ontelaunee Lake
Berks
The eggs are left in the jars until hatching is
Pymatuning
Reservoir
Crawford
complete. Then, fry are moved to small, circular
Shenango River Lake
Mercer
fiberglass tanks that are about 10-inches deep.
Struble
Lake
Chester
The freshly-hatched fry have a yolk sac attached
www.fishandboat.com 		

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2018

55
http://www.fishandboat.com http://www.fishandboat.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2018
