The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (GFC) has two hatcheries in Florida. Richloam Hatchery, in Sumter County, is the production facility. This spring the 76 ponds, which encompass 55 acres of water, were used to produce 1.5 million fish of eight species for stocking fresh waters throughout Florida. The GFC’s second hatchery, the smaller Blackwater Fisheries Research and Development Center, in Santa Rosa County, is responsible for enhancing hatchery technology and supplemental production.

An estimated 2.1 million striped bass fingerlings, from Richloam, were stocked into the St. Johns River along with 241,000 hybrid striped bass in 1996. Chuck Starling, the hatchery manager, reports "the 1996 striper stocking nearly doubles any produced by the hatchery in a single year, since the program began in 1972." These fish now exceed 14 inches, and Fred Cross, the St. Johns River project leader, says they are already being caught and next summer should be an outstanding year for four to six pound stripers. These fish may reach 20 pounds in Florida, where high water temperature prevents them from reaching sizes found in more northern climates.

For now, grass shrimp, shad, shiners and eels produce the best results. Fish are still concentrated in cool water refuges, such as the Croaker Hole in Little Lake George. Soon ambient water temperatures will allow stripers to spread out from the springs, and anglers will need to work a little harder to find them. During fall and winter, popular fishing areas are bombing range pilings and jetties on Lake George, or bridge pilings along the river.

Channel catfish are also produced by GFC hatcheries and stocked primarily in urban ponds (Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, and the Palm Beach-Miami area) and GFC-managed impoundments in the panhandle. Catfish stocking allows these areas to handle up to 2,000 hours of angling per acre per year. When you consider that most natural water bodies only experience about 30-50 hours per acre per year, you can see why hatchery supplementation is essential. Most anglers use worms, crickets or dough balls to fish for catfish that concentrate around GFC fish feeders and attractors. Just look for the GFC and Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration logos.

Largemouth bass and bream (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish) generally are such proficient spawners that, if habitat is adequate, supplemental stocking is not necessary. Historically, bass have been difficult to raise because they refuse most artificial foods. Consequently, almost all of the stockings were of fingerling fish about 1-inch long, and they did not survive adequately to improve fishing. However, breakthroughs at Blackwater have made rearing bigger bass on artificial feed feasible. These fish have been stocked to determine if this is a cost-effective way of supplementing bass fisheries.

Richloam Hatchery also produces triploid grass carp to help manage aquatic plants in public fishing areas, such as urban ponds and at the hatcheries. Together with the Blackwater facility, they help ensure quality fishing in Florida.