More than 65,000 fish placed into Hope Mills Lake
By Lisa Carter Waring
Correspondent
The Watha Fish Hatchery in north Pender County recently had to clear thousands of baby fish from their tanks in preparation for a new spring hatch. As a result, Hope Mills Lake hit the jackpot.
According to wildlife officials, the hatchery had met all requests for the stocking of redear and bluegill sunfish this season, leaving thousands of surplus fish in the tanks. Hope Mills Lake was chosen as the site to deposit the extra fish.
Last Thursday, N.C. State Wildlife officials supervised the deposit of 3,296 bluegill and 62,230 redear fingerlings into Hope Mills Lake. This same type of fish was deposited in the lake earlier last fall.
The fingerlings average about 1.5 inches in length. Both the bluegill and redear are a type of bream. Redear are also known as "shellcrackers." Along with the fingerlings, 33 adult redear were released into the lake. The adult redear average about one pound apiece.
Wildlife officials say the lake remains on schedule for a deposit of bass and catfish this summer. These predator fish will spawn in April and the fingerlings should be ready to release into the lake in late May, June or early July, according to wildlife officials.
As the lake is restocked, there should be no harvesting of fish from the lake for a period of time, according to Keith Ashley, District 4 biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Commission.
Keeping with the town's fishery management plan, Ashley recommends that there should only be "catch and release" for at least a two-year period for sunfish, such as bream, and three years for the larger fish such as bass and catfish.
This will help the lake restore a natural balance of fish.
Lisa Carter Waring is a retired educator and consultant who lives in Hope Mills. She can be reached at LCart99@aol.com.