| MCKINNEY
LAKE STATE FISH HATCHERY (Richmond County)
 Located
in Hoffman between Southern Pines and Rockingham, the McKinney Lake State
Fish Hatchery is a warmwater hatchery featuring 23 ponds covering more
than 18 acres of water. This hatchery is used primarily for growing fingerling-sized
(3-4 inches) channel catfish to harvestable size (8-12 inches) for the
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's Community
Fishing Program. It works in conjunction with the Watha State Fish
Hatchery near Wilmington to provide monthly stockings of channel catfish
from April through September at 30 Community Fishing Program sites statewide.
History
In the past, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operated the McKinney
Lake Hatchery and produced striped bass and other warmwater fish species
at this facility. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission leased the facility
in 1996 and began stocking channel catfish from the McKinney Lake Hatchery
in March 1998.
Hatchery
Operations
Channel catfish are spawned at the Watha Hatchery, and the fry are raised
there until they reach "fingerling" size (3-4 inches). These
fingerling channel catfish are then transported to the McKinney Lake Hatchery
where employees feed and care for the fish in 0.8-acre ponds for about
one year until they reach the "harvestable" size range (8-12
inches). These harvestable-size channel catfish are stocked regularly
(usually monthly) into 23 of the 30 lakes that are included in the Commission's
Community Fishing Program. Catfish for the remaining seven lakes are provided
by the Watha Hatchery.
Stocking
Operations
Beginning in April, channel catfish are collected from the ponds and stocked
into Community Fishing Program across the state based on the Community
Fishing Program Stocking Schedule that can also be found on this website.
Using large nets called "seines",
hatchery employees collect the catfish and move them into spring-fed tanks
in a holding house. From these tanks, the catfish are stocked into Community
Fishing Program lakes over the course of several days. The catfish are
not fed several days prior to harvesting and stocking. Anglers at Community
Fishing Program lakes know that as soon as these catfish are stocked,
they cooperate readily when presented with an enticing worm, chicken liver
or other catfish bait.
Additional
Information
In addition to the 23 ponds designated for channel catfish rearing, the
McKinney Lake State Fish Hatchery has another pond on site that is reserved
for an annual children's fishing day. The public is welcome to tour the
hatchery during normal working hours, 8a.m. - 4p.m., on weekdays. Free,
30-minute tours for groups of 15 or more can be arranged by calling ahead
and scheduling a tour with hatchery personnel. For more information,
write
to McKinney Lake State Fish Hatchery, 220 McKinney Lake Road, Hoffman,
N.C. 28347 or call (910) 895-5330.
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WATHA
STATE FISH HATCHERY (Pender County)
 Located
in Pender County between Burgaw and Penderlea, the Watha State Fish Hatchery
is a warmwater hatchery featuring 43 ponds covering more than 45 acres
of water. It is used to produce channel catfish, largemouth bass, striped
bass, Bodie bass (striped bass hybrids), bluegill sunfish, redear sunfish,
redbreast sunfish, hybrid sunfish and American shad for stocking public
waters across the entire state of North Carolina. The Watha Hatchery works
in conjunction with the McKinney Lake State Fish Hatchery near Rockingham
to provide monthly stockings of channel catfish from April through September
at 30 Community Fishing Program
sites statewide.
History
The Watha Hatchery was formerly a commercial hatchery operated as the
Cape Fear Fish Farm. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission purchased
this facility in 1992 and began stocking sportfish from the Watha Hatchery
in March 1992.
Hatchery
and Stocking Operations
The Watha Hatchery stocks 18 reservoirs annually with striped bass and
Bodie bass (striped bass hybrids). In addition, two coastal rivers, the
Tar and the Neuse, receive annual stockings of striped bass from the Watha
Hatchery. Seven of the thirty Community Fishing Program lakes receive
channel catfish stockings from Watha, and other public bodies of water
receive largemouth bass and various sunfish from Watha. Over the last
two years, the hatchery has begun stocking American shad fry into the
Roanoke River. Watha personnel stocked about 50,000 shad fry in the Roanoke
River in 1999. More than 308,000 were stocked in the Roanoke river this
spring.
Additional
Information
For more information on the Watha State Fish Hatchery, please call (919) 283-5099. The address is 4945 Shiloh Road, Watha, N.C. 28471.
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McKinney
Lake State Fish Hatchery
Watha
Hatchery