Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Pickerel

I recently searched for fish farms/hatcheries that raised pickerel and didn't find any. All I found was an aquarium supply outfit that sells pickerel of the 3 species for aquariums, other people who were looking for a source of pickerel for pond stocking. I contacted a number of hatcheries about why they didn't raise pickerel, and those that answered me said there is no market for them. And that left me wondering if there really is no market (there must be some market, since people are looking for them), or if fish farmers simply don't realize there is a market. If there is no market, I wonder why. It seems to me that chain pickerel would be a useful addition to some private ponds and lakes, and a useful top predator to others. Chain pickerel occupy about the same place in the food chain as black bass, but they differ from bass is significant ways. One important difference is that they hit at times and on days when bass aren't hitting. And they hit during the winter winter when bass aren't active. They like cooler and clearer water than LMB and shallower, weedier water than SMB. And they can coexist successfully in the same pond or lake as SMB.

Would you share the aquarium suppliers of chain pickerel? I would also like some (as a top predator in a pond that I hope to have built next summer). I would grow some in an aquarium first.

RAH, come on down to N. La and chunk some spinner baits of cranks around, the Chain Pickerel will show up, some up to maybe 4lbs

Tracy

This looks like the place.

http://www.aquaculturestore.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1

The prices have gone up since I looked at their page a couple months ago. I think they were either $15 something or $17 something each then. Whew!

Thank you - Very pricey!

It's a puzzle to me that no commercial hatchery raises them. Some hatchries in OH raised them for years, starting in around 1938, I think, but they stopped years ago. I'm sure there is some demand, and if just one hatchery raised them, they'd have the market cornered. They aren't on the list of approved species in MO, even though they are native in the southern part of the State, so they can't be raised or sold here. That, too, is somewhat of a puzzle. They stock muskies in a lake less than 20 mi from me, but chain pickerel aren't allowed. I've never heard of pickerel, particularly chain pickerel, which seem to be very popular in the North East and southeastern Canada, becoming a nuissance, although some people don't like them. But there's nothing that someone doesn't like. I knew some walleye fishermen from WI who had a strong dislike of trout.

Maybe they are hard to raise at high density?