Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Alewife and Blueback Herring

Does anyone know of a hatchery where I can purchase these two species for stocking in my lake? I don't want to stock Gizzarrd Shad for fear of overpopulation and/or growing too large, and Threadfin won't survive this far north. Golden shiners don't seem to reproduce fast enough and/or in great enough numbers.

I believe those are big water fish, I don't know where to get them. I can't remember ever seeing them in a small BOW.

The next question is how big is your lake?

I'm not aware of any hatcheries in the U.S. that carry either species, and I used to have a list of all hatcheries and what species they carry in a publication called The Aquaculture's Buyer's Guide. Not sure if the magazine or publication is even in existence anymore.

The only way you would probably get your hands on alewives is to remove some from Lake Michigan (and Indiana waters only) as any fish moved from another Great Lakes state requires VHS testing, but they are:

1.) Not on the list of approved species (therefore a permit would be needed if it would be granted at all.

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/FishImportationRegulations.pdf

2.) Moving fish or water from any of the any Great Lakes is seriously dangerous now as you could introduce VHS, not to mention zebra mussel veligers

3.) Don't know if they reproduce sufficiently or at all in a pond, and

4.) They are very sensitive to drastic temp drops which is more likely in ponds vs. larger bodies of water. Even in Lake Michigan there are die offs due to drastic temperature drops.

Bluebacks are only found on the east coast.

The Great Lakes now have at last count 8 exotic parasites including the Asian tapeworm. I wouldn't want to bring any fish from those lakes into my ponds even if you paid me.

I believe my lake is somewhere between 5-7 acres. It has a good size area where the water 35-40 feet deep. I am trying to get a large variety of baitfish...the theory being bass will have more to choose from, and thus eat more. I know when I go to a large buffet with a variety of different foods, I eat more.

I don't think either river herring species would work in a lake that small. Like Cecil said, they are very sensitive to water temp changes and require water quality in the range of striped bass. This is why they make such good forage for landlocked stripers, trout and salmon. They too hang out in the area of the thermocline where the water is cold but still oxygenated. Not something commonly found in smaller lakes. They also require very specific spawning areas. Usually small streams to moderate sized creeks. Blueback herring are even more difficult to maintain than alewife. They seem to be more sensitive. A lake I fish in has both stocked in it and they do fairly well. The stripers hammer the snot out of them. But from the research done at the lake, the LMB feed mostly on gizzard shad. Also, alewife and bluebacks are nasty predators. They feed heavily on the fry and YOY of game fish. Do research on the studies done in TN on the diet on both herring species in their lakes. They destroyed the walleye fishery in more than one lake there and have severely impacted other species. They're great forage in their native rivers like the Potomac where I fish. I catch them using Sabiki rigs and use them for bait for stripers and blue cats and their YOY are eaten by everything in the river, but in lakes they can cause issues. In your shoes, I'd work with golden shiners and as your bass community progresses in size, then consider stocking gizzard shad.

One thing a lot of people don't know is these species, which are all in the same family, have been implicated in EMS (Early Mortality Syndrome). This is due to an enzyme they produce that causes a thiamine deficiency in fish that eat them exclusively, especially lake trout and other salmonids.

http://afsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1577/H08-019.1

I have not heard of them for sale. Here is some info on their use.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...=true#Post13998


http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...=true#Post19341

thanks for the great info as usual fellow pond bossers. I guess I will just stick to the usual perch/golden shiner/bg forage base.