BJ Price
While the Preble Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has been around for 75 years as of 2024, we have not been doing a fish fingerling sale for quite that long. This year marks 25 years of fish sales at the District. While we have adjusted dates, changed suppliers, and updated pricing, one thing remains the same: providing high-quality stocking fish to local pond owners and managers.
In our old office at North Barron Street, walk-in customers would see our sale flyers on their way to or from TSC or the Chinese restaurant. Often, we answered questions about whether they could put these fish in their freezer or fry them up. I suppose you could put any of the fish species in the freezer and you could eat most of the species, but these are baby fish meant for pond stocking and not for the next family fish fry.
Our stocking fish species for sale include bluegill, hybrid bluegill, redear sunfish, black crappie, channel catfish, jumbo yellow perch, largemouth bass, white amur or grass carp, and black fathead minnows. Several of the species are offered in multiple sizes, depending on just what a customer is in the market for.
The hybrid bluegill is a male bluegill crossed with a female green sunfish. Their offspring tend to be 80-90 percent male, making them less likely to overpopulate than bluegill.
White amur are bred to be sterile in order to avoid problems with overpopulation. They can serve as a natural method of weed control in ponds and may reduce the need for chemical applications.
Smaller fish fingerlings are generally recommended for stocking new or reconstructed ponds where there are no larger predators. Stocking larger fish is advised where there are already large predator fish in a pond. It is generally not necessary to re-stock fish fingerlings in ponds with healthy populations of the desired fish species. If a person chooses to stock smaller fingerlings where large predator fish are already established and are likely to eat them, these fingerlings can become what we refer to as ‘really expensive fish food.’
No two ponds are alike and the age and condition of the pond together with the goals of the pond owner can influence the species, size, and amount of fish fingerlings stocked.
The Preble SWCD Fish Sale is going on now through Sept. 13, and fish will be delivered to the office in early October. For more information, call 937-456-5159, see us on the net at www.prebleswcd.org, or stop by at 2789 U.S. 35 E, West Alexandria, OH 45381.
Reach BJ Price at 937-456-5159 for more information.
