NY DEC stocking Champlain

Share info on fishing Champlain.
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Wallyandre (Andre)
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NY DEC stocking Champlain

Post by Wallyandre (Andre) »

Maybe I didn't look thoroughly but I didn't see any significant numbers for landlock
You can take a look maybe you will find something:
https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7739.html
bagman
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Re: NY DEC stocking Champlain

Post by bagman »

To the best of my knowledge NY does not raise or stock LLS in lake champlain. LLS are stocked in the Saranac, Bouquet, and Ausable rivers. These fish are raised in the federal fish hatchery in Vermont
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Wallyandre (Andre)
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Re: NY DEC stocking Champlain

Post by Wallyandre (Andre) »

This is an answer on some of my questions from a NY DEC biologist:
Hello Andre,

Lake Champlain and its tributaries are stocked with landlocked Atlantic salmon every year. The salmon come from 3 different hatcheries.

All of the salmon fry and smolts are typically stocked in the month of May. The stocking “schedule” for each hatchery is very fluid. The schedule comes out sometime in March. I cannot tell you in advance exactly what date the fish will be stocked. I usually know which week they are planning to stock somewhere. If you want to know specifics for a location, you can call or email me and I will tell you what I know.

Stocking dates are based on the water temperature in the lake for the smolts (and water temperatures in the rivers for the fry) and availability of the hatchery trucks. You’ll see below that there is a lot of coordination between the agencies managing the lake. The hatcheries stock Lake Champlain, but they also stock many other waters in NY and VT.



The New York State DEC’s Adirondack Hatchery stocks Atlantic salmon fry into the Saranac and Boquet Rivers, tributaries to Lake Champlain. The Saranac River received 70,000 fry and the Boquet River received 100,000 fry in 2022. These fish should grow in the rivers and move into the lake after about 2 years.



Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s Ed Weed Hatchery stocks 57,000 Atlantic salmon smolts into the Inland Sea (northeastern part of the lake). The main lake was stocked with 53,000 smolts in 2022. The Lamoille River (VT) was stocked with 20,000 smolts. They also stocked 16,500 smolts into the Ausable River (NY).



US Fish and Wildlife’s Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery stocks Atlantic salmon smolts into the Winooski River (VT), the Saranac River (NY) and the Boquet River (NY). The Winooski River received 44,000 smolts in 2022. The Saranac River received 51,500 smolts. The Boquet River received 51,500 smolts.



The stocking policies will remain the same for the next 3 years, so the numbers above will remain the same. I am currently working on the 2022 stocking summary for Lake Champlain. There is nothing currently on our website about Lake Champlain stocking. Our website has been getting many needed updates this past year. I will ask about getting the Lake Champlain stocking summary posted.
ATLSALMON
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Re: NY DEC stocking Champlain

Post by ATLSALMON »

ABOUT HOW BIG ARE THE SMOLTS
Gecha (Gerry)
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Re: NY DEC stocking Champlain

Post by Gecha (Gerry) »

Nice information André. Thanks for sharing.
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Wallyandre (Andre)
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Re: NY DEC stocking Champlain

Post by Wallyandre (Andre) »

ATLSALMON wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 4:55 pm ABOUT HOW BIG ARE THE SMOLTS
The smolts stocked in 2022 averaged 6.5 inches total length. In 2021, the average length was 6.1 inches.
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