(Provided by Michigan DNR)

Michigan busy stocking lakes throughout the state./>The Michigan DNR is in the middle of its new fish stocking season, and this spring people will see DNR fish stocking trucks releasing their prized recreational cargo at hundreds of lakes and streams throughout the state.

Visit the DNR's fish stocking website at michigandnr.com/fishstock/ for information on local fish stocking locations.

Fish stocking is a valuable tool used by fisheries managers to restore, enhance and create new fishing opportunities in Michigan's inland lakes, streams and the Great Lakes. The DNRs Fisheries Division accomplishes this task by rearing fish at its six fish production facilities located throughout the state, cooperatively managing up to 50 rearing ponds and 13 imprinting net pen locations, and maintaining a fleet of 18 specialized fish stocking vehicles.

Over the course of a typical year the DNR will stock roughly 20 million to 25 million fish weighing nearly 400 tons, including eight species of trout and salmon and four coolwater species such as walleye and muskellunge. Beginning in mid-March and ending in early June, the DNR fish stocking trucks will travel well over 100,000 miles to stock between 700 and 1,100 locations.

Michigan anglers have access to four Great lakes, 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, more than 11,000 inland lakes and tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams. That puts residents and visitors no more than 10 minutes away from great angling opportunities and world-class fisheries.