Bob Tyler Fish Hatchery
The Bob Tyler Fish Hatchery, formerly known as the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery,
is located west of Enid Lake on 58 acres of land leased from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is easily accessible from I-55.
Phase I construction, completed in 2006, includes a state-of-the-art hatchery building (tank room, wet lab, office, and staff rooms), a maintenance shop, 16 1-acre production ponds, a settling pond, and residence. Water is supplied by two ground water wells and a pipeline from Enid Lake. High quality water at a variety of temperatures for indoor and outdoor fish rearing is produced through a system of filters, heaters, chillers, and degassing chambers. The hatchery building houses 40 incubation jars and 36 holding/rearing tanks. In addition to the production ponds, there are two 80-ft outdoor raceways.
The hatchery produces cool and warm-water species including: northern largemouth bass, southern walleye, (yes, we have walleye in Mississippi), paddlefish, alligator gar, white crappie, black crappie, Magnolia crappie, bluegill, and redear sunfish.
Spawning usually begins in March and runs through June. Most of the brood fish are held in 1-acre ponds year-around though some, like flathead catfish and walleye, are collected from local reservoirs. The incubation jars, raceways, and rearing ponds hold fry and fingerlings from March through November. Visitors may view spawning activities from the observation area in the hatchery building.
Josh Glover
Hatchery Manager
