Fish Hatchery
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 to locals and visitors from I-55.
Phase I construction was completed in 2006 and 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 2, 80-ft outdoor raceways.
The hatchery is equipped to produce multiple 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, grass carp, bluegill, and redear sunfish.
Most of the brood fish are collected from local reservoirs. Spawning usually begins in March and runs through June. Visitors may view spawning activities from the observation area in the hatchery building.
Once eggs hatch inside the incubation jars, the fry (newly hatched fish) are placed into the production ponds. These fish grow in the ponds until the fall, when water temperatures cool. These "fingerlings" are then harvested and stocked into public waters.
Gulf Coast Walleye Magnolia Crappie
Contact Info
Hatchery Office: (662) 563-0542
Visitor Education Center: (662) 563-8068
North Mississippi Fish Hatchery and Visitor Education Center
P.O. Box 100
457 CR 36
Enid, Mississippi 38927
Additional Resources
