The Game and Parks Commission's fish stocking program has come a long way from the late 1800s when fish were stocked from railroad cars and metal cream cans. Today, fisheries managers use fiberglass tanks, oxygen-producing aerators and water agitators to transport and place fish in waters throughout the state. The earliest recorded fish stocking in Nebraska occurred on the Elkhorn River in the summer of 1873 when a train derailed on a bridge near Fremont, spilling 300,000 live fish into the river. The fish were being shipped from New Hampshire and Massachusetts to California by the U.S. Fish Commission. Since then, millions of fish have been stocked in Nebraska waters for anglers.
Biologists determine each year's stocking plans based on surveys, past results and creel counts.
This data is used to project stocking plans based on needs and the number of fish the hatchery system can produce. Nebraska is one of a few states fortunate enough to have hatcheries that usually can produce all the fish needed. Only 280,000 northern pike have been requested. Sherman Reservoir will receive nearly a third of that total. Dave Tunink, assistant Fisheries Division administrator, said interest in northern pike fishing is declining and the survival rate of stocked pike is poor.