Millions of Fish Released in 2025, Including Thousands of Brown Trout in Dexter

Thousands of young fish were released into Michigan waters last year as part of a statewide effort to strengthen future fishing opportunities, including a significant stocking close to home in Dexter.

According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, more than 648,000 fish were stocked at 76 locations across Michigan during fall 2025, representing seven species and a combined weight of 8.6 tons. Those fall efforts followed spring and summer stockings that brought the total number of fish released statewide in 2025 to nearly 19.5 million.

“This was another exceptional fall fish stocking season, enhancing fishing opportunities throughout Michigan,” said DNR fish production manager Aaron Switzer. “Combined with successful spring and summer stocking efforts, the 2025 total reached nearly 19.5 million fish stocked in Michigan’s waters.”

Locally, anglers may already be seeing the results of earlier work. In April 2025, the DNR released 4,400 brown trout fingerlings into Mill Creek where it crosses Shield Road in Dexter, part of the state’s spring trout stocking program. Those young trout are expected to mature over the coming seasons, improving fishing conditions in the creek.

Mill Creek is one of the few streams in Southeast Michigan cold enough to support trout year-round, fed by groundwater springs that keep temperatures low and stable even in summer. Those cold, oxygen-rich conditions are rare in the region and are what make trout fishing possible in this stretch of the creek near Dexter.

Fish stocked statewide last fall included Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, rainbow trout, steelhead, walleye, and muskellunge. The fish were raised at a network of six state and three cooperative hatcheries, with stocking timed to maximize survival and adaptation to local waters.

Most fish are stocked in spring, but fall stockings play an important role for species that require less hatchery time and may adjust more easily to new environments.

Anglers curious about stocking activity in specific lakes, rivers, or streams can search the DNR’s public fish-stocking database at michigandnr.com/fishstock/.

Photo: The walleye fingling pictured above is one of the seven species stocked in Michigan waters this fall. Other fish included Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, rainbow trout, and muskellunge. Photo courtesy of DNR.