Taal Lake Hatchery’s name comes from a “paradise lake” in the top of a dead volcano in the Philippines where the founder Hubert Lehman was stationed in WW2. When he started this business in the early 1960’s the focus was on pond stocking, mainly bass and blue gill. Over time other species where added as the public need for them emerged. Since its inception, three generations of the Lehman family have been involved in fish production, harvest, and delivery.

Being a true producer of fish for stocking allows us to price our fish at the most reasonable rates in the state.  The forty+ years of fish rearing that I personally have had, are filled with relationships with researchers at various universities in Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and project leaders at DNR instillations throughout the state. We don’t “just wing it” or go with the best guess. We are not afraid to ask the experts when facing a situation we are not certain about. Our customers can be confident our advice to them is founded in science and experience.

Pond culture of fish is the main growing method at our two facilities, however our perch are trained in tanks to eat pellets. Training perch in tanks assures the customer that our perch are 100% trained. The previous method of training them in ponds was proven to be only 70-80% effective so for the past ten years we have trained perch in tanks. The resulting fingerling perch are a good fit for RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) or aquaponics systems.

Our focus on fish stocking always includes understanding the entire food chain, from microscopic organisms to top level predator fish. Each specie of fish plays a role in in the food chain. Mouth gap, metabolic drive, preferred environment, and opportunity all play a role in which fish eats what. Whether your question is “How fast do zooplankton organisms reproduce?” or “Will walleyes reproduce in my lake or pond?”, we can provide you with answers and help you understand how the answer fits in the working of your entire aquatic system. We want you to understand your system, not just buy fish from us.