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Rainbow Trout for 2013 Are Being Spawned Now
Posted 11 January, 2012
Sliding
the last tray into the shelves along a wall, Tom Rohde could look down
at a morning’s work; 100,000 future trout—give or take a few
thousand—now beginning the hatching process inside the Manchester trout
hatchery. Eventually, you may be facing them in a northeast Iowa
stream or one of 16 urban fisheries across Iowa.
It starts with
Department of Natural Resources fisheries technicians Rohde and Randy
Mack waist deep in an outdoor raceway. Chest waders, rain gear
and elbow high gloves keep them dry as they herd big brood fish to the
end of the concrete raceway with a mesh gate, selecting ‘ripe’
females—ready to spawn—for a short trip inside.
“Today, we are
spawning rainbow trout. The female brood fish average six to eight
pounds each. Each will produce about 6,000 eggs,” explained
Rohde. “It takes 30 days or so for these eggs to hatch, so the
eggs we spawn today are actually for the 2013 stocking program.”
He
and Mack move from tank to tabletop to trays, as the constant splashing
of water from Spring Branch creek tumbles across hatching trays,
holding tanks and an array of raceways for tiny trout. The hatchery was
built here nearly a century ago because of the quality—and quantity—of
cold water coming from springs and the limestone bluffs.
After a
quick sedative bath to quiet them, each big trout is held firmly over a
plastic bowl, as one of the workers rolls a hand down her belly to
force out a stream of orange-golden eggs. Mixed in quickly is the
milk-white sperm from two males. A saline solution is added to aid
fertilization. The last step? A turkey wing feather; firm enough
to stir the concoctions for 30-40 seconds, but soft enough to avoid
bruising the eggs.
Then fertilized, the eggs are poured into the
rigid plastic trays and slid into their place below a stream of 50 to
52 degree water. An RB for ‘rainbow’ and the days date are written on
the outside…and it’s a matter of monitoring them until they hatch.
You
still won’t see them until next year. That’s how far ahead the hatchery
works. That extra attention, labor and hatchery space is why anglers
hand over an extra $12.50 for trout fishing privileges each year.
About 80 percent of the half pound or so ‘catchable size’ fish stocked
are rainbows. They’re easier to grow and popular with the trout fishing
crowd. The other 20 percent are native strain brook trout. About
200,000 brown trout fingerlings are also stocked, to grow up in the
streams; wilder and more of a challenge to bring to net.
The
brooks are spawned in October; the browns in November. The rainbows—the
backbone of Iowa’s trout program—take up much of December and January.
This time of year, those fish of the future range from full sized and
splashing in the outside raceways to the tiny, shiny, orange globes
along the hatching tray wall. At two to three inches, many head out
from Manchester—the state’s only trout hatchery--to rearing stations at
Decorah and near Elkader. Eventually, each facility stocks streams in
its area from April through October.
For years, it also meant
stocking small lakes near Dubuque, Mason City and Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
Those plants came through the winter, to spread the fish around and
maybe stir up some urban interest. That ‘urban fishery’ program now
serves 16 communities; most stocked twice a season.
Once in
awhile, a culled brood fish or two gets mixed into the day’s stocking
allotment. New ones are coming up, and it never hurts to see the look
on an angler’s face as one of those hogs plops into the water with all
those half-pounders.
And—if you are watching for one—Mack
weighed the biggest brood female; 14 and a half pounds; coming to a
stream—or lake—near you. Someday.
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